Honeycomb Enterprise vs IBM Application Performance Management comparison

Honeycomb.io and IBM are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. Honeycomb.io is ranked #27 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #50 with an average rating of 7.0. Honeycomb.io holds a 1.6% mindshare in APM, compared to IBM’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Honeycomb.io users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 62% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Honeycomb Enterprise

Read 2 Honeycomb Enterprise reviews

2,534 Views
2,407 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Application Performance...

Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews

762 Views
739 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

Honeycomb Enterprise

IBM Application Performance...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

IBM Application Performance Management and Honeycomb Enterprise are competing products in the application performance monitoring category. Honeycomb Enterprise has an advantage with feature integration, while IBM Application Performance Management is more competitive in pricing and support.

Features: IBM Application Performance Management provides extensive monitoring, predictive capabilities, and automation suitable for organizations needing oversight. Honeycomb Enterprise offers real-time analytics, dynamic alerting, and advanced features for innovative insights, appealing to businesses focused on data-driven decision-making.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Application Performance Management ensures a seamless deployment process and robust customer support, making it accessible for diverse teams. Honeycomb Enterprise requires specialized training, which can slightly impact deployment efficiency but offers modern solutions.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Application Performance Management is cost-effective with a significant return on investment due to its comprehensive offerings. Honeycomb Enterprise, while potentially higher in initial cost, provides ROI with its cutting-edge insights and analytics capabilities, valuable for businesses ready to leverage its advanced features.

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

Buyer's Guide

Honeycomb Enterprise vs. IBM Application Performance Management

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

Honeycomb Enterprise

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

27th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AI Code Assistants (11th)

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Honeycomb Enterprise is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Application Performance Management is 0.3%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

Diego Gomes De Lima

Senior Software Engineer at SumUp

Easy to use and the dashboard is very intuitive

We faced some OpenTelemetry metrics lost between the communication from the service and the Honeycomb.io. I can't say if this is a Honeycomb.io issue or if there are some limitations in OpenTelemetry. Alerts are very helpful in Honeycomb.io, but we don't usually merge because we can compare queries with queries for making alerts. We can make alerts based on static numbers, which may block us from building alerts that could be generic enough or could be serviced.

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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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's most valuable features are the queries for the OpenTelemetry events and all the tracing."

"The solution's initial setup process was straightforward since we were getting enough support from Honeycomb.io's team."

"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."

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

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

"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."

"It's easy to use."

"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."

Cons

"We can make alerts based on static numbers, which may block us from building alerts that could be generic enough or could be serviced."

"The process of log scraping gets delayed on Honeycomb.io. At times, it gives false alerts to the application team."

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

"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."

"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."

"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."

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

"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."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

21%

Retailer

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Honeycomb.io?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Honeycomb.io?

The solution is mainly used for stack observability. It observes service behavior or any kind of failure that may be happening. The tool is also related to research. My company is working more on t...

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What advice do you have for others considering Honeycomb.io?

We set up Honeycomb.io on all the services so that we can have all the set traces of the communication between all the services inside the company. This helps us understand where it could be failin...

See all answers

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

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Compared 6% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs Honeycomb Enterprise

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

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Compared 21% of the time

Splunk AppDynamics vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 16% of the time

Datadog vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 14% of the time

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2025

Download Honeycomb Enterprise product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2025

IBM Application Performance Management report

Download IBM Application Performance Management product report

Also Known As

Grit

IBM APM

Overview

Honeycomb Enterprise is designed to optimize performance visibility, offering a robust platform for distributed system observability. It provides insights for complex data and aids in faster issue resolution, making it a valuable tool for IT professionals.

This tool is tailored for real-time data tracking and improving system performance efficiency. Enterprises benefit from its capacity to handle large-scale data, ensuring seamless operations and continuity. Honeycomb Enterprise helps teams to tackle data challenges head-on by delivering comprehensive analytics that enhance infrastructure reliability and performance metrics.

What Features Make Honeycomb Enterprise Stand Out?

High-Resolution Visibility: Enables detailed system monitoring to identify issues quickly.
Trace Analysis: Offers powerful tracing of distributed systems for in-depth insights.
Data Scalability: Manages extensive data sets effortlessly for better decision-making.
Real-Time Alerts: Provides instant alerts to preempt potential disruptions.
Collaboration Tools: Facilitates teamwork with integrated tools enhancing productivity.

What Benefits and ROI Can Users Expect?

Reduced Downtime: Faster detection and resolution of issues minimizes operational interruptions.
Cost Efficiency: Optimizes resources leading to lower operational costs.
Improved Decision Making: Enhanced data analytics lead to smarter business strategies.
Enhanced Productivity: Streamlined processes improve team efficiency and output quality.

In industries like finance, e-commerce, and technology, Honeycomb Enterprise implementations demonstrate its utility in managing complex data flows and optimizing system reliability. Businesses in these sectors leverage its capabilities to maintain high service standards and operational efficiency.

Honeycomb.io

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

Sample Customers

Clover Health, Eaze, Intercom, Fender

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor

Buyer's Guide

Honeycomb Enterprise vs. IBM Application Performance Management

July 2025

Free Report: Honeycomb Enterprise vs. IBM Application Performance Management

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