IBM Instana Observability vs Splunk AppDynamics comparison

IBM and Splunk are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #44 with an average rating of 8.0, while Splunk is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. IBM holds a 0.4% mindshare in APM, compared to Splunk’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

IBM Instana Observability

Read 3 IBM Instana Observability reviews

514 Views
379 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Splunk AppDynamics

Read 246 Splunk AppDynamics reviews

13,704 Views
8,634 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM Instana Observability

Splunk AppDynamics

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 6, 2025

Splunk AppDynamics and IBM Instana Observability compete in the IT operations observability solutions category. IBM Instana holds a slight advantage with its advanced capabilities, while Splunk AppDynamics is a strong contender in terms of cost and support.

Features: Splunk AppDynamics offers full-stack observability, AI-driven insights, and automated root cause analysis. IBM Instana provides continuous discovery of infrastructure and microservices, high granularity data collection, and real-time data visualization, making it effective in dynamic environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Instana's agent-based deployment promotes faster implementation and easy configuration. Splunk AppDynamics requires a more complex setup with extensive configuration. IBM Instana is known for prompt support, while Splunk AppDynamics focuses on comprehensive guidance and resources.

Pricing and ROI: Splunk AppDynamics has a budget-friendly setup with scalable pricing models enhancing ROI, beneficial for large installations. IBM Instana, requiring higher investment, often justifies costs with superior features leading to better long-term ROI, appealing to businesses prioritizing advanced technology over initial cost.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Instana Observability vs. Splunk AppDynamics Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Instana Observability vs. Splunk AppDynamics

April 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 Instana Observability

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

44th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

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

246

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (4th), IT Operations Analytics (2nd), Mobile APM (2nd), Container Monitoring (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of IBM Instana Observability is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk AppDynamics is 4.7%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

Tomas Kim

Managing Director at BA Solutions

Not expensive and offers good performance

The most valuable feature of the solution is performance. A one-vendor solution serves as a good feature of the tool. In the IT industry, the IT support team has lots of vendors to contact. DB monitoring is done by one company, while WaaS monitoring is done by another and done by another company, which makes it really complicated for the IT team concerned about the security levels. The tool's main feature is that it is a one-vendor solution. The analysis done by the tool is a good feature. The tool is used as an open-source tool. The tool is growing, and new features are being added to the product.

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Muhammad Zeeshan Siddiqui

Head of Technology and Services at arwentech

Dynamic mapping enhances workflows that are user-friendly

One aspect that requires improvement is the agent. Without an agent, gathering sufficient information on applications is challenging. Additionally, the agent sometimes creates performance issues in production environments. If AppDynamics could develop a means to monitor without an agent, it could significantly improve application performance and reduce potential problems. Moving to an agentless solution, like what some competitors are doing, would be beneficial.

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 most valuable feature of the solution is performance."

"The solution has a one-second resolution, giving you the status of your application within one second."

"The most valuable features of IBM Instana are its quick data collection and analytics after installing the agent."

"You have a live view of what happens when something goes wrong on the production or support side. You don't have to scramble and do guesswork. We can identify the query that creates the bottleneck or slows the performance of the database system. It can give you points on how to debug and fix the system."

"This solution is easy to use and very powerful, it is a complete tool for us."

"The solution helps us with performance testing by enabling us to monitor applications."

"The transaction snapshots are the most valuable feature of AppDynamics"

"The most valuable feature is the ability to take a report, and in particular, a visual, and link it to actual application performance and then the consequences. This means you can show how an incident or action has an effect on the business."

"The solution's most valuable features are its end-user monitoring and AI functionalities."

"I think the performance and interface are the most important features."

"The platform is reliable in identifying the core system issues."

More Splunk AppDynamics pros

Cons

"The solution should include log management and improve reporting and integration with Cognos."

"The product's initial setup phase is not very easy."

"One area that requires improvement is related to the automation part, specifically automated actions like sending SMS."

"The end-user experience is not really good because we can't catch all of the transactions. We only can catch the full stack of flow transactions, but I think that this is caused by the technology they use. If they will catch every transaction, it will cause a very big load on the performance of applications. The monitoring of all transactions needs improvement."

"SQL statement monitoring"

"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."

"The cloud licensing needs to be improved. It's quite pricey."

"The tool should provide information like the number of connections and processes utilized in real time."

"I would like to have customizable dashboards to use when I am monitoring certain applications."

"AppDynamics Database Monitoring would be a better product if it could support new technology, such as cloud technology. Even Dynatrace lacks support for newer technologies."

"Splunk AppDynamics provides an end-to-end view of the application but misses the infrastructure part, which is crucial."

More Splunk AppDynamics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is reasonable compared to that of its competitors like Dynatrace."

"The tool's cost is normal as per the market. The tool is not expensive."

"It would be better if there were more solutions incorporated into the base price. "

"The pricing model for AppDynamics could be better. You have to subscribe to a yearly or a three-year licensing, which isn't very handy. The solution is one of the most expensive in the market today."

"I would say the solution is affordable because it is widely used across financial service sectors."

"Take into consideration what you get for specific pricing models and how much it costs to add on things you may need later."

"There were no added costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"Pricing is based on the size of the deployment."

"The product is a bit expensive compared to other tools."

"We have two different licensing models for this solution. One of them is the agent based model, which requires payment per agent. The other is an infrastructure based model, where the price is based on the CPU core. For the infrastructure model wholesale level pricing applies. All of the up to date licensing prices for this product are available on the manufacturers website."

More Splunk AppDynamics pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Hospitality Company

Educational Organization

48%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Instana Observability?

The tool's cost is normal as per the market. The tool is not expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Instana Observability?

The tool should offer more LDR AI models. The monitoring is just a status, but the next level of a monitoring solution is to prevent an accident or stop an accident status. The solution should be t...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Instana Observability?

Before IBM, I ordered our company's engineer to have a look at the tool and test it. I think it was two years ago, the transfer to IBM happened in our company. At the beginning, IBM Instana Observa...

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

Comparisons

Elastic Observability vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 41% of the time

Grafana vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 17% of the time

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 11% of the time

BMC TrueSight Operations Management vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 8% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Instana Observability Competitors

Dynatrace vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 15% of the time

Datadog vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 10% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 8% of the time

New Relic vs Splunk AppDynamics

Compared 7% 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

April 2025

Download IBM Instana Observability product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk AppDynamics

April 2025

Download Splunk AppDynamics product report

Overview

IBM Instana Observability is a versatile tool tailored for real-time monitoring and management of applications, especially in complex cloud environments. It excels in automated root cause analysis, improving system reliability, and dynamic graphing for visualizing system interconnections. With features like real-time alerting, it enhances operational efficiency and aids in prompt issue resolution, making it invaluable for maintaining robust IT operations.

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

Information Not Available

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 Instana Observability vs. Splunk AppDynamics

April 2025

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