Splunk excels in log aggregation and SIEM with deeper historical data retention, while Datadog provides superior real-time infrastructure monitoring and APM with faster deployment. Splunk costs more at scale but offers stronger compliance features, whereas Datadog has lower baseline costs and tighter cloud-native integration.
Splunk vs Datadog — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose Splunk if you need enterprise-grade security monitoring, deep historical data analysis, or strict compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2). Choose Datadog if you prioritize rapid deployment, real-time cloud infrastructure monitoring, integrated APM, or prefer lower baseline costs with cloud-native environments.
Enterprise data platform for log aggregation, SIEM, and compliance monitoring
Cloud monitoring and observability platform with integrated APM and infrastructure monitoring
APM (Application Performance Monitoring)
Structured comparison data for Splunk vs Datadog with 148 attributes.
Default Data Retention (included in pricing)
Base Monthly Pricing (1GB/day ingestion)
Maximum Data Ingestion Per Day (Enterprise)
Typical Enterprise Annual Cost (1000 hosts)
Splunk vs Datadog — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Splunk vs Datadog.
Which platform is better for security and compliance?
Splunk is the clear winner for security-focused organizations. It offers enterprise-grade SIEM capabilities, behavioral threat detection, and compliance certifications including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and FedRAMP. Datadog has basic security monitoring but lacks the depth needed for regulated industries. If you're in finance, healthcare, or require strict audit trails, Splunk is the better choice.
Which is cheaper for small to medium teams?
Datadog is significantly cheaper for smaller deployments. Its ingestion costs are 40-50% lower ($0.10-$0.32/GB vs $0.25-$0.50/GB), and it deploys 3-4x faster, reducing consulting costs. For teams with <5GB/day ingestion, Datadog typically costs $2,000-$5,000/month vs Splunk's $5,000-$12,000+. However, Splunk's unlimited retention may justify higher costs if you need historical forensics.
Is Datadog better for cloud-native infrastructure?
Yes. Datadog was built cloud-first and includes native integration with AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and Docker. It auto-discovers infrastructure without manual configuration and provides unified monitoring from servers to containers to serverless. Splunk requires additional add-ons (Splunk Connect for Kubernetes) and more manual setup. For DevOps teams, Datadog's cloud-native approach saves 1-2 weeks of configuration time.
Which platform is better for application performance monitoring (APM)?
Datadog provides superior APM as a native, integrated feature with automatic service dependency mapping, distributed tracing, and profiling. Splunk APM requires separate licensing and integrates less seamlessly. If you need real-time application monitoring with end-to-end visibility, Datadog delivers faster insights with less configuration overhead.
Splunk supports retention from 30 days to 7+ years depending on your configuration and storage backend. Datadog defaults to 15 days but can be extended through hot/cold storage tiers. For long-term forensics and compliance audits, Splunk's flexible retention architecture handles multi-year data requirements better. Datadog is optimized for recent, actionable data.