IBM Application Performance Management vs Splunk AppDynamics comparison

IBM and Splunk are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #50 with an average rating of 7.0, while Splunk is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. IBM holds a 0.3% mindshare in APM, compared to Splunk’s 4.6% mindshare. Additionally, 62% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

IBM Application Performance...

Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews

792 Views
768 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

Splunk AppDynamics

Read 249 Splunk AppDynamics reviews

13,425 Views
10,740 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM Application Performance...

Splunk AppDynamics

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 11, 2025

Splunk AppDynamics and IBM Application Performance Management (APM) are competitors in the application performance monitoring category. Splunk AppDynamics seems to have the upper hand due to its detailed visibility into transactions and performance insights.

Features: Splunk AppDynamics is known for its detailed application monitoring, stack trace visibility, and the ability to trace transactions across different tiers. These features provide deep insights into performance issues. IBM APM offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities, emphasizing stability and data aggregation across various platforms.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest that Splunk AppDynamics could improve integration abilities and make dashboard management more user-friendly. Some critique the complexity of its setup. IBM APM lacks support for some platforms and could improve its interface and initial deployment process. Both solutions would benefit from enhanced customer support and simplified configurations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Splunk AppDynamics is used across hybrid and public cloud environments and is suitable for on-premises setups. Its customer service receives mixed reviews for resolution speed. IBM APM supports both on-premises and public cloud deployments, praised for responsive customer service though facing delays in complex support situations.

Pricing and ROI: Splunk AppDynamics is viewed as a pricier investment due to its comprehensive feature set but is valued for delivering rapid ROI by reducing downtime and improving performance troubleshooting. IBM APM is considered more cost-effective, bundled with necessary components, with an emphasis on evaluating needs to maximize ROI and cost efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Application Performance Management vs. Splunk AppDynamics Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. Splunk AppDynamics

July 2025

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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

IBM Application Performance...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

50th

Average Rating

6.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

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

249

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (5th), IT Operations Analytics (2nd), Mobile APM (1st), Container Monitoring (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of IBM Application Performance Management is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk AppDynamics is 4.6%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

Daniel Tamiru

Manager, Database & System Administration at Awash International Bank

A multi-functional solution but has poor stability and performance-related issues

We are using version 4 of IBM Application Performance Management, and it is deployed on-premises. We use it for internet banking and mainly for application performance on-site. For example, if we face performance-related issues in one of our software or managed services, we use this solution to…

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Gyanesh Rahatekar

Back office at Reliance Industries Ltd

Application performance management and error resolution improved with data-driven insights

Dynatrace has multiple functions compared to Splunk AppDynamics, so Splunk AppDynamics should add those functions, which are not available as of now. Dynatrace has a universal agent that collects all information related to their CI, and if one CI has multiple languages, then there is no need to instrument multiple agents. However, Splunk AppDynamics requires multiple agents; if I have one server with multiple applications in different languages, then I need to instrument different agents for each application. Splunk AppDynamics should work with Dynatrace with one single universal agent that works with all application languages, eliminating the need for multiple implementations.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"IBM Application Performance Management helped us increased our response time by 80% and cost 60% less."

"It's easy to use."

"The transaction tracking feature from IBM is the most important feature for us. It is something that provides a terrific value for us and our clients. It has a lot of data sources and agents that are collectors. It is also stable."

"The initial setup was straightforward and took minimal effort."

"I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten."

"The most valuable feature is the breakdown that it provides, such as a description of the fields for a particular transaction."

"Because we have partnerships with other partners, I can share a bit about what I've noticed with IBM APM compared to other vendor solutions. Specifically, with IBM, the visibility into detailed process information is more tangible. On the OS level, APM displays all processes (or the top 10 processes) that are consuming CPU or resident memory. This is the most important thing that is not always available with other vendors."

"All the metrics are baselines in networks, infrastructure, application, and user experience. AppDynamics offers its own query language. It is called ADQL. You can write code of any kind to do queries and analysis and you can use those within the reporting or within other research."

"Has helped us to increase customer acquisitions and reduce revenue leakage."

"It's made it easier to collaborate across teams; be able to have the same data immediately in front of you just by sharing a URL."

"That visual representation’s been really good, also the overhead that AppDynamics creates is quite small. We've tried Dynatrace in the past. Some of the applications didn't work as well with Dynatrace."

"Error analysis in the troubleshooting sections go straight to the point."

"The most valuable feature of AppDynamics is Proactive Monitoring and Alerting."

"The real user monitoring helps us evaluate our customers' real experiences, which is valuable as an eCommerce company."

"The solution is great for database monitoring. You don't have to install an agent on the database. You just install the server to a database agent. It's a good product for some database administration if you don't want to install an agent on the database for security."

More Splunk AppDynamics pros

Cons

"Its web user interface is a little bit old in comparison to other solutions, such as New Relic, and it should be improved. Its scalability and technical support should also be improved. Currently, it is scalable, but only in a vertical way. They provide good technical support, but the initial steps for a new case can be improved to fasten the resolution process."

"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."

"The demo that was provided to us is not working very well. At times, there are errors."

