I Examined 30+ Cloud Monitoring Instruments: Right here Are My Picks

I’ve spent the final three years writing about IT and cloud safety, speaking to DevOps groups, IT admins, and safety professionals about their greatest cloud complications. One factor is evident: managing cloud infrastructure with out the best cloud monitoring instruments is like flying blind.

I’ve heard tales of groups scrambling to diagnose downtime, coping with limitless alerts that lead nowhere, and battling shock cloud payments. Should you’re right here, you’re most likely going through the identical points. You want a cloud infrastructure monitoring software program that doesn’t simply flood you with information however helps you are taking motion earlier than issues break.

So, I did what I do finest. I researched. I additionally talked to the individuals who depend on these instruments essentially the most: cloud engineers, DevOps groups, and safety professionals. Their insights helped me separate the actually helpful cloud monitoring instruments from the noise.

Whether or not you’re attempting to stop outages, optimize efficiency and prices, or strengthen safety, I’ve researched 30+ instruments to search out one of the best cloud monitoring instruments for 2025. Right here’s what you should know.

5 finest cloud monitoring instruments I like to recommend  

Should you folks ask me, “What precisely do cloud monitoring instruments do?” I wish to hold it easy: they provide you a real-time window into your cloud atmosphere, so that you’re not flying blind.

From my conversations with IT admins and DevOps groups, I’ve discovered that cloud monitoring is all about visibility and management. You don’t simply need uncooked information. You want insights that really enable you take motion earlier than points spiral into full-blown outages.

What makes one of the best cloud monitoring instruments: My standards

To separate one of the best from the remainder, I targeted on key components that outline efficient, dependable, and scalable cloud monitoring. 

• Actual-time efficiency monitoring: Cloud environments are dynamic, and efficiency bottlenecks can escalate shortly. I regarded for instruments that present real-time visibility into CPU, reminiscence, community site visitors, and storage utilization throughout cloud workloads. One of the best options supply granular monitoring on the occasion, container, and Kubernetes pod ranges to detect anomalies earlier than they influence purposes.
• Clever alerting and automation: Alert fatigue is an actual downside. cloud monitoring device ought to prioritize vital alerts and suppress noisy, low-priority ones. I regarded for platforms that help AI-driven anomaly detection, threshold-based alerting, and auto-remediation capabilities, similar to auto-scaling assets or restarting failed cases with out guide intervention.
• Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud help: Most companies use a number of cloud suppliers, however not all monitoring instruments can deal with that complexity. I prioritized options that natively help AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and hybrid deployments with out requiring extreme configuration. Cross-cloud visibility, unified dashboards, and API integrations had been key components on this analysis.
• Safety and compliance monitoring: Cloud environments introduce new assault surfaces, so monitoring ought to embrace safety posture evaluation, misconfiguration detection, and compliance auditing for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. One of the best instruments transcend primary logs and embrace menace detection, identification monitoring, and automatic safety coverage enforcement.
• Log administration and distributed tracing: In fashionable cloud-native environments, logs and traces present vital insights. I regarded for options that help centralized log aggregation, real-time log evaluation, and distributed tracing to pinpoint bottlenecks in microservices architectures. One of the best platforms combine with ELK Stack, OpenTelemetry, or native log companies like AWS CloudTrail.
• Ease of deployment and integration: A monitoring device ought to work out of the field with out requiring hours of setup. I prioritized options with agentless monitoring choices, easy API-based integrations, and help for containerized workloads in Kubernetes environments. The flexibility to combine with DevOps instruments like Terraform, Prometheus, and CI/CD pipelines was additionally a key issue.
• Price optimization and useful resource administration: Cloud payments can spiral uncontrolled with out correct monitoring. I regarded for instruments that supply price analytics, anomaly detection for sudden spikes, and useful resource right-sizing suggestions to get rid of wasted cloud spend. One of the best platforms present predictive insights that assist IT groups optimize resource allocation earlier than prices escalate.

With this in thoughts, I explored 30+ cloud infrastructure monitoring options and located the highest 5 that ticked off many of the packing containers. Whereas they may not be excellent in each sense, they carry some distinctive strengths to the desk. 

The checklist under accommodates real consumer opinions from the cloud infrastructure monitoring software program class. To be included on this class, an answer should:

• Monitor the efficiency of cloud-based purposes or companies.
• Visually map or show assets and cloud infrastructure.
• Establish irregular exercise or efficiency.
• Present finest practices to make sure optimum efficiency.

