OpenObserve vs Datadog
OpenObserve is the open-source Datadog alternative. DevZero cut observability costs 4x after switching; see why teams are moving.
DevZero cut observability costs 4x after switching.
TRUSTED BY INNOVATIVE TEAMS
Why teams switch from Datadog
The many reasons that teams are making the switch
No per-host pricing
$15-27/host/month adds up fast! OpenObserve's pricing is fully ingest-based.
No custom metrics fees
Datadog charges $0.05 per custom metric. That adds up fast. OpenObserve includes unlimited custom metrics with no extra charges.
No vendor lock-in
No proprietary agents to install or maintain. Use the OTel collector and enjoy complete observability control.
Logs, metrics, traces unified
One platform for everything. No hopping around from tool-to-tool.
Bring your own storage
Use S3, GCS, Azure Blob, or MinIO. Your data stays in your cloud, under your control.
Enterprise-secure
SOC2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified. SSO, RBAC, and audit logs included.
See how OpenObserve replaces Datadog
Get a personalized walkthrough and see how much you'd save moving off Datadog's per-host, per-GB pricing.
- 30-minute personalized walkthrough
- No credit card required
- See your real migration path from Datadog
Feature comparison
Modern, full-stack observability
| Feature | Datadog | OpenObserve | Reference Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature parity: logs, metrics, traces, dashboards, alerts, pipelines | ✓ | ✓ | LogsMetricsTracesDashboardsAlertsPipelines |
| Open Source | ✗ | ✓ | Github ( 18.5K) |
| OpenTelemetry Native | Partial | ✓ Full | Cost Comparison |
| Per-Host Pricing | $15-27/host/mo | $0 | Datadog pricing |
| Custom Metrics | $0.05/metric | Unlimited, included | Datadog pricing |
| Self-Hosted Option | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Bring Your Own Storage | ✗ | ✓ | |
| IAM & SSO | Enterprise tier only | Included in Enterprise/Cloud with no premium cost | Read More |
Migrating from Datadog
Switching is easier than you think, especially if you're already using OpenTelemetry.
Point your OTel collectors to OpenObserve
Already using OpenTelemetry? Just update your exporter endpoint. No re-instrumentation required.
Run both platforms in parallel
Send data to both Datadog and OpenObserve during transition. Validate everything works before cutting over.
Migrate dashboards and alerts
Recreate your critical dashboards and alerting rules. Our team can help accelerate this process.
"I don't worry about cost. I don't worry about performance because we really kicked the tires on this - we took it out on the racetrack and ran it around. "
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about switching from Datadog to OpenObserve
OpenObserve helps teams reduce observability costs in multiple ways, first our platform has proven to provide 140x lower storage costs compared to traditional observability platforms. The exact savings depend on your data volume, retention requirements, and current Datadog SKUs, but most teams see 70-90% cost reductions. Request a demo and we can provide a custom cost comparison based on your current usage.
Yes. If you're already using OpenTelemetry for instrumentation, migration is as simple as pointing your collectors to OpenObserve. If you're using Datadog's proprietary agents, you'll need to switch to OTel collectors, but your application code stays unchanged. OpenObserve is OpenTelemetry-native from the ground up.
OpenObserve provides comprehensive coverage for logs, metrics, traces, and frontend monitoring. While Datadog has some niche features from years of development, OpenObserve covers the core observability needs that 90%+ of teams require. Our comparison blogs above detail specific feature differences across each category.
Most teams complete migration in days to a few weeks, not months. The timeline depends on your environment complexity and how many custom dashboards and alerts need to be recreated. Teams already on OpenTelemetry can often start receiving data in OpenObserve within hours.
Yes. OpenObserve is SOC2 Type II certified and ISO 27001 compliant. We process over 3 PB of data daily across thousands of deployments, including Fortune 100 enterprises. Enterprise features include RBAC, SSO, sensitive data redaction, and dedicated support.
Yes. Unlike Datadog, OpenObserve offers both cloud and self-hosted options. The open-source edition is available under AGPL-3.0. You can run it on your own infrastructure with your own object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob, MinIO), giving you full control over your data.
OpenObserve: the open-source Datadog alternative
An open-source, OpenTelemetry-native unified observability platform. DevZero cut observability costs 4x after switching from Datadog. Also evaluating other tools? See how OpenObserve compares to New Relic, Dynatrace, Grafana.
- 140x lower storage cost
- OpenTelemetry-native
- Deployment flexibility: cloud or self-hosted