I’m no stranger to functions crashing, freezing, or throwing errors on the worst attainable instances. However relating to software monitoring itself, I needed to take a more in-depth take a look at what works.

Working at G2 means I get entry to one thing even higher than advertising claims: actual suggestions from IT operations groups, DevOps engineers, and SREs who use these instruments day by day.

So, I dug into over 20 functions and a whole bunch of opinions to seek out the greatest software efficiency monitoring instruments that customers persistently belief to maintain their methods operating easily. 

The outcome? This record of the highest 7 APM software program instruments, all backed by real-world experiences (not simply product guarantees).

7 greatest software efficiency monitoring instruments as per G2 opinions

Recognizing a difficulty is one factor. Fixing it earlier than it impacts customers is one other. The worldwide software efficiency monitoring market is projected to achieve USD 19.62 billion by 2030, reflecting how crucial this functionality has turn into. That’s the lens I used whereas evaluating these instruments: not simply whether or not they flag issues, however how successfully they assist groups resolve them earlier than customers ever discover.

I wasn’t on the lookout for platforms that simply throw dashboards on the drawback. I paid shut consideration to how briskly customers might hint points throughout companies, how clear the basis causes grew to become, and the way a lot pointless noise bought filtered out.

Some instruments packed in countless metrics, however left groups guessing. Others helped customers repair what mattered with out including new points. Those that made this record stood out as a result of they didn’t simply monitor apps; they helped folks keep forward of issues.

What I prioritized when evaluating APM instruments

I thought of the next components when evaluating the most effective software efficiency monitoring instruments.

• Finish-to-end distributed tracing: I prioritized instruments that might hint transactions throughout each a part of the applying stack, from frontend experiences to backend companies and databases. Having the ability to observe a consumer journey or API name in real-time throughout all dependencies is essential for diagnosing slowdowns and failures rapidly.
• Actual consumer monitoring (RUM): Seeing how actual customers expertise software efficiency, not simply simulated check visitors, provides crucial context. I gave additional weight to platforms that built-in RUM alongside backend metrics for a whole image of app well being.
• Clever alerting and noise discount: Nothing feels pressing when all the things generates an alert. I centered on instruments that provided sensible, context-driven alerting, surfacing significant points with out overwhelming groups with false positives or minor fluctuations.
• Software dependency mapping: In advanced, cloud-native environments, understanding how companies join (and the place bottlenecks emerge) is important. I seemed intently at how every platform robotically (and precisely) mapped service dependencies with out tons of handbook setup.
• Ease of setup and integration: Monitoring should not require months of onboarding or customized engineering work. I prioritized instruments that customers mentioned had been comparatively simple to deploy, configure, and combine with CI/CD pipelines, cloud suppliers, and third-party observability stacks.
• Log and metric correlation: Leaping between logs, metrics, and traces wastes time. The perfect APM platforms unify these indicators, permitting groups to troubleshoot sooner with out searching throughout a number of instruments.
• Scalability for high-volume environments: Lastly, I paid shut consideration to suggestions from bigger groups operating huge environments. The perfect instruments scaled simply, with out lagging, dropping hint knowledge, or crashing below heavy hundreds.

The record beneath comprises real consumer opinions from the APM software program class web page. To be included on this class, an answer should:

*This knowledge was pulled from G2 in 2025. Some opinions might have been edited for readability.

Dynatrace is a full-stack software efficiency monitoring platform designed to assist groups troubleshoot advanced methods sooner and extra clearly. Based mostly on what I noticed in G2 opinions, Dynatrace stood out for a way a lot it automates, from tracing consumer journeys to detecting anomalies throughout giant, dynamic apps. G2 Information additionally exhibits that 70% of its customers are enterprises, the best on this record, which displays its power in dealing with giant, dynamic environments.

One of many largest strengths customers known as out was PurePath, Dynatrace’s distributed tracing engine. It stands out as a result of it robotically traces each consumer transaction from begin to end throughout microservices, databases, APIs, and exterior dependencies with out handbook tagging or customized configuration. Which means groups get rapid context round what occurred and the place issues slowed down with out leaping between instruments. It helped scale back the time spent constructing and sustaining hint logic.