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

1. Datadog

Datadog is a type of instruments you could’t ignore when in search of cloud monitoring options, it’s in every single place, and for good motive. It gives real-time dashboards, deep observability, and stable integrations, making it a robust alternative for cloud infrastructure monitoring.

One of many greatest advantages I see is how a lot visibility it offers in cloud environments. The flexibility to deploy Datadog throughout multi-cloud and on-premise environments and get detailed insights into infrastructure, community site visitors, and software efficiency is a large plus. 

Based mostly on my analysis and actual consumer suggestions, deploying Datadog is straightforward, because of its simple agent set up and in depth pre-built integrations.

I might say one of many greatest benefits is its big selection of integrations. It connects seamlessly with NGINX, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and CI/CD pipelines. For incident administration and alerting, it syncs with ServiceNow, Slack, Microsoft Groups, Jira, and different instruments, so alerts and points get directed to the best folks in actual time.

And I extremely worth how its options work collectively. The tight integration between logs, metrics, software efficiency monitoring (APM), database monitoring (DBM), profiling, real-time consumer monitoring (RUM), and Synthetics means one can simply leap between completely different information factors with out switching instruments or piecing insights collectively manually. Whether or not you’re troubleshooting an software slowdown or investigating an infrastructure challenge, all the pieces flows seamlessly, making the entire expertise much more environment friendly.

One other factor I recognize essentially the most is Datadog’s alerting system. It’s extremely versatile, permitting customers to set alerts primarily based on customized circumstances. Should you tune it proper, it makes an enormous distinction in decreasing alert fatigue.

However not each device is ideal and Datadog additionally has some quirks. The largest ache level I’ve heard from customers? The fee. Many have identified that it will get costly quick, particularly for rising groups or large-scale deployments. Whereas the pricing is usage-based, it shortly provides up. So, whereas it’s nice, it’s not low-cost.

One other challenge I’ve noticed is the overwhelming UI. Whereas it’s highly effective, it may be loads to absorb, particularly should you’re new to cloud monitoring. Navigating the interface and organising customized dashboards can really feel clunky at instances.

That being mentioned, Datadog stands out because the gold commonplace for cloud monitoring instruments. Would I like to recommend it? Completely, however with a caveat. Should you’re a big enterprise or a DevOps group managing a posh cloud atmosphere, Datadog’s visibility and automation can prevent time and stop expensive outages.

However should you’re a small group or engaged on a decent funds, you would possibly end up watching your monitoring prices as carefully as your cloud efficiency metrics.

What I dislike about Datadog:

• From what I noticed, it’s highly effective however not low-cost. The pricing is usage-based, and should you’re monitoring a big infrastructure, the prices can skyrocket earlier than you even understand it.
• Based mostly on my analysis, whereas Datadog gives tons of information, navigating the dashboard will be intimidating, particularly for brand spanking new customers. Some customization choices really feel a bit clunky.

What G2 customers dislike about Datadog: 

“Generally, the UI could be very overwhelming, particularly at the start. So many buttons and options make the platform very advanced to make use of, so the training curve is a bit onerous at the start. When you be taught to make use of it, it’s actually easy and intuitive.” 

– Datadog Overview, Diego P.

2. LogicMonitor

With regards to cloud monitoring options that “simply work” out of the field, LogicMonitor stands out to me. It gives automated discovery of cloud assets, pre-configured monitoring templates, and built-in integrations with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and hybrid infrastructure.

On the similar time, if the default setup isn’t sufficient, there’s loads of room to customise. Actually, what actually units it aside for me is its flexibility. LogicMonitor offers groups the flexibility to fine-tune virtually each facet of their monitoring setup.

You may customise dashboards, create customized monitoring scripts, modify alert thresholds, and combine with third-party instruments like ServiceNow, Slack, and PagerDuty. The flexibleness permits groups to scale and adapt LogicMonitor to their particular wants whereas nonetheless benefiting from its ease of deployment, for my part.

However customization comes with a tradeoff, each by way of price and complexity. From what I’ve gathered, whereas LogicMonitor makes customization doable, it doesn’t at all times make it straightforward. Establishing superior customized monitoring requires time and experience, and the UI isn’t at all times intuitive.

LogicMonitor upgraded its UI in late 2023, however customers have blended emotions about it from what I discovered. Whereas some discover it an enchancment, whereas others really feel it has added pointless friction to their workflow. 

And like Datadog, price is one other issue that ceaselessly comes up when evaluating LogicMonitor. From what I’ve gathered, it’s not essentially the most budget-friendly possibility available on the market. After all, it replaces a number of monitoring instruments, consolidating observability right into a single platform. For bigger enterprises, this could justify the fee, however for smaller groups with less complicated wants, it could be tough. 

