Comparison · Updated May 2026

The honest Datadog alternative for teams that don't want to budget around per-host pricing.

Q: Why is SecureNow cheaper than Datadog?

Datadog charges per host and per feature, then adds separate products for logs, APM, security, and AI assistance. SecureNow is one flat price per app: $99 per app per month for full production security (attack detection, the firewall, traces, logs, AI investigations with no per-run fees, blocking, and rate limits), with every feature included and no per-host math.

Q: Does SecureNow replace Datadog APM?

Yes for most teams. SecureNow uses OpenTelemetry (the same standard Datadog now supports), so your traces, spans, latency histograms, and error rates work exactly the same. The difference is we add a real-time firewall and AI forensics layer that Datadog only sells as separate ASM/Bits AI add-ons.

Q: Is migrating from Datadog hard?

If you already use OpenTelemetry, you can point telemetry at SecureNow. If you use the Datadog agent, run `npm install securenow@latest`, `npx securenow login`, and add `-r securenow/register` to your start command. Supported app paths include Express, Fastify, NestJS, Koa, Hapi, Next.js, Nuxt 3, and Vite.

Q: Will my Datadog dashboards transfer?

Dashboards don't transfer (different query languages), but most popular charts have one-click equivalents in SecureNow. We include a Datadog-style starter dashboard so the muscle memory carries over.

Q: Is there a free trial?

Yes - every new account starts with a 14-day free trial of every feature, across all its apps, with no credit card. During the trial, firewall, telemetry, alerting, forensics chat, AI investigations, and human-approved response are enabled. There is no free tier: when the trial ends, everything pauses until you subscribe at $99 per app per month.

Q: What about logs and metrics retention?

Every app keeps 7 days of traces, logs, and security context, included in the $99 per app per month plan - no separate log-ingest or indexing line items.

SecureNow gives you everything most engineering teams actually use Datadog for - distributed traces, logs, errors - plus a real-time IP firewall and answers when something goes wrong: ask who attacked your login and get the IPs, targeted accounts, and evidence in seconds. 14-day free trial. No credit card. Full product.

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Built for founders, CTOs, and small Node.js teams migrating off Datadog because the bill grew faster than the company.

3–10×

Cheaper for typical mid-sized SaaS workloads (flat per-app pricing beats per-host once you hit scale).

≤ 5 min

Time to first trace + first blocked malicious IP. npm install securenow@latest, npx securenow login, and one preload flag.

0 lock-in

Pure OpenTelemetry — point your collector somewhere else any time. No proprietary DSL or agent.

SecureNow vs Datadog — feature matrix

Feature	Datadog	SecureNow	Notes
APM (traces, latency, errors)			OpenTelemetry under the hood — no proprietary agent.
Logs			Auto-captured via the same `-r securenow/register` preload.
Real-time IP firewall (built-in)			Datadog markets ASM but enforcement still depends on your WAF.
AI-powered incident forensics	Add-on (Bits AI)	Included	Ask who attacked your login and get the IPs, targeted accounts, and evidence in seconds — no per-run fees.
No-payment trial	14-day trial	14-day full-product trial	SecureNow starts without a credit card and covers every app on the account. There is no free tier: when the trial ends, everything pauses until you subscribe.
Pricing model	Per-host + per-feature	$99 per app / month	One plan with every feature. Add or remove apps any time, prorated.
Setup time	Hours (agent install, integrations)	<= 5 min	`npm install securenow@latest`, `npx securenow login`, then one preload.
Lock-in	Custom DDog agent + DSL	Pure OpenTelemetry — portable

Pricing - the actually-honest version

Datadog

• APM: $0.07–$0.31 per host / hour
• Logs: $0.10/GB ingest + $1.70/M indexed events
• ASM: $17/host/month (extra)
• Bits AI assistant: extra
• Custom metrics, RUM, synthetics — all separate line items

A 30-host deployment with logs + ASM + APM pencils out to ~$2.5–4k/month before you touch a dashboard.

SecureNow

• $99 per app / month: attack detection, the firewall (known-bad IPs refreshed hourly), traces, logs, AI investigations, blocking, rate limits, alerts, 7-day history, team members - every feature, one plan.
• Billed per app: add or remove apps any time, prorated. 3 apps = $297/month.
• 14-day free trial for your whole account - every app, every feature, no credit card.
• No free tier: after the trial, everything pauses until you subscribe.

Flat per-app pricing that follows the job - no per-host math, no per-feature line items.

Migrating from Datadog in an afternoon

1. Install. npm install securenow@latest
2. Preload. Add -r securenow/register to your start command, or npx securenow init for Next.js / Nuxt.
3. Sign in. npx securenow login - pick or create the app you're migrating.
4. Verify. npx securenow doctor checks collector reachability, span emission, and firewall sync.
5. Cancel Datadog. Or run them side-by-side for a week to compare. We're fine either way.

FAQ

Why is SecureNow cheaper than Datadog?

Datadog charges per host and per feature, then adds separate products for logs, APM, security, and AI assistance. SecureNow is one flat price per app: $99 per app per month for full production security (attack detection, the firewall, traces, logs, AI investigations with no per-run fees, blocking, and rate limits), with every feature included and no per-host math.

Does SecureNow replace Datadog APM?

Yes for most teams. SecureNow uses OpenTelemetry (the same standard Datadog now supports), so your traces, spans, latency histograms, and error rates work exactly the same. The difference is we add a real-time firewall and AI forensics layer that Datadog only sells as separate ASM/Bits AI add-ons.

Is migrating from Datadog hard?

If you already use OpenTelemetry, you can point telemetry at SecureNow. If you use the Datadog agent, run `npm install securenow@latest`, `npx securenow login`, and add `-r securenow/register` to your start command. Supported app paths include Express, Fastify, NestJS, Koa, Hapi, Next.js, Nuxt 3, and Vite.

Will my Datadog dashboards transfer?

Dashboards don't transfer (different query languages), but most popular charts have one-click equivalents in SecureNow. We include a Datadog-style starter dashboard so the muscle memory carries over.

Is there a free trial?

Yes - every new account starts with a 14-day free trial of every feature, across all its apps, with no credit card. During the trial, firewall, telemetry, alerting, forensics chat, AI investigations, and human-approved response are enabled. There is no free tier: when the trial ends, everything pauses until you subscribe at $99 per app per month.

What about logs and metrics retention?

Every app keeps 7 days of traces, logs, and security context, included in the $99 per app per month plan - no separate log-ingest or indexing line items.

Related comparisons & guides

Stop budgeting around your APM bill.

Start with the full SecureNow experience for 14 days - no credit card, every feature - then $99 per app per month for full production security.

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