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AWS Auto Scaling vs IBM Instana Observability comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
AWS Auto Scaling optimizes costs and delivers significant ROI, reducing expenses for businesses and proving its financial value.
Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Instana Observability boosts efficiency with quick issue identification, reduces costs, and improves response times and application performance.
It provides a single pane of glass from which I can see what is happening with all the servers in my infrastructure, which saves time.
UNIX/LINUX, ENTERPRISE SERVER AND STORAGE ADMINISTRATOR at Fidelity Bank Plc
It made a notable difference from when we were almost blind to being able to respond to calls immediately.
Software engineer at EJADA
If we have a monitoring tool, we can save our transactions and see the performance of the application using MTTR and MTTD.
Technical Manager, Consulting at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.4
Users praise AWS Auto Scaling's customer service for being efficient and helpful, despite occasional slow response times.
Sentiment score
6.4
IBM Instana support is mixed, with varied responsiveness, reliance on local teams, and average ratings between five and six.
AWS support is very good.
AWS Cloud at AeonX Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
They are very slow to respond and integrate new features.
DevOps engineer at Yara International
IBM support for Instana is responsive and helpful.
UNIX/LINUX, ENTERPRISE SERVER AND STORAGE ADMINISTRATOR at Fidelity Bank Plc
We did have experiences where a significant issue arose during implementation, often involving compatibility problems with JavaScript libraries used by IBM Instana Observability.
Technical Manager at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
AWS Auto Scaling offers easy, robust scalability for medium to large enterprises, efficiently handling user increases and traffic spikes.
Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Instana Observability excels in scalability for enterprises, supporting microservices, with positive user reviews and efficient growth handling.
Scalability is impressive, as it allowed us to go from 1,000 to 10,000 active users within a week during a traffic spike.
AWS Cloud Re-Start Program Specialist at Orange RDC (Congo)
More innovations are coming in every day, so it is scalable and more applications are becoming container-based.
UNIX/LINUX, ENTERPRISE SERVER AND STORAGE ADMINISTRATOR at Fidelity Bank Plc
IBM Instana Observability demonstrates scalability, especially in dynamic, distributed environments such as microservices and Kubernetes.
Technical Manager, Consulting at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
5.9
AWS Auto Scaling is stable and reliable, though occasional scaling delays and server issues require effective deployment and management.
Sentiment score
8.4
IBM Instana Observability is rated high in stability, with users consistently praising its reliable and steady performance.
 

Room For Improvement

AWS Auto Scaling requires faster launches, better usability, improved documentation, enhanced security, automation, scalability, cost optimization, and clearer instructions.
IBM Instana Observability needs enhancements in log management, AI models, user interface speed, support, and cost monitoring.
This complexity led me to migrate to CloudFormation, which simplifies the deployment process.
AWS Cloud Re-Start Program Specialist at Orange RDC (Congo)
It requires a downtime before deploying the Auto Scaling group.
AWS Cloud at AeonX Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
If you could add more training on how to use it correctly and on the functions that I haven't used before or some people have not really used before, that would help.
DevOps Engineer Intern at HNG Tech
I had many false positives with IBM Instana Observability. Then I fixed the filters and it became more accurate on the errors reported.
Software engineer at EJADA
One main issue I found with IBM Instana Observability was the customer support, which was very poor when we needed some features to be enabled or integrated into IBM Instana Observability sensors.
DevOps engineer at Yara International
It is not open-source, and I have to be a partner to get more access to the products.
UNIX/LINUX, ENTERPRISE SERVER AND STORAGE ADMINISTRATOR at Fidelity Bank Plc
 

Setup Cost

AWS Auto Scaling costs vary; perceived as reasonable or expensive, depending on scaling extent, application needs, and usage.
IBM Instana offers competitive pricing in India, with a straightforward model and simple implementation despite varying cost perceptions.
The pricing of Auto Scaling is medium range, neither high nor low.
AWS Cloud at AeonX Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
I find the cost of IBM Instana Observability to be very affordable compared to competitors because the pricing mechanism is based on the host that we monitor, unlike other competitors such as DataDog and Dynatrace, whose pricing is based on other factors.
Technical Manager, Consulting at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is not that costly, especially since we only use two instances.
Software engineer at EJADA
I think the pricing is good and I do not think it is high.
DevOps at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