Regardless of these limitations, LogicMonitor is a robust contender in case your group wants deep customization and is keen to put money into fine-tuning.

What I dislike about LogicMonitor:

• From my remark, the UI redesign is a blended bag. Whereas some customers discover it an enchancment, others say it provides pointless friction to workflows
• I agree that LogicMonitor is undeniably an amazing device, and that comes with a premium price ticket. Whereas the worth is there for bigger enterprises that want deep customization and hybrid monitoring, smaller groups with less complicated wants would possibly discover it onerous to justify the fee

What G2 customers dislike about LogicMonitor:

“The brand new interface stinks. It is quirky. Hiding Datasources underneath LogicModules makes it harder to view the main points.

Most annoying is the navigation of the Useful resource Tree whatever the interface. If a tool is in a number of high-level teams and also you navigate backward, it doesn’t deliver you to the folder construction that you just used to navigate down.“

– LogicMonitor Overview,  Tad G. 

3. IBM Instana

From what I discovered, IBM Instana has a stable popularity as a real-time observability and software efficiency monitoring device for contemporary hybrid and multicloud environments. It’s easy to deploy with a single Instana agent that mechanically displays the complete tech stack. 

One other main benefit is how effectively Instana offers real-time suggestions. In contrast to some monitoring instruments that introduce delays in surfacing points, Instana delivers instantaneous visibility into latency issues, slowdowns, and repair failures. This makes troubleshooting considerably quicker as a result of groups don’t need to dig by way of logs manually to pinpoint the issue.

From what I discovered, Instana excels in root trigger evaluation by mechanically correlating software points with infrastructure efficiency, making it simpler to trace down the precise part or service inflicting the issue. As a substitute of simply displaying uncooked information, it maps out dependencies between companies, traces transactions throughout distributed programs, and highlights bottlenecks in actual time.

This stage of automation eliminates a lot of the guesswork, serving to DevOps groups cut back imply time to decision (MTTR) and deal with points earlier than they escalate into full-blown outages, for my part

With regards to UI, although, the suggestions is blended primarily based on what I discovered.  Whereas the device is straightforward to make use of, the UI might use some enhancements. Discovering particular options or configuring dashboards isn’t as clean correctly. Additionally, I believe it might probably present deeper customization on the subject of alerts and dashboards. Not having this may be irritating for groups that require deeper customization to match particular workflows. 

One other downside I discovered is there’s an preliminary adjustment interval to stand up to hurry with Instana.  The preliminary complexity could require further coaching or onboarding, which generally is a problem for groups that want an out-of-the-box resolution. 

 Total, I might say IBM Instana is a good alternative for real-time software efficiency monitoring.

What I dislike about IBM Instana:

• Whereas Instana is straightforward to deploy, I noticed totally mastering its options takes time. Superior configurations, integrations, and monitoring guidelines aren’t at all times intuitive, and groups might have additional coaching to unlock the platform’s full potential.
• Based mostly on what I heard from customers, Instana’s alerting system works effectively for primary monitoring, however it doesn’t supply sufficient granularity for fine-tuned notifications. Should you want extremely personalized alert circumstances and thresholds, it might probably really feel restrictive in comparison with different options.

What G2 customers dislike about IBM Instana: 

“Initial complexity would possibly require further time and coaching for groups to totally exploit the platform’s capabilities. Relying on the dimensions of the deployment, the fee could grow to be a major issue for some customers.” 

– IBM Instana Overview, Yannick Ok. 

4. Site24x7

Site24x7 by ManageEngine was a brand new discover for me on this checklist. It gives a whole suite of monitoring options, from web sites, servers, and purposes to cloud infrastructure and networks, multi functional place.

I actually recognize its means to control a number of assets concurrently. I believe it is especially helpful for smaller IT groups or organizations that want reasonably priced, all-in-one observability. It reduces device sprawl and makes it simpler to trace all the pieces from a single pane of glass. 

One other power I noticed is how straightforward it’s to arrange and combine. The onboarding course of is fast. It helps agent-based and agentless monitoring, and as soon as deployed, it mechanically discovers new assets and begins gathering information. 

Price-effectiveness can be a significant component that makes Site24x7 stand out for my part. In comparison with high-end instruments like Datadog, which might get costly quick, Site24x7 gives a way more budget-friendly various. It’s particularly interesting for startups, SMBs, and IT groups that want strong monitoring with out enterprise-level pricing. It might not have all of the superior options of extra premium options, however for many organizations, the price-to-performance ratio makes it a gorgeous alternative.

