Datadog Synthetics is metered per test run, so a handful of browser checks across regions can quietly become a four-figure month — and it only really pays off if you already live in Datadog. 247Monitor is flat-priced monitoring with the status page and browser journeys included.
Datadog's Synthetic Monitoring correlates API and browser tests into APM traces, logs and infrastructure metrics, run from managed locations or inside your own network — useful depth if your stack already lives in Datadog, and overkill if it doesn't.
Synthetics is billed by usage — roughly $5 per 10,000 API runs and $12 per 1,000 browser runs — and cost multiplies across tests × locations × frequency. There's no free synthetics tier, no built-in status page (that lives in a separate Incident Management product), and no heartbeat checks for silent cron jobs. 247Monitor prices the opposite way: flat plans from £9, browser journeys and a status page included, every cron job watched.
Side by side
Facts checked against Datadog's own pricing and documentation, June 2026. Rows where Datadog wins are marked too — comparisons you can't trust aren't comparisons.
| 247Monitor | Datadog | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓25 monitors · 1-min checks · status page · free forever | ·No free synthetics tier — 14-day platform trial only |
| Pricing model | ✓Flat plans: £0 / £9 / £29 / £79 | ·Usage-metered: ~$5/10k API runs, ~$12/1k browser runs |
| Cost predictability | ✓Fixed monthly price, limits on the page | ·Scales with tests × locations × frequency — bill-shock risk |
| Fastest check interval | ✓30 seconds on every paid plan | ·API tests 1-min; browser tests 5-min by default (1-min via support) |
| Heartbeat / cron monitoring | ✓Included — silence past the deadline alerts you | ·Not offered in Synthetics |
| Status pages | ✓Included on every plan | ·Separate Incident Management product; pricing on request |
| Browser / transaction checks | ✓Bundled runs from £9 with screenshots, console logs & traces | ·Powerful, but billed per run on top of the platform |
| Observability correlation | ·Not offered — focused on synthetic monitoring | ✓Synthetics link to APM, logs, traces, RUM & infra metrics |
| Monitoring locations | ·3 continents, cross-region confirmation | ✓25+ managed locations plus private locations for internal apps |
| Private / internal-network monitoring | ·Not offered | ✓Private locations via a container or agent |
| Result history | —30 days free · up to 3 years on Business | —15 months of synthetic results |
The case for switching
Datadog Synthetics meters every test run, and cost compounds across regions and frequency — their own community is full of 'how my synthetics bill hit four figures' stories. Our plans are flat: £9, £29, £79, with the run allowances printed on them.
Datadog Synthetics is one module of a large, expensive platform — and the status page you'd want lives in yet another product. We're a complete monitoring tool on day one: checks, browser journeys, status page and alerts, all in the plan price.
Datadog Synthetics does outbound checks only — a backup job that silently stops simply stops. Our heartbeat monitors treat missed check-ins as incidents, so the jobs nobody watches get watched.
Datadog's browser tests default to five-minute intervals and API tests to one minute. Every paid 247Monitor plan checks every 30 seconds — and a scripted browser journey with full forensics starts at £9, not at a per-run meter.
FAQ
For uptime, synthetic and browser monitoring with a status page — yes, at a fraction of the cost and complexity. For full observability (APM, logs, distributed tracing, infrastructure metrics) Datadog is in a different category; many teams run us for monitoring and keep Datadog for deep debugging.
It's usage-metered: you pay per test run, and every location and every interval multiplies the count. A few browser journeys checked frequently from several regions can run into four figures a month. Our journeys come with thousands of bundled runs on a flat plan.
API and HTTP checks translate cleanly. Browser tests recorded in Datadog need rebuilding as 247Monitor journeys — usually an afternoon — and in return every failed run ships a screenshot, console logs, request details and a downloadable Playwright trace.
Keep reading
What Datadog Synthetics does — minus the per-run metering anxiety.
ReadBrowser journeys, uptime and status pages on flat plans.
ReadPick a target you can defend before you start paying to measure it.
ReadWeighing other tools too? Browse all 247Monitor comparisons or check the pricing.
Our free plan doesn't expire, so the comparison costs you nothing but ten minutes of setup.
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