One other widespread theme was the Davis AI engine, which analyzes telemetry knowledge to floor potential issues and recommend seemingly root causes. Customers talked about that it helped filter out noise and gave them a centered place to begin for investigations, particularly throughout crucial incidents. As a substitute of simply getting alerts, groups mentioned they had been getting insights. Whereas not each suggestion was good, it was sufficient to shift how groups approached problem-solving.

Regardless of its depth, many opinions talked about that Dynatrace was comparatively simple to make use of, particularly for primary monitoring and visualization. The onboarding course of is well-documented, and a number of other customers famous that auto-discovery of companies labored out of the field with minimal setup. Dashboards and metrics had been accessible nearly instantly, which helped groups get early wins.

On the flip aspect, customization introduced some challenges. A couple of G2 customers talked about that constructing superior dashboards or tuning customized alerts required extra trial-and-error than anticipated, with a steeper studying curve the deeper they went.

Pricing was one other recurring theme. Whereas many reviewers felt Dynatrace delivered robust worth, others famous that prices scaled rapidly with utilization and weren’t at all times simple to forecast. Some even talked about trimming utilization to remain inside price range. That mentioned, enterprise groups typically felt the platform’s depth and automation justified the funding.

General, Dynatrace stands out as one of the superior APM options accessible, combining automation, AI-driven insights, and enterprise-scale observability in a approach that few rivals match.

What I dislike about Dynatrace:

• As soon as customers began customizing dashboards and metrics, the training curve jumped considerably. A number of opinions identified that the platform wasn’t as intuitive on the deeper ranges.
• Pricing stood out as a barrier for smaller groups. Many customers mentioned the platform had worth, however as utilization grew, it grew to become costly to take care of.

What G2 customers dislike about Dynatrace:

“They know the worth they supply and cost you accordingly. It may be very troublesome to digest the price of the device, and it may be troublesome to handle your group’s consumption of licensing.”

– Dynatrace Overview, Andrew H.

LogRocket helps groups perceive precisely how customers expertise their functions. It’s particularly widespread with product and engineering groups seeking to replay consumer periods, monitor efficiency metrics, and catch bugs that conventional APM instruments typically miss. Based on G2 Information, it holds the highest satisfaction rating on this record at 100%, reflecting how properly it resonates with product and engineering groups.

Essentially the most praised characteristic by far was session replay. Reviewers persistently talked about how priceless it was to observe a visible playback of what customers really did earlier than encountering a bug, whether or not that meant misclicks, kind errors, or UI glitches. As a substitute of counting on obscure consumer suggestions or guessing what might need gone flawed, groups might see the issue precisely because it occurred. Whereas session replay isn’t new, the way in which LogRocket ties it on to community logs and console errors made a noticeable distinction.

One other power that got here up typically was how properly LogRocket handles frontend efficiency metrics. It tracks key indicators like time-to-interactive, format shifts, and web page load delays from the angle of actual customers. G2 customers appreciated that efficiency and habits knowledge had been offered side-by-side, making it simpler to correlate slowdowns with real-world influence.

LogRocket additionally earned reward for surfacing actionable insights, not simply knowledge. Critiques highlighted the way it flagged irregular consumer behaviors or utilization patterns, making it simpler to identify when one thing within the product wasn’t working as supposed. Some talked about utilizing these insights to enhance onboarding flows, clear up complicated UI components, or catch failed conversions. Throughout use circumstances, it appeared to supply extra than simply error monitoring; it helped groups perceive why customers had been getting caught.

That mentioned, the session filtering and search course of was talked about as an space for enchancment. Some customers mentioned discovering a particular session or isolating a bug required too many steps, whereas others wished for extra superior filtering choices. A couple of G2 reviewers additionally talked about that the dashboards might really feel much less intuitive with out documentation, although they nonetheless discovered worth as soon as they realized the workflow.

Pricing was one other recurring theme. Smaller corporations particularly felt that LogRocket might get costly at scale. Whereas many agreed it offered clear worth, G2 customers famous that characteristic limitations at decrease tiers typically pushed groups towards increased plans before anticipated.

Even with these issues, LogRocket stays one of the extremely rated APM instruments, mixing session replay, error monitoring, and efficiency insights right into a bundle that delivers rapid readability for groups.

What I dislike about LogRocket:

• A number of customers mentioned filtering periods felt gradual, particularly when making an attempt to isolate particular flows or consumer sorts.
• Pricing was a recurring problem for smaller groups, these scaling utilization, or making an attempt to unlock superior options.

