Trusted by more than
2,500 customers globally
Why teams choose Sumo Logic
$0 ingest and credit licensing
Flex Licensing decouples log ingest from budgets, eliminating data gaps during troubleshooting
One integrated log analytics platform
A single source of truth for development, security and operations teams
Cloud-native SIEM
Speed up incident investigations by automatically triaging alerts and correlating threats through log analytics
| Expand all | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|---|---|---|
|
Monitoring and troubleshooting workflows
Both Sumo Logic and Datadog provide unified visibility across metrics, logs, and traces with powerful dashboards. The key differentiator is Sumo Logic’s unstructured-data and schema-on-read search, turning messy signals into fast answers–especially under incident pressure. | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|
Log analytics (unstructured data)
Both platforms deliver scalable log analytics with pipelines and fast search. The key differentiator is Sumo Logic’s real-time, schema-on-read engine and pattern detection that cut through format chaos–fewer dead ends, faster root cause. | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|
OpenTelemetry & collection
Both support OpenTelemetry alongside native agents. The key differentiator is Sumo Logic’s OTel-first, vendor-neutral pipelines that make standardization stick and keep you portable as architectures evolve. | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|
Cost model & predictability
Both Sumo Logic and Datadog offer controls for retention and performance. Key differentiator: Sumo Logic’s Flex Pricing = $0 ingest/index for logs + pay-for-analytics/storage, so teams keep data on and avoid surprise overages. | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|
Security (Cloud SIEM)
Both Sumo Logic and Datadog offer security features to complement monitoring. The key differentiator is Sumo Logic’s cloud-native SIEM within the same platform–enabling shared context and a single investigation timeline for SecOps and DevOps (with optional automation). | Sumo Logic | Datadog |
|
Best fit
Both Sumo Logic and Datadog can address common monitoring needs across infra and apps. The key differentiator is Sumo Logic’s logs-first, schema-on-read analytics, searchable long-term archives, and cloud-native SIEM in the same platform–simplifying audits, forensics, and mixed on-prem/cloud troubleshooting while keeping costs predictable. | Sumo Logic DevOps + Security in one platform | Datadog Monitoring-first; add security via adjacent tools |
Strong Weak
Why Sumo Logic?
Log Analytics
Real-time, schema-on-read search and pattern detection for messy, high-volume logs.
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Correlate metrics, logs, and traces quickly – with OTel-first collection and open pipelines.
Security
Cloud-native SIEM and optional automation in the same platform as your troubleshooting.
Platform
One multi-tenant SaaS for monitoring, troubleshooting, and security–centralized pipelines, RBAC, and governance.
Make app reliability and security a team sport
Sumo Logic’s monitoring and troubleshooting suite provides:
- Unified monitoring across services and infra
Correlate traces, logs, and metrics–including unstructured data. - Powerful query language and user-friendly UX
Explore all data and find the unknown unknowns using pattern detection with AI/ML. - Open source collection
Works with OpenTelemetry and popular open-source collectors.
Sumo Logic’s licensing model differs from Datadog:
Predictable, Transparent Licensing
- Predictable
Eliminates license waste and on-demand overage bills. - Transparent
Single licensing model – no need to license every product or functionality. - Flex Licensing
Cost-effectively index all your data without sacrificing performance on our secure and compliant platform.
Sumo Logic supports the entire spectrum of security use cases:
Security use cases, covered
- Logs for Security
Out-of-the-box apps and integrations for security and compliance content, for both cloud and on-premise data sources. - Cloud SIEM
Detections, correlation, and investigations across your environment. - Automation
Orchestration and response to accelerate remediation.
FAQ
Still have questions?
Sumo Logic offers unified observability and security on a single platform, with native support for SIEM, SOAR, and unstructured data analysis—capabilities not found in Datadog.
Yes. Sumo Logic has native support for OpenTelemetry, enabling open standards-based instrumentation and avoiding vendor lock-in.
Absolutely. Sumo Logic was designed to process and search both structured and unstructured data at scale—ideal for modern environments and security use cases.
Sumo Logic’s Flex Licensing decouples data ingestion from cost, so you can ingest all your data without worrying about budget overruns. You pay based on what you use, not just what you collect.
Yes. Sumo Logic provides free training, certifications, and support for users at all levels. Datadog charges for many of these services.
Sumo Logic supports regional compliance with data centers in the USA, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
Yes. Sumo Logic consolidates full-stack observability, security analytics, SIEM, and SOAR into one unified, cloud-native platform—reducing complexity and cost.
Most teams can get started in minutes using our pre-built integrations and dashboards. Our onboarding experience and free training help you see value fast.
Sumo Logic is trusted across regulated and data-intensive industries like financial services, healthcare, government, media, and technology. Its strengths in security analytics, compliance, and unstructured data processing make it ideal for organizations with complex observability and security requirements.
Yes. Sumo Logic offers hundreds of native integrations with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), security tools, CI/CD pipelines, and third-party services. It also supports OpenTelemetry, allowing seamless integration with existing observability standards and tools—without being locked into proprietary agents.
Both Sumo Logic and Datadog are FedRAMP Moderate authorized and maintain a strong set of security and compliance certifications, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI and HIPAA.
Where Sumo Logic differentiates is in data residency options across more regions (including Canada, Ireland, South Korea, and Australia) and its deep integration of security analytics and compliance features directly into the platform—making it particularly effective for regulated industries.
While Datadog performs well for telemetry in cloud-native environments, Sumo Logic provides greater flexibility, deeper log analytics, and more powerful correlation across data types, especially in complex or hybrid environments, including both structured and unstructured logs.
Many organizations that start with Datadog eventually switch to Sumo Logic due to Datadog’s high total cost of ownership and complex, opaque licensing model. With Sumo Logic, customers gain a more predictable pricing structure, flexible licensing, and native SIEM capabilities—all within a single, unified platform. This not only reduces cost but also simplifies operations and improves visibility across their environment.
Sumo Logic helps you monitor, troubleshoot and secure your applications with a single SaaS analytics platform.
- One SaaS analytics platform for observability and security
- Cloud-native architecture — dynamic scale
- Patented ML-based analytics — ingest and analyze any type of data fast
- Zero dollar log ingest eliminates data gaps during troubleshooting and root cause analysis
- Out-of-the-box audit and compliance, including PCI DSS, FedRAMP Moderate, HIPAA, SOC 2 Type 2
Sumo Logic applies best-in-class technologies and a rigorous process to put the safety of your data first, including encryption-at-rest and security attestations. Compliance attestations and certifications held by Sumo Logic include PCI, HIPAA, FISMA, SOC2, GDPR and FedRAMP — at no additional charge.
Try the leading analytics platform for reliable and secure cloud-native apps.
Sumo Logic. Championing your digital experience.
