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Compare IBM Instana and Splunk AppDynamics 
Featured Products
At a Glance
Market Segments
Mid-Market (40.9% of reviews)
Enterprise (54.3% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $18.00
Start a free trial
IBM Instana
Star Rating
(440)4.4 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (40.9% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $18.00
Free Trial is available
Browse all 2 pricing plansSplunk AppDynamics
Star Rating
(375)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (54.3% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
Start a free trial
Browse all 3 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- G2 reviewers report that IBM Instana excels in providing real-time insights and automatic service discovery, making it a favorite for users who prioritize observability and performance monitoring. Users appreciate how it maps dependencies with minimal manual input, which significantly enhances their monitoring capabilities.
- Users say that Splunk AppDynamics is particularly strong in debugging capabilities, allowing performance engineers to analyze long-running queries and application logs effectively. This feature is highlighted by users who find it essential for capturing server metrics and creating dashboards tailored to their needs.
- Reviewers mention that IBM Instana's ease of deployment and user-friendly interface contribute to a smoother onboarding experience. Many users find it easy to use and affordable, which makes it an attractive option for teams looking to implement monitoring solutions quickly.
- According to verified reviews, Splunk AppDynamics has a robust feature set for performance analysis and monitoring, with users noting its effectiveness in tracking application performance across multi-cloud environments. This versatility is particularly valued by enterprise users who manage complex infrastructures.
- G2 reviewers highlight that while both products have similar scores for quality of support, IBM Instana edges out with slightly higher ratings, indicating a more consistent support experience. Users have noted that the support team is responsive and helpful, which is crucial for maintaining application performance.
- Users report that Splunk AppDynamics has a steeper learning curve compared to IBM Instana, particularly in terms of setup and configuration. Some users have expressed challenges in aligning the tool with their specific workflows, which can hinder initial adoption.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
IBM Instana
Essentials
Starting at $18.00
Automatic discovery, mapping and monitoring of Infrastructure
- Includes All Infrastructure Monitoring Features
- Includes End User Monitoring
- Includes Unbounded Analytics
Splunk AppDynamics
APM Pro
Start a free trial
End-to-end monitoring of key business transactions within your applications
Start Free Trial https://www.appdynamics.com/free-trial/
- Core APM Functionality with the flexibility to switch between languages; includes basic infrastructure monitoring
Free Trial
IBM Instana
Free Trial is available
Splunk AppDynamics
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.6
346
8.6
258
Ease of Use
8.6
359
8.5
257
Ease of Setup
8.8
197
7.9
118
Ease of Admin
8.4
129
8.1
117
Quality of Support
8.6
311
8.3
248
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.5
129
8.5
113
Product Direction (% positive)
8.5
332
8.3
233
Features by Category
Functionality
9.2
20
Not enough data
9.4
20
Not enough data
9.3
20
Not enough data
9.2
19
Not enough data
9.3
19
Not enough data
8.8
18
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Website Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Experience
Not enough data
8.9
9
Not enough data
8.1
9
Not enough data
7.6
9
Agentic AI - Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
Not enough data
8.0
9
Not enough data
9.1
9
Not enough data
7.6
9
Performance
Not enough data
9.3
9
Not enough data
9.2
8
Not enough data
9.2
8
Not enough data
8.7
9
Functionality
9.4
13
Not enough data
8.8
13
Not enough data
8.7
13
Not enough data
8.6
13
Not enough data
8.8
12
Not enough data
8.5
13
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Database Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.9
131
8.8
22
8.4
121
9.1
22
8.9
129
8.9
22
8.7
133
8.7
21
9.7
6
Not enough data
Administration
8.6
126
9.0
21
8.7
104
8.5
20
8.5
100
8.5
22
9.4
6
Not enough data
Analysis
8.5
114
8.9
22
8.5
131
8.9
22
8.3
99
8.7
19
Agentic AI - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Automation - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
8.7
27
8.3
22
8.4
25
8.3
22
9.0
34
9.2
27
Issue Resolution
9.1
34
9.1
27
8.9
32
8.8
27
8.7
33
8.8
25
Management