What G2 customers dislike about LogRocket:

“LogRocket can get a bit expensive, particularly as your app scales and session quantity will increase. Whereas the insights are top-notch, the pricing mannequin based mostly on periods quite than customers could make it more durable to foretell prices. Nonetheless, in case you have the price range, the worth it offers by way of sooner debugging and higher product choices is completely price it.”

– LogRocket Overview, Iván Sebastián M.

IBM Instana is designed to provide groups whole visibility into software efficiency. It’s typically utilized in environments the place velocity issues, from fast-moving DevOps groups to giant enterprises operating microservices.

Some of the constant factors of reward was Instana’s means to robotically monitor efficiency throughout the complete software stack. G2 customers incessantly highlighted how the platform detects companies, dependencies, and points with little handbook configuration. As a substitute of spending time tagging companies or creating advanced guidelines, groups mentioned Instana dealt with most of that work behind the scenes.  

One other theme was real-time monitoring. Many reviewers mentioned that probably the greatest issues about Instana was how rapidly it surfaced efficiency issues. In contrast to instruments that depend on batch knowledge or delayed alerts, Instana streams metrics with second-level granularity, which helps groups catch anomalies as they occur. I additionally observed a number of opinions that mentioned they relied on Instana throughout deployments to validate efficiency in close to real-time.

Customers additionally appreciated that the setup was comparatively painless. Many G2 opinions talked about how rapidly they might get visibility into their methods after deploying the agent. Instana’s auto-discovery course of was a big time-saver, particularly when working with advanced architectures like Kubernetes or multi-cloud environments. Even for groups with out a lot expertise in APM instruments, onboarding wasn’t a main hurdle.

The consumer interface was a recurring friction level. Some reviewers felt that dashboards weren’t as intuitive as they may very well be, with filtering and visualization requiring additional clicks. A couple of additionally famous occasional gradual load instances in particular views. Whereas not a dealbreaker, it did add a layer of complexity to day-to-day use.

Suggestions additionally surfaced a studying curve. Whereas preliminary setup was simple, some G2 customers mentioned configuring customized alerts or deciphering superior metrics required extra time and, in some circumstances, direct help from IBM. Documentation was useful for some, however felt incomplete for others.

All in all, Instana is without doubt one of the strongest APM instruments for groups that worth velocity and automation. It provides companies real-time efficiency insights with minimal setup.

What I dislike about IBM Instana:

• The UI doesn’t at all times sustain with the remainder of the platform; filtering and navigation had been generally flagged as difficult.
• A number of groups talked about that whereas setup was easy, configuring alerts or making customizations afterward concerned extra of a studying curve than anticipated.

What G2 customers dislike about IBM Instana:

“I believe the pliability of alerting and customized metrics may be enhanced. I would favor extra exact management as a CRO to set risk-specific thresholds and customise alerts for our explicit enterprise atmosphere.”

– IBM Instana Overview, Marawan E.

New Relic provides groups perception into software efficiency, infrastructure, and consumer expertise in a single place. Based mostly on what I noticed in G2 opinions, New Relic made the record for a way rapidly groups can begin monitoring what issues.

Many reviewers praised New Relic’s full-stack observability. It’s clear from the information that customers worth having the ability to monitor all the things from software traces and frontend efficiency to server well being and infrastructure metrics inside a single device. This consolidation helped scale back context switching, particularly for groups juggling a number of companies and environments.

A couple of G2 opinions talked about how useful it was to hint points throughout companies with out counting on a number of distributors or stitched-together tooling. Whether or not customers had been troubleshooting backend slowdowns or monitoring third-party API latency, New Relic appeared to ship a constant view of all the system.

Actual-time monitoring was additionally incessantly talked about. Many reviewers preferred how rapidly knowledge appeared in dashboards, making it simpler to answer points as they occurred. The second-level granularity allowed groups to catch efficiency dips and slowdowns with out ready for batch studies. A couple of customers additionally highlighted that alerts kicked in quick, giving them sufficient context to behave with out digging by means of logs manually.

The third standout characteristic was the customizable dashboard expertise. G2 opinions mentioned New Relic’s interface felt clear, versatile, and user-friendly. Customers preferred how they might tailor views based mostly on their workflows, whether or not infrastructure well being, service efficiency, or frontend UX. Some folks additionally known as out the power to arrange dashboards for particular groups or parts, which helped make the information extra actionable.

