observability.fyi

Datadog Metrics vs Prometheus

A detailed comparison of two leading observability platforms.

Da

Datadog Metrics

Cloud-scale metrics monitoring

9.2/10
Pr

Prometheus

Open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit

8.9/10
Overview

Who is each tool for?

Da

Datadog Metrics

Enterprises needing scalable metrics with extensive integrations

Pr

Prometheus

Teams wanting powerful open-source metrics monitoring with PromQL

Analysis

Pros and Cons

Da

Datadog Metrics

Pros

  • 700+ out-of-box integrations
  • Powerful anomaly detection
  • Excellent visualization options
  • Seamless cloud provider integration

Cons

  • Can become expensive at scale
  • Custom metrics pricing adds up
  • Vendor lock-in concerns
Full review
Pr

Prometheus

Pros

  • Powerful PromQL query language
  • Excellent Kubernetes integration
  • Active open-source community
  • Pull-based model is firewall-friendly

Cons

  • Limited long-term storage by default
  • No built-in dashboards (needs Grafana)
  • High cardinality can be challenging
Full review
Ratings

Feature Comparison

Feature
Da
Datadog Metrics
Pr
Prometheus
APM
7
5
Log Management
6
3
Infrastructure Monitoring
9.5
9
Alerting
9
8.5
Integrations
10
8.5
Ease of Use
8.5
7
Support
8.5
7
Value for Money
7.5
10
Overall Score
9.2
8.9
Investment

Pricing

Da

Datadog Metrics

From $15/host/mo

Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Datadog Metrics for a custom quote.

Pr

Prometheus

Free / Open Source

Pricing varies by data volume and features. Contact Prometheus for a custom quote.

Conclusion

Our Verdict

Both Datadog Metrics and Prometheus are excellent observability platforms. Datadog Metrics edges ahead with a score of 9.2/10, particularly excelling in APM and Log Management.