"With APM, we noticed that the agent can cause a lot of issues for the application, making the agent very unreliable. Many issues are happening, and we've had to discuss it with support to try and get a fix. It affects application availability, and sometimes actions fail because of the agent, degrading the performance of the application."

"They should focus on potentially enhancing the dashboard to make it more contemporary and adding some customization options. Furthermore, there might be room for improvement in the pricing policy."

"The stability is not great and should be better."

"It's still missing some platforms. For example, if you look to applications itself, it is missing the interface."

"The one thing that I find it difficult in using AppDynamics is, for any new user, it's not easy for him or her to configure the transactions in AppDynamics because the UI is pretty complex. The configuration is pretty complex for a new, fresh user. They can make the UI simpler, that'll be very helpful for anyone to configure their website in AppDynamics."

"I would like to see a better way to automate actions based on the events generated by the tool."

"I would like to see some cosmetic enhancements."

"There are too many installers available for this solution."

"It could be more user-friendly for beginners."

"This solution is expensive."

"This is an expensive solution."

"The application monitoring needs improvement. It needs to be easier for someone who isn't a proficient developer."

More Splunk AppDynamics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As I previously indicated, I initiated the IBM and uncovered all its elements. Consequently, I'm not inclined towards a licensing approach."

"The licensing fees can be paid every six months or on a yearly basis."

"IBM APM is one of the cheaper products on the market, while everything necessary to get started is included in the license."

"AppDynamics is an expensive solution."

"There is a license needed to use the solution and it is expensive. The licensing model needs to improve."

"There is a license to use this solution. However, the clients pay for the licenses we are the service provider."

"There is an annual cost to use this solution. The licensing model could be improved by making it more cost-effective."

"We are looking forward to purchasing the solution on the AWS Marketplace."

"The license fee for Application Analytics is in the range of 2.5 million over three years, with extra fees for service contingencies."

"I was not involved with the procurement of AppDynamic, but I believe it's expensive."

"It is expensive. However, our time to recover has been reduced, and this product has helped recuperate costs and provided us with ROI."

More Splunk AppDynamics pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

25%

Educational Organization

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Application Performance Management?

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Application Performance Management?

They should focus on potentially enhancing the dashboard to make it more contemporary and adding some customization options. Furthermore, there might be room for improvement in the pricing policy. ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Application Performance Management?

I monitor business applications for more than four end users.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

APM tools for a Managed Service Provider - Dynatrace vs. AppDynamics vs. Aternity vs. Ruxit

Hi Avi! It's great to see your thorough approach to selecting an APM package for your MSP company. Considering your focus on SMBs and enterprises in Israel, Dynatrace seems like a solid choice with...

See all answers

What do you like most about AppDynamics?

The solution saves time and cost.

See all answers

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IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 9% of the time

Broadcom DX Application Performance Management vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 7% of the time

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Dynatrace vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 14% of the time

Datadog vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 9% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

New Relic vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

Grafana vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 5% of the time

More Splunk AppDynamics Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

June 2025

IBM Application Performance Management report

Download IBM Application Performance Management product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk AppDynamics

June 2025

Download Splunk AppDynamics product report

Also Known As

IBM APM

No data available

Overview

The IBM Application Performance Management portfolio provides visibility, control and automation of your mission-critical applications. It helps pinpoint the root cause of application's issue more quickly and resolve the problem. The integrated capabilities cover the five key areas: discovery, end-use experience, transaction tracking, enterprise diagnostics and analytics. It also easily monitors applications to ensure optimal performance to extend your hybrid management environment capabilities, to measure the customer experience from multiple locations and to further eliminate blind spots in your application environment.

IBM

Splunk AppDynamics enhances application performance monitoring with advanced diagnostics and real-time insights, offering seamless end-to-end transaction tracking and infrastructure visibility.

AppDynamics provides critical tools for businesses to analyze application behavior and performance. Through innovative features like transaction snapshot analysis and adaptable dashboards, users can quickly identify and address issues, ensuring high levels of system uptime and efficiency. It is designed to support complex environments including Kubernetes and AWS, enhancing user experience by detecting performance issues early. Despite needing improvements in network monitoring and integration, it remains a robust option for tracking application health.

What are the key features of AppDynamics?

Real-time Performance Monitoring: Offers immediate insights into application behavior.
Business Transaction Tracking: Tracks transactions from start to finish for bottleneck identification.
JVM Memory Monitoring: Provides detailed JVM metrics and memory use information.
Deep-dive Diagnostics: Enables in-depth analysis of code and stack traces.
Adaptable Dashboards: Customizable views for better data interpretation.

How does AppDynamics benefit users?

Improved Incident Resolution: Faster problem detection and solution implementation.
Enhanced Application Performance: Real-time monitoring optimizes system operations.
Comprehensive Visibility: Provides a full view of application infrastructure.
Informed Decision Making: Detailed analytics guide performance improvements.
Customer Satisfaction: Enhances user experience through faster issue resolutions.

In industries like financial services and e-commerce, AppDynamics facilitates performance tracking across distributed systems, optimizing infrastructure to meet consumer demands. It excels in environments needing precise transaction monitoring and is pivotal in delivering high value and satisfaction.

Splunk

Sample Customers

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. Splunk AppDynamics

July 2025

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