Configuration complexity got here up in various opinions. Whereas the platform’s depth was appreciated, some customers mentioned fine-tuning alerts or constructing detailed queries required additional trial and error. The fundamentals had been simple to arrange, however unlocking superior performance took extra effort than anticipated.

Pricing was additionally talked about as a small friction level. Some reviewers famous that whereas New Relic delivered clear worth, pricing tiers made it troublesome to entry all options with out stretching budgets. A couple of talked about chopping again utilization or limiting entry to remain inside plan limits.

Even with these trade-offs, G2 reviewers persistently describe New Relic as a robust and versatile APM platform that brings system-wide visibility into one dependable place.

What I dislike about New Relic:

• A number of opinions talked about that configuring alerts, queries, and views may very well be irritating with out steering, particularly for customized use circumstances.
• Pricing got here up repeatedly, with groups flagging issues about scalability, retention, and have entry in decrease tiers.

What G2 customers dislike about New Relic:

“Some integrations are more durable to arrange than they need to be. Whereas New Relic helps a variety of instruments, the documentation can really feel outdated or assume an excessive amount of prior data. I’ve needed to do extra troubleshooting than anticipated simply to get primary metrics working.”

– New Relic Overview, Viren L.

Datadog is a full-stack observability platform that helps groups monitor infrastructure, functions, logs, and extra from a central location. It’s extensively utilized by DevOps, SRE, and IT operations groups seeking to unify their monitoring workflows throughout advanced, cloud-native environments.

Some of the complimented options within the G2 opinions was Datadog’s customizable and efficient dashboards. Customers highlighted how they might tailor visualizations to their actual wants, whether or not they had been monitoring service efficiency, system metrics, or software well being. The dashboards had been described as versatile, combining a number of knowledge sources into clear, actionable views.  

Log administration was one other standout power that got here up throughout many opinions. Customers valued how Datadog integrates log knowledge immediately into the monitoring expertise, making correlating occasions, metrics, and traces in a single place simpler. A number of groups talked about that this integration saved them time investigating incidents as a result of they didn’t depend on separate logging instruments. The power to look, filter, and analyze logs alongside real-time metrics made Datadog particularly helpful for incident response workflows.

The third benefit I observed in G2 opinions was the ease of integration. Datadog connects with numerous companies, cloud suppliers, and third-party instruments. Integrations labored easily out of the field, with useful documentation and prebuilt templates to get began. This integration depth was a significant win for groups working throughout a number of platforms, serving to them centralize their observability.

Nevertheless, for a lot of customers, the problem wasn’t getting Datadog related; it was studying the way to benefit from its superior capabilities. G2 reviewers mentioned that organising advanced alerts, fine-tuning dashboards, or totally leveraging all of the accessible instruments wasn’t at all times intuitive. Many leaned closely on documentation or reached out to help when navigating superior workflows. 

Pricing is a typical theme amongst lots of the merchandise I’ve listed to this point, and it additionally confirmed up for Datadog. Whereas the platform provides robust performance, prices can add up rapidly at scale. Whereas this wasn’t distinctive to Datadog, each purchaser ought to hold it in thoughts when evaluating observability instruments.

General, Datadog is a flexible, feature-rich platform that delivers distinctive visibility, notably for groups that worth real-time insights throughout their whole stack.

What I dislike about Datadog:

• Critiques incessantly flagged the training curve for superior options. It’s simple to begin, nevertheless it takes time to completely grasp dashboards, alerts, and configurations.
• Pricing was a recurring concern, with a number of groups mentioning that prices elevated rapidly as they scaled their use.

What G2 customers dislike about Datadog:

“As our utilization grows and we monitor extra hosts and companies, processing prices additionally improve. There’s a studying curve concerned in creating customized queries throughout the log administration interface.”

– Datadog Overview, Bikash S.

Rakuten SixthSense Observability offers IT groups with a centralized place to trace points, perceive efficiency patterns, and act on alerts. On G2, it has the best ease-of-use rating on this record at 93%, displaying how user-friendly it’s, even for groups unfamiliar with observability instruments.

