IBM Instana Observability vs SolarWinds AppOptics comparison

IBM and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #41 with an average rating of 8.0, while SolarWinds is ranked #56. IBM holds a 0.6% mindshare in APM, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

IBM Instana Observability

Read 3 IBM Instana Observability reviews

750 Views
750 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds AppOptics

Read 9 SolarWinds AppOptics reviews

971 Views
573 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

IBM Instana Observability

SolarWinds AppOptics

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 10, 2025

SolarWinds AppOptics and IBM Instana Observability compete in application performance management. IBM Instana Observability may have the upper hand due to its robust feature set justifying a higher cost for those prioritizing comprehensive capabilities.

Features: SolarWinds AppOptics is known for high-resolution metrics, extensive integration options, and attractive pricing. IBM Instana Observability distinguishes itself with real-time automated application monitoring, instant feedback loops, and a comprehensive feature set fostering detailed observability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds AppOptics is recognized for straightforward deployment and solid customer service, which eases onboarding. IBM Instana Observability, while more complex, offers a comprehensive support system aiding initial setups and long-term management.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds AppOptics is more budget-friendly, making it appealing for cost-sensitive organizations looking for essential monitoring capabilities, with competitive pricing starting from $9.99 per month. IBM Instana Observability, with potentially higher ROI, suits larger enterprises requiring detailed, advanced features at a higher cost.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Instana Observability vs. SolarWinds AppOptics Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Instana Observability vs. SolarWinds AppOptics

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

IBM Instana Observability

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

41st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds AppOptics

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

56th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (58th), Cloud Monitoring Software (43rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of IBM Instana Observability is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds AppOptics is 0.3%, up 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

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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John Yuko

Assistant Manager ICT - Projects at I&M Bank Ltd

Unique features allow consolidating and combing metrics into a single dashboard, but don't monitor mobile solutions

I would like to see more granular information provided on Unix applications. Also, the integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward in terms having an agent to retrieve your credentials rather than having to enter or save them for SSH on SolarWinds. From the outset, we had to set some commands to log into the search console, and they are saved on the solution, which presents a challenge in terms of exposure. The solution is unable to monitor APK solutions completely because we'd then be forced to break down the APK and provide the APIs or go through the source code. They don't have a module that can analyze an application that is maybe under-used.

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

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

"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."

"The reporting of the solution is very good."

"The sum solution, NTA, and DPA."

"Some of the most valuable features of SolarWinds are the topology discovery and network performance analysis."

"Technical support is always live and they're supportive."

"The product has a great dashboard."

"I have found the most valuable feature is application performance management."

Cons

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

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

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

"I would like to see more integration with other tools that are available on the market."

"AppOptics would benefit from having a much more centralized view."

"The solution should be more user-friendly."

"The implementation needs improvement. It needs to get modernized with the newer cloud scenario in both public and private deployment models."

"The integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward."

"In terms of the technology, I think they need to put some more advanced troubleshooting into SolarWinds, in terms of AI capabilities. That's the next generation, especially in the cases of APIs which have already adopted AI capabilities into their products."

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."

"I believe the current licensing cost is reasonable."

"Since it's a negotiable rate, I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."

"Mostly, it's a perpetual license. We don't have any customers using the subscription right now—it's mostly a perpetual license that the customers purchase. The licensing is based on the number of elements, whereas other solutions are node-based."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Hospitality Company

Government

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

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.

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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...

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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...

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Comparisons

Elastic Observability vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 27% of the time

Grafana vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 14% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 10% of the time

Azure Monitor vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 10% of the time

ServiceNow Cloud Observability vs IBM Instana Observability

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Instana Observability Competitors

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 26% of the time

New Relic vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 23% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 11% of the time

Zenoss Cloud vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability vs SolarWinds AppOptics

Compared 7% of the time

More SolarWinds AppOptics Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2025

Download IBM Instana Observability product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2025

Download SolarWinds AppOptics product report

Also Known As

No data available

AppOptics, SolarWinds TraceView, Librato

Overview

IBM Instana Observability offers real-time application monitoring and management, designed for automation and intelligence on modern cloud-based environments.

IBM Instana Observability provides deep visibility into application performance, empowering businesses with automated root cause analysis and intelligent alerts to optimize cloud-native applications. It captures and visualizes comprehensive health metrics to enhance operational efficiency across distributed systems, making it an invaluable tool for IT and DevOps teams seeking to improve application reliability and performance.

What are the key features of IBM Instana Observability?

Automatic Discovery: Identifies application components and dependencies without manual configuration.
Real-Time Monitoring: Delivers live data for instant visibility across application metrics.
AI-Powered Root Cause Analysis: Quickly pinpoints issues to reduce downtime and enhance user experience.
Intelligent Alerts: Provides actionable insights, minimizing false alarms.
Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with popular DevOps tools.

What benefits should users look for when evaluating IBM Instana Observability?

Increased Productivity: Reduces manual monitoring efforts, enhancing team efficiency.
Enhanced Performance: Improves application responsiveness and user satisfaction.
Cost Efficiency: Optimizes resource allocation, leading to reduced operational costs.
Scalable Solutions: Adapts to growing business needs, ensuring long-term value.
Detailed Insights: Offers granularity in monitoring, aiding in swift decision-making.

IBM Instana Observability is widely adopted across industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, addressing specific challenges in each sector. In finance, it helps manage high-volume transactions with minimal latency. Healthcare benefits from its compliance support and reliable data monitoring. Retail industries utilize it for maintaining seamless customer interactions and operational uptime, ensuring business continuity and customer satisfaction.

IBM

AppOptics is a SaaS-based simple, powerful and affordable Infrastructure & Application monitoring for custom on-premises, cloud, and hybrid systems.

Your business runs on applications, and when they go down or run slowly, it can impact the business in lost productivity, customers, or revenue. To add to the complexity, your IT environment is changing, and workloads can be spread across data centers, and cloud resources. You need to monitor the availability and performance of applications and infrastructure, regardless of where they are, so you can identify potential issues early and address them before they impact users

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

TraxoCovea Insurance BTE TechnologyDatarista

Buyer's Guide

IBM Instana Observability vs. SolarWinds AppOptics

July 2025

Free Report: IBM Instana Observability vs. SolarWinds AppOptics

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Instana Observability vs. SolarWinds AppOptics and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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