9.0
33
8.9
27
8.9
33
9.2
26
8.7
30
9.4
27
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - AIOps Platforms
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
7.3
5
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
7.7
5
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Hardware Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
9.7
6
Not enough data
9.2
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
7.8
6
Not enough data
7.2
6
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Log Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visibility
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Cloud environment support
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Server Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
10.0
6
9.3
16
10.0
6
8.9
17
10.0
6
8.9
17
9.7
6
8.2
15
Management
10.0
6
8.5
17
10.0
6
8.6
17
10.0
6
8.9
17
10.0
6
9.3
17
Agentic AI - Enterprise Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
ServiceNow Apps
Not enough data
8.6
11
Not enough data
8.8
11
Agentic AI - ServiceNow Store Apps
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.5
165
9.2
10
8.6
176
9.7
10
8.9
176
9.7
10
7.6
124
8.7
9
8.5
159
8.8
10
Response
8.5
170
9.7
10
8.4
166
8.8
10
8.1
155
9.3
10
Agentic AI - Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
7.0
10
Not enough data
8.0
10
Not enough data
7.3
10
Not enough data
7.3
10
Not enough data
7.4
11
Not enough data
Performance
8.3
139
8.9
26
8.4
154
8.5
25
Functionality
8.1
133
8.8
26
8.4
128
8.9
23
8.2
130
8.5
27
8.5
150
8.5
25
Alerts management
8.1
40
Not enough data
8.1
44
Not enough data
8.4
56
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.3
56
Not enough data
8.8
61
Not enough data
8.2
56
Not enough data
8.9
55
Not enough data
Automation
7.9
35
Not enough data
7.9
37
Not enough data
Analysis
8.2
54
Not enough data
8.1
45
Not enough data
8.6
60
Not enough data
8.5
41
Not enough data
Issue Resolution
8.5
52
Not enough data
7.6
44
Not enough data
8.2
46
Not enough data
Generative AI
8.7
10
Not enough data
Agentic AI - IT Alerting
8.3
5
Not enough data
8.3
5
Not enough data
8.3
5
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
8.3
5
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
8.3
5
Not enough data
Telemetry Collection & Ingestion - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Observability Software
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Visualization & Dashboards - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Correlation & Root Cause Analysis - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Scalability & Ecosystem Integration - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Features - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - SAP Store
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Response
8.8
7
Not enough data
8.6
7
Not enough data
7.9
7
Not enough data
8.3
6
Not enough data
Records
8.9
6
Not enough data
8.9
6
Not enough data
8.3
6
Not enough data
Management
9.4
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
Generative AI
8.3
5
Not enough data
8.3
5
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
IBM Instana and Splunk AppDynamics are categorized as Observability Software, Enterprise Monitoring, AIOps Platforms, Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring, Container Monitoring, Application Performance Monitoring (APM), and Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
Unique Categories
IBM Instana is categorized as Hardware Monitoring, Database Monitoring, Website Monitoring, IT Alerting, Incident Response, Log Monitoring, and Server Monitoring
Splunk AppDynamics is categorized as ServiceNow Store Apps and SAP Store
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
IBM Instana
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Splunk AppDynamics
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
19.7%
Computer Software
10.6%
Telecommunications
6.3%
Financial Services
6.3%
Retail
5.5%
Other
51.7%
Information Technology and Services
25.7%
Computer Software
10.1%
Financial Services
8.1%
Banking
5.4%
Insurance
5.1%
Other
45.7%
Discussions
why use instana over another platform?
2 Comments
OG
If you compare those 2 only the price matters. Instana does not have the feature set of DataDog in any category.Read more
Is there a chatbot available?
2 Comments
OG
Best join a webinar or customer demo to learn more about it. It took me also a while to understand all the bits and pieces. Since IBM was acquired by IBM,...Read more
What is Instana?
1 Comment
SB
Hi,
Instana is a leading Enterprise Observability Platform, powered by automated Application Performance Monitoring. It discovers and maps all services,...Read more
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