Many reviewers underlined monitoring capabilities as certainly one of Rakuten SixthSense’s strongest factors. The device successfully tracks software efficiency and surfaces points throughout distributed methods. Critiques famous that the platform helped them rapidly spot bottlenecks or irregular habits. The power to observe a number of functions and companies in actual time was mentioned to be a key power.

One other generally highlighted facet was how user-friendly the platform is. G2 reviewers famous that the dashboard and interface had been simple to navigate, even for groups new to observability instruments. Many customers talked about that SixthSense made it easy to floor the fitting data with out overwhelming them with noise. The visible readability of the dashboards was typically known as out, serving to groups get a fast sense of general well being at a look. Folks appreciated that the training curve was comparatively mild, with primary workflows feeling intuitive straight away.

The alerting system additionally stood out as a constructive. Many customers preferred how the device surfaced real-time alerts, permitting their groups to reply rapidly to rising points. Some reviewers famous that the alerts had been well-integrated with their workflows, making it simpler to coordinate responses and keep away from downtime. There have been additionally constructive mentions of how the alerting system helped groups prioritize points by severity or urgency.

That mentioned, alerts weren’t with out their challenges. Some opinions talked about noise from false positives or the necessity to fine-tune thresholds to cut back pointless notifications. A couple of additionally needed extra superior choices or integrations to cut back handbook triage work.

Documentation got here up as one other space with room to develop. Whereas reviewers spoke positively concerning the responsiveness of Rakuten’s help group, they mentioned deeper guides or configuration examples would assist groups turn into extra self-sufficient when dealing with advanced setups.

To sum it up, Rakuten SixthSense Observability delivers dependable monitoring and actionable insights in a streamlined bundle.

What I dislike about Rakuten SixthSense Observability:

• I learn throughout opinions that the alerting nonetheless wanted refinement, with occasional false positives or restricted customization.
• Documentation was additionally recognized as an space for enchancment, notably relating to superior configurations and troubleshooting.

What G2 customers dislike about Rakuten SixthSense Observability:

“ There are often some false constructive alerts, and for log monitoring, you should set up extra dependencies.”

– Rakuten SixthSense Observability Overview, Nimesh D.

Google Cloud Console isn’t a specialised APM device, nevertheless it provides customers centralized entry to handle and monitor functions operating on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Some of the constant strengths customers emphasised was real-time monitoring. G2 reviewers appreciated having the ability to see reside efficiency knowledge for his or her GCP companies, observe useful resource utilization, and spot system points as they emerged. A number of opinions famous that the platform made it simple to remain on high of system well being with out counting on separate monitoring instruments. Whereas it’s not a full-featured APM platform, the monitoring it provides nonetheless offers many groups with important operational insights.

Person-friendliness got here up as one other benefit. Many reviewers mentioned they discovered the console intuitive and straightforward to navigate, even when juggling a number of companies. The visible design of the dashboards and efficiency views made it simpler for groups to rapidly perceive what was happening while not having to dive deep into logs or metrics.

The third standout level was buyer help. A number of G2 reviewers known as out Google’s help group as responsive and useful when points did come up. Whether or not it was assist organising monitoring workflows or troubleshooting system alerts, customers felt they’d dependable backup once they wanted it.

That mentioned, GSC isn’t a purpose-built APM device. Whereas it offers stable monitoring for GCP companies, it doesn’t provide the deep software tracing, superior alerting, or fine-grained efficiency analytics you’d discover in devoted APM platforms. Customers on the lookout for full-stack observability would want to pair GSC with extra specialised options.

One other space the place some G2 reviewers needed enchancment was the UI. Whereas the console was usually seen as user-friendly, there have been mentions of inconsistent components, particularly when navigating throughout advanced service architectures. Whereas these weren’t dealbreakers, they added some friction to day-to-day use.

Google Cloud Console is a reliable approach to oversee GCP environments, giving groups the real-time monitoring and usefulness they should hold operations regular.

What I dislike about Google Cloud Console:

• Whereas it provides robust GCP monitoring, it isn’t as APM-focused, requiring extra instruments for deep software insights.
• Some customers identified inconsistent UI components that added friction when managing advanced environments.

What G2 customers dislike about Google Cloud Console:

“Its documentation continues to be enhancing, they usually should scale their area and availability zones.”

– Google Cloud Console Overview, Ankur V.

Able to act in your APM insights? Discover the greatest incident administration instruments to assist your group reply sooner, coordinate fixes, and scale back downtime.