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Instana Dynamic APM vs Splunk AppDynamics comparison

 
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025
Review summaries and opinions
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 Categories and Ranking
Instana Dynamic APM
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
31st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk AppDynamics
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
254
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), IT Operations Analytics (2nd), Mobile APM (1st), Container Monitoring (3rd)
 Mindshare comparison
As of November 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Instana Dynamic APM is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk AppDynamics is 3.9%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Splunk AppDynamics3.9%
Instana Dynamic APM1.1%
Other95.0%
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 Featured Reviews
Muhammad Jawwad Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at Arcana Info
A really good GUI that is easy for non-technical users to understand
Our company uses the solution for one of our bank clients. We use App Connect middleware to monitor services and applications such as Docker, Kubernetes, MongoDB, and MS SQL Server. We also monitor the bottleneck for all servers.  We currently have 20 users at one of our branches. We plan to expand…
DK
Technology lead at Infosys
Has enabled us to detect issues instantly through alerts and monitor every service from a single dashboard
Splunk requires significantly more improvements compared to Splunk AppDynamics, specifically regarding the licensing aspect. Splunk renews licenses every six months, which is inconvenient. It would be better to have a one-year license to avoid needing to update keys constantly, which can only occur on weekends, making it a burdensome task. Although Splunk is better for certain use cases, Splunk AppDynamics is broader in functionality. Specifically, I want enhancements related to creating dashboards not only for logs or minor services but also for configuration levels, allowing us to check configurations immediately without manually opening the entire code when exceptions arise—a feature I wish to see improved in Splunk, although it may not be necessary for Splunk AppDynamics.
Quotes from Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 Pros
"If a key monitored value has crossed a threshold, it sends out an alert. And the solution is able to intelligently find out if something is beyond the range that it normally resides in."
"Its GUI is really good and it easy to understand for non-technical users."
"With Instana, the interface and the UI are very simple to use."
"The detailing of our application behavior and user experience is most valuable. In case there is an issue, we typically use Instana to figure it out. We can drill down to the application and figure out what's going on and where the issue is."
"It is user-friendly, but we encounter issues processing input and understanding the graphics, such as seeing a flatline without knowing the cause. When these problems occur, I have to contact my support team to address and fix them. Also, monitoring processing is good."
"Visually, it's very good. It provides everything needed for dynamic detection, which is very useful."
"Instana is very fast to implement and deploy because the dashboards are automated and don't need configuration."
"Sometimes it's able to provide a proper RCA on its own. It's able to correlate different events that occurred and that becomes like an RCA in itself."
"Splunk AppDynamics' AI-powered anomaly detection and root cause analysis are very effective in diagnosing performance issues, allowing me to quickly identify blocking on the database, track slow SQL queries, and understand what is going on."
"After we implemented this solution, we can easily determine the root cause of issues."
"The transaction snapshots are the most valuable feature of AppDynamics"
"Knowing which tables on the database were working the most was valuable. It helped the client understand where they need to focus. They streamlined a lot of their queries and brought the resource usage down. It helped them to find long-running queries. They rewrote them completely so that they don't take as long and the application performs better."
"The features of Splunk AppDynamics that I appreciate most are the business processes, which benefit my organization by providing a bigger picture, not only of their own systems, however, how it influences other parts of the environment and how we are being influenced by other parts."
"AppDynamics is a good tool that offers excellent out-of-the-box dashboards and application topology."
"AppDynamics Database Monitoring's most valuable feature is the ability of the out-of-the-box to update the information, provide various metrics, and possibly include custom metrics."
"We can see the customer's path from their computer to the backend systems."
 Cons
"The integration could be improved with more plugins or open API."
"Many managers, as well as our customers, used to ask for reports, such as "top X number of queries that are slow," or "top pages that have the highest number of issues." This is something that can be improved by Instana. Currently, they don't have that kind of reporting available out-of-the-box."
"Sometimes, the issue arises from user changes, such as adjusting firewall settings without proper consideration, leading to compatibility issues within the network monitoring."