However there are some downsides. The UI, whereas useful, feels outdated, and I believe it might use a refresh. Navigation and configuration aren’t as intuitive or user-friendly as I’d like, making some workflows take longer than vital. Establishing dashboards and fine-tuning alerts, particularly, could possibly be extra streamlined.

I additionally seen that it’s tough to get began and onerous to grasp, particularly when configuring superior monitoring settings. Whereas onboarding is pretty fast, getting essentially the most out of Site24x7 takes effort. As soon as all the pieces is ready up, it runs easily, however tweaking settings and discovering particular options can really feel extra sophisticated than it needs to be.

No matter these points, Site24x7 continues to be a stable alternative for IT groups and companies in search of a flexible, multi-cloud monitoring resolution, particularly for these on a funds. 

What I dislike about Site24x7:

• Whereas the UI will get the job accomplished, it isn’t as fashionable or polished. Navigation and customization could possibly be smoother, and a few workflows take longer than they need to, primarily based on my observations.
• Advantageous-tuning alerts and superior monitoring settings isn’t as intuitive as I’d hoped. Getting began is straightforward, however totally optimizing the platform takes effort and time.

What G2 customers like about Site24x7: 

“Enhancing consumer settings on Site24x7 generally is a bit cumbersome and fewer intuitive than anticipated, requiring a number of steps that could possibly be streamlined for higher usability.”

– Site24x7 Overview, Yuvraj G.

5. Dynatrace

Dynatrace stands out to me for its depth, automation, and AI-driven insights. From what I discovered, it’s a powerhouse for full-stack observability, making it an amazing alternative for big enterprises that want deep visibility into advanced infrastructures.

From what I gathered, it’s straightforward to combine Dynatrace’s observability instruments with present infrastructure, making it a superb match for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. As soon as deployed, the platform offers real-time insights into software efficiency, infrastructure well being, and safety dangers, all from a single dashboard. It additionally helps groups hold a pulse on system availability, decreasing the chance of sudden outages.

I was impressed by the extent of intelligence it brings to monitoring with its Davis AI, an AI engine, and Grail, its database for storing logs, metrics, traces, occasions, and many others. The Issues app, with AI-driven downside detection, mechanically identifies efficiency points and pinpoints root causes with out requiring groups to sift by way of limitless logs, making troubleshooting considerably quicker.

One other main power is Dynatrace’s request tracing capabilities, which offer deep visibility into service dependencies and transaction flows throughout cloud environments. This permits groups to search out bottlenecks, optimize efficiency, and stop points from cascading into bigger failures.

However Dynatrace takes time to grasp. Whereas Davis AI simplifies troubleshooting in the long term, the platform’s sheer depth of options can really feel overwhelming at first, requiring coaching and a structured onboarding course of.

Additionally, the pricing construction is a bit obscure. Whereas Dynatrace gives versatile, per-hour pricing for varied options and functionalities, understanding the general price will be difficult with out a clear grasp of your particular utilization patterns. It might probably make it tough to foretell bills precisely. And like LogicMonitor and Datadog, in case you have high-volume monitoring wants, the value can shortly go up. 

Nonetheless, I might advocate Dynatrace for enterprises that want deep observability, AI-driven automation, and full-stack monitoring. 

What I dislike about Dynatrace:

• I might say Dynatrace isn’t the best device to be taught instantly so many options and settings. Whereas automation makes issues simpler over time, navigating and fine-tuning dashboards, metrics, and alerts takes effort to totally grasp.
• Based mostly on what I noticed, Dynatrace’s pricing construction generally is a bit tough to grasp, particularly if you’re simply beginning out. The flexibleness of per-hour pricing for various options is nice, however with out a clear understanding of utilization patterns, prices can add up quicker than anticipated. 

What G2 customers dislike about Dynatrace: 

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

– Dynatrace Overview, Andrew H.

If price is your main concern, or if you’re a small or medium enterprise with a fairly manageable cloud infrastructure, I might counsel going with open-source choices like Prometheus, Grafana Labs, Zabbix, or Nagios. These instruments could require extra guide setup and upkeep, however they provide comparatively good monitoring capabilities with out recurring subscription charges.

Continuously requested questions (FAQ) on cloud monitoring instruments

1. What’s cloud monitoring?

Cloud monitoring is the method of monitoring and analyzing cloud infrastructure, purposes, and companies to make sure efficiency, safety, and availability. Utilizing cloud monitoring instruments, IT groups can detect points like slowdowns, outages, and safety vulnerabilities earlier than they influence customers. These instruments present real-time insights into cloud assets similar to servers, databases, and networks.

