OpenObserve vs Datadog
90% Cost Savings. OpenTelemetry-native. Deployment Flexibility. See why teams are 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.
Feature comparison
Modern, full-stack observability
| Feature | Datadog | OpenObserve | Reference Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logs | ✓ | ✓ | Learn How O2 Outperforms |
| Metrics | ✓ | ✓ | Read More |
| Traces | ✓ | ✓ | Read More |
| Dashboards | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Alerts | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| OpenTelemetry Native | Partial | ✓ Full | - |
| Per-Host Pricing | $15-27/host/mo | $0 | - |
| Custom Metrics | $0.05/metric | Unlimited, included | - |
| Self-Hosted Option | ✗ | ✓ | - |
| Open Source | ✗ | ✓ | - |
| Bring Your Own Storage | ✗ | ✓ | - |
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 2 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.
Ready to See the Difference?
Get a personalized demo based on your current Datadog usage