"The configuration of Instana Dynamic APM needs improvement because it requires quite a bit of work."
"I think that Instana should improve the university and the certification process, so the users can find experts in Instana with their certification module process."
"We should be able to go back to scenarios during or before the issue. There should be something like a history playback. Such a feature or functionality would be good."
"New Relic has a better UI in terms of how it presents the data."
"We'd always like to see additional functionalities."
"This product has an issue with initial lag upon opening that we would like to see improved."
"While I am not expecting it in the next release, I would want more centralized management of the agent in the platform and better support."
"I would like the solution to be more customizable to meet our client's requirements."
"AppDynamics Database Monitoring would be improved with more support for microservices architecture."
"Additional support for NextGen mobile platforms also needs to be high in the roadmap prioritizations"
"They could align the product strategy to evolve as a complete solution."
"I am not very impressed with support. The service could be better."
"I am not very impressed with support. The service could be better."
 Pricing and Cost Advice
"Its pricing isn't a big pain point. Its pricing seems to be better than some of the other competing products in the market, but they also have some of the features and functionalities that are better than Instana."
"Pricing is quite competitive. Dynatrace, AppDynamics, and New Relic were all several times more expensive than Instana, both the on-prem and the SaaS versions. Price-wise they are a lot more competitive than anyone else out there."
"The pricing is $1,200 per year which is a bit high compared to other vendors."
"The solution is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"It's reasonably priced and manageable, especially for individuals who grasp the significance of application monitoring."
"Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to other vendors."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."
"It does require licensing to be paid."
"We find its pricing reasonable and competitive. After it was acquired by Cisco, we found it acceptable."
"It could be cheaper. It's a little cost prohibitive. There are so many features that also show a lot of value, but it’s not always easy to justify the cost."
"If one is expensive and ten is low price, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"I rate AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring's pricing as seven out of ten. Mobile monitoring is paid based on the number of instances utilizing the mobile monitoring service, which increases as the scale grows. Consequently, your mobile user count can proportionally surpass all other applications."
"AppDynamics is an expensive solution."
"As a technical person, and as an application development team, they all understand that this is the right tool for us. But when it comes to budget and financial matters, it takes days and weeks to convince upper management to buy this tool. So they should do something more on licensing costs."
"You are required to purchase licenses whether you use it or not. It is not pay-as-you-use."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability solutions are best for your needs.
875,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 Top Industries
By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
6%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
5%
 Company Size
By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise189
 Questions from the Community
What do you like most about Instana Dynamic APM?
The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Instana Dynamic APM?
I rate the pricing a seven out of ten. There are no additional costs associated with the product.
What needs improvement with Instana Dynamic APM?
Sometimes, the issue arises from user changes, such as adjusting firewall settings without proper consideration, leading to compatibility issues within the network monitoring.
Any advice about APM solutions?
There are many factors and we know little about your requirements (size of org, technology stack, management systems, the scope of implementation). Our goal was to consolidate APM and infra monitor...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AppDynamics?
I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten. The solution is highly expensive. Our company pays for the solution on a yearly basis, if we don't add new modules or features to the license, we need ...
 Overview
 Sample Customers
Daxko Lifts Fitness Studios Through COVID Regulations with Quick Engineering PivotsAltissia Meets SLAs to Support Student DeadlinesImmocloud Unlocks Observability to Modernize Real EstateEnento Group Boosts Service Reliability with Real-Time Visibility into Application Performance Instana’s Observability for Amazon EKS Helps Yara Deliver Digital Farming Solutions
Cisco, Sony, Nasdaq, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Edmunds.com, Puma, Fox News, DirecTV, Pizza Hut, T-Systems, Cornell University, OpenTable, BITMARCK, Green Mountain Power, Care.com, Overstock, Paddy Power, eHarmony, Kraft, The Motley Fool, The Container Store, and more See more customers
Find out what your peers are saying about Instana Dynamic APM vs. Splunk AppDynamics and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.
875,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.