2. What are one of the best cloud monitoring instruments?

The finest cloud monitoring instruments supply real-time efficiency monitoring, automated alerting, safety monitoring, and price optimization options. Some prime choices embrace Datadog, AWS CloudWatch, Dynatrace, and LogicMonitor. The precise device is dependent upon whether or not you want cloud software monitoring instruments, cloud safety monitoring instruments, or cloud infrastructure monitoring instruments for multi-cloud environments.

3. How do cloud monitoring companies work?

Cloud monitoring companies acquire and analyze efficiency metrics from cloud-based assets similar to digital machines, containers, and purposes. These instruments use log administration, community monitoring, and anomaly detection to supply visibility into cloud well being and safety. Some platforms, like AWS CloudWatch and Azure Monitor, are cloud-native, whereas others, like New Relic and Datadog, help multi-cloud monitoring.

4. How do cloud efficiency monitoring instruments enhance effectivity?

Cloud efficiency monitoring instruments monitor key metrics like CPU utilization, reminiscence consumption, disk I/O, and software response instances to make sure optimum efficiency. They assist forestall slowdowns, cut back downtime, and mechanically scale assets primarily based on demand, making them important for DevOps and IT operations groups.

5. What are multi-cloud monitoring instruments?

Multi-cloud monitoring instruments enable IT groups to handle and monitor workloads throughout a number of cloud suppliers, similar to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, from a single dashboard. These instruments supply cross-platform efficiency monitoring, price evaluation, and safety monitoring, serving to companies preserve constant efficiency throughout completely different cloud environments.

6. What are one of the best AWS cloud monitoring instruments?

One of the best AWS cloud monitoring instruments embrace each native AWS companies and third-party options. AWS CloudWatch offers built-in efficiency monitoring and logging for AWS assets, whereas AWS CloudTrail focuses on safety and compliance by monitoring API exercise. Different native instruments include AWS  Config, Inspector, and Safety Hub.

For extra superior monitoring, third-party instruments like Datadog, New Relic, Dynatrace, and LogicMonitor supply deeper observability, AI-powered insights, and multi-cloud help.

7. What are one of the best Azure cloud monitoring instruments?

Like AWS, one of the best Azure cloud monitoring instruments embrace each native Azure companies and third-party options. Azure Monitor is the first built-in device for monitoring efficiency, safety, and logs throughout Azure assets, whereas Azure Safety Middle focuses on menace detection and compliance monitoring. For extra superior observability, third-party instruments like Datadog, New Relic, Dynatrace, and LogicMonitor supply deeper insights, AI-driven anomaly detection, and multi-cloud compatibility.

8. What are one of the best open-source cloud monitoring instruments?

A few of the finest open-source cloud monitoring instruments embrace Prometheus, Zabbix, Nagios, Grafana, and VictoriaMetrics.

Prometheus is extensively used for metrics-based monitoring in cloud-native environments, whereas Zabbix and Nagios supply full-stack infrastructure monitoring.

Grafana is a robust visualization device that integrates with varied information sources, and VictoriaMetrics offers a high-performance various to Prometheus for large-scale monitoring.

Whereas these instruments get rid of licensing prices, they require guide setup, upkeep, and configuration, making them best for groups with the assets to handle an open-source resolution.

Eyes on the cloud

With regards to the cloud, I agree that the extra advanced the atmosphere, the better it’s to lose monitor of prices, efficiency bottlenecks, and safety dangers. However I strongly insist that affordability and necessity ought to information your alternative of a cloud monitoring device.

Ask your self: Why do you want monitoring? What are you monitoring? And what worth do you count on from it? These non-functional features are onerous to cost however vital for budgeting.

Should you’re monitoring a single app producing $10K/month, a $2K/month monitoring device won’t be justified. However should you’re managing a dozen apps driving $500K/month, that funding might repay by bettering uptime, decreasing upkeep prices, and scaling effectively.

For big-scale enterprises, premium options like Dynatrace or Datadog automate workflows and enhance response instances. But when price is a priority, open-source choices like Prometheus, Grafana Labs, Zabbix, or VictoriaMetrics are higher.

On the finish of the day, selecting a cloud monitoring device isn’t nearly options. It’s about aligning along with your operational wants, funds, and long-term technique. The precise device ought to provide you with confidence in your infrastructure, not simply one other dashboard to stare at.

Nonetheless on the hunt? Discover our classes of monitoring software program, from software efficiency to community, to search out the best match in your wants.