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IBM Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM comparison

IBM and Instana are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #52 with an average rating of 7.0, while Instana is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.7. IBM holds a 0.3% mindshare in APM, compared to Instana’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 62% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Instana users who would recommend it.
IBM Application Performance...
Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews
  • 803 Views
  • 460 Comparison Views
62% willing to recommend
Instana Dynamic APM
Read 14 Instana Dynamic APM reviews
  • 2,329 Views
  • 1,770 Comparison Views
84% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

IBM Application Performance Management and Instana Dynamic APM are leading application performance management tools. Instana tends to have the upper hand for its advanced features and perceived value despite higher costs, according to user reviews.

Features:IBM Application Performance Management is appreciated for comprehensive monitoring, real-time analytics, and robust performance tracking. Instana Dynamic APM is recognized for automation, AI-powered insights, and advanced in-depth analysis capabilities.

Room for Improvement:IBM needs to enhance dashboard customization, improve integration capabilities, and increase the flexibility of its analytic tools. Instana could benefit from better documentation, more granular control over settings, and additional API enhancements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM Application Performance Management offers ease of deployment with strong customer support, beneficial for quick setups. Instana's deployment is efficient but needs more initial configuration. Users rate IBM's support more highly.

Pricing and ROI:IBM Application Performance Management has higher initial setup costs but provides good ROI through reliable performance. Instana is more expensive but is seen as worth the investment due to its superior feature set, offering a valuable ROI with its comprehensive capabilities.

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To learn more, read our detailed IBM Application Performance Management vs. Instana Dynamic APM Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
IBM Application Performance Management vs. Instana Dynamic APM
June 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
52nd
Average Rating
6.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Instana Dynamic APM
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
19th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 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 Instana Dynamic APM is 1.0%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Tamiru - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Muhammad Jawwad Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
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

"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."
"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."
"IBM Application Performance Management helped us increased our response time by 80% and cost 60% less."
"It's easy to use."
"The initial setup was straightforward and took minimal effort."
"The most valuable feature is the breakdown that it provides, such as a description of the fields for a particular transaction."
"I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten."
"We can easily perform root cause analysis using the tool."
"Instana is very fast to implement and deploy because the dashboards are automated and don't need configuration."
"Visually, it's very good. It provides everything needed for dynamic detection, which is very useful."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Instana Dynamic APM is auto-instrumentation."
"With auto-discovery, we didn't need to consider much. We just installed the agent on the host and it was able to detect everything from the host level up to the service level, for whatever stack was installed, and that includes containers and dockers."
"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."
"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."
More Instana Dynamic APM 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."
"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."
"It's still missing some platforms. For example, if you look to applications itself, it is missing the interface."
"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."
"The stability is not great and should be better."
"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'd always like to see additional functionalities."
"Sometimes, the issue arises from user changes, such as adjusting firewall settings without proper consideration, leading to compatibility issues within the network monitoring."
"The auto-remediation features must be improved."
"New Relic has a better UI in terms of how it presents the data."
"They could improve the product’s dashboards and provide more dashboard options."
"While it is already quite good, there is room for improvement in terms of providing better functionality"
"The App Connect middleware does not integrate with or show corresponding sub nodes."
More Instana Dynamic APM cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to other vendors."
"It's reasonably priced and manageable, especially for individuals who grasp the significance of application monitoring."
"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."
"The solution is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"The pricing is $1,200 per year which is a bit high compared to other vendors."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

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
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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 22% of the time
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Splunk AppDynamics vs IBM Application Performance Management
Compared 14% of the time
Datadog vs IBM Application Performance Management Logo
Datadog vs IBM Application Performance Management
Compared 12% of the time
IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management Logo
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 Logo
Broadcom DX Application Performance Management vs IBM Application Performance Management
Compared 8% of the time
More IBM Application Performance Management Competitors
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 48% of the time
Splunk AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Splunk AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 17% of the time
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Datadog vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 9% of the time
Broadcom DX Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Broadcom DX Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 5% of the time
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 4% of the time
More Instana Dynamic APM Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
June 2025
IBM Application Performance Management reportDownload IBM Application Performance Management product report
Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM
June 2025
Instana Dynamic APM reportDownload Instana Dynamic APM 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

Instana’s Enterprise Observability Platform, powered by automated Application Performance Monitoring, discovers and maps all services, infrastructure, and their inter-dependencies automatically. Instana ingests all observability metrics, traces each request, profiles every process, and updates application dependency maps in real-time to deliver the context and actionable feedback needed by Dev+Ops to optimize application performance, enable innovation, and mitigate risk to help them add value and efficiency to the pipeline. Learn more at https://instana.com.

Instana
 

Sample Customers

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor
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
Buyer's Guide
IBM Application Performance Management vs. Instana Dynamic APM
June 2025
Free Report: IBM Application Performance Management vs. Instana Dynamic APM
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We monitor all Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.