AWS Auto Scaling offers automated scaling, integrates with CloudWatch, supports Kubernetes, and enhances performance through efficient resource management.
IBM Instana Observability enhances performance with real-time insights, APM trace capabilities, and integration features to improve operational efficiency.
During peak traffic times, the Auto Scaling group can be deployed to ensure that the client works well, and the traffic remains average.
AWS Cloud at AeonX Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
The automation aspect where you can automate it to whatever you want is what I value the most about Auto Scaling.
DevOps Engineer Intern at HNG Tech
Its automatic scaling capabilities are very useful.
AWS Cloud Re-Start Program Specialist at Orange RDC (Congo)
IBM Instana Observability has positively impacted my organization by making it easy to observe the entire infrastructure under one platform, which was the biggest advantage of onboarding onto IBM Instana Observability.
DevOps engineer at Yara International
IBM Instana Observability has impacted my organization positively in that it has helped me find out what the issue is in real-time because of its one-second granularity and its ability to identify issues as quickly as possible.
UNIX/LINUX, ENTERPRISE SERVER AND STORAGE ADMINISTRATOR at Fidelity Bank Plc
With multiple servers and multiple applications, IBM Instana Observability allows us to resolve issues very quickly because we immediately know that a disk is full, the storage is full, or the database is down.
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Auto Scaling
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
14th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Instana Observability
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
AI Observability (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of AWS Auto Scaling is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Instana Observability is 0.9%, up from 0.3% 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 (%)
AWS Auto Scaling0.4%
IBM Instana Observability0.9%
Other98.7%
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Ishaka Michael Efe - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer Intern at HNG Tech
Automation has simplified traffic management and improved workload efficiency
I'm not really sure what improvements I would want to see in AWS Auto Scaling because I haven't really used it extensively or explored most of it. To the extent that I've used it so far, I think it is very good. I can't really say for certain what should be improved because I haven't really explored it a lot. However, what I've been using it for has been very good. If there could be training for AWS Auto Scaling, that would be fine. If you could add more training on how to use it correctly and on the functions that I haven't used before or some people have not really used before, that would help. If there could be more documentation and training on it, that would be beneficial.
FranciscoGálvez - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Manager at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Observability has improved collaboration and predicts failures across distributed services
From my perspective, IBM Instana Observability is quite technical. Compared to some competitors, it offers an abundance of information about system performance but lacks planning or capacity planning information. You do not receive reports with recommendations; instead, it provides only the technical layer. Other companies, like Compuware, give more functional information about your environment, while IBM Instana Observability provides only limited functional insights. This means you often must interpret the data independently. Unlike other tools that can offer recommendations to save resources or costs, IBM Instana Observability does not provide that functionality. On the bright side, it is much more affordable than some other options, but it isn't complete. If you want full functionality with IBM Instana Observability, you also need to acquire other products for additional insights in monitoring areas, such as networking monitoring tools or similar products. For instance, we often recommend Turbonomic, which provides complementary insights. One potential feature that could improve IBM Instana Observability is the ability to translate KPIs into monetary terms. It would be interesting to have a product that integrates IBM Instana Observability with Turbonomic, as Turbonomic can utilize data from IBM Instana Observability to inform you about unnecessary spending and suggest whether you can consolidate servers or optimize containers for quicker response times. Implementing some level of simulation or capacity planning would greatly enhance the current capabilities of IBM Instana Observability.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Auto Scaling?
The tool's most valuable feature is vertical auto-scaling, which is easy to use. However, most companies now prefer horizontal scaling. I set up the health check integration to monitor CPU usage. W...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Auto Scaling?
I'm not sure about the pricing aspect of AWS Auto Scaling or the cost of it.
What needs improvement with AWS Auto Scaling?
I'm not really sure what improvements I would want to see in AWS Auto Scaling because I haven't really used it extensively or explored most of it. To the extent that I've used it so far, I think it...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Instana Observability?
I would evaluate the implementation process of IBM Instana Observability as not complex at all because you pay the license, and IBM takes care of everything. The only problem we occasionally face, ...
What needs improvement with IBM Instana Observability?
From my perspective, IBM Instana Observability is quite technical. Compared to some competitors, it offers an abundance of information about system performance but lacks planning or capacity planni...
What is your primary use case for IBM Instana Observability?
I usually recommend IBM Instana Observability for companies in the academic environment, as I have been working in a consultancy company for the last three years, where one of our customers built t...
 

Also Known As

AWS Auto-Scaling
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Auto Scaling vs. IBM Instana Observability and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.