Datadog vs Redgate Monitor: Database Monitoring (2026)

Quick verdict

Short answer

Choose Redgate Monitor if your estate is mostly SQL Server and the people using the tool are DBAs: it supports SQL Server 2008 R2 to 2025, collects remotely without agents on the monitored servers, ships with SQL Server alerting, and can be self-hosted so data stays on your network. Choose Datadog Database Monitoring if you already run Datadog for infrastructure or APM and want query metrics, samples and explain plans tied to the services and traces that issued them, across a wider list of engines including MongoDB and ClickHouse.

How we know: This comparison is research-based: features, supported versions, editions and prices were checked against Datadog's and Redgate's official documentation, product and pricing pages on 7 October 2026. We have not run either product, so nothing here is a measured result.

Datadog Database Monitoring (DBM) is a product within Datadog's SaaS observability platform. The Datadog Agent connects to each database with a read-only user and sends normalized query metrics, query samples, explain plans and database metrics to Datadog. Datadog documents support for self-hosted and managed cloud versions of Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, Amazon DocumentDB and ClickHouse, and DBM can be correlated with Datadog APM traces.

Redgate Monitor, previously called SQL Monitor, is Redgate's database monitoring tool. It began as a SQL Server monitor and now covers SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL and MongoDB from one web interface. A Base Monitor service collects data remotely and stores it in a repository (SQL Server, or PostgreSQL 16 or later with TimescaleDB). Redgate sells Standard and Enterprise editions, each either self-hosted or SaaS. The latest release in the release notes is 14.34.0 (30 September 2026).

Side by side

Aspect	Datadog Database Monitoring	Redgate Monitor
Deployment	SaaS only; the Datadog Agent runs on the database host or, for managed databases, on a separate host	Self-hosted or SaaS editions; Base Monitor on Windows or Linux (.NET 10), no agent on monitored servers
Engines	Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB, Amazon DocumentDB, ClickHouse	SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB
SQL Server versions	SQL Server 2012 to 2025	SQL Server 2008 R2 to 2025, Windows and Linux
Managed SQL Server	Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, SQL Server on Azure VM, Google Cloud SQL	Amazon RDS (excluding multi-AZ failover instances), Azure SQL Database (including elastic pools), Managed Instance, Google Cloud SQL
Query analysis	Top 200 normalized queries per host, query samples, explain plans, wait events, blocking	Top queries and top waits from DMVs, estimated and actual plans, blocking reports, Monitor AI for Query Analysis
Application context	Links query samples to APM services and traces	Deployment tracking against performance; no application tracing
Default history	Query metrics 15 months, query samples 15 days	Configurable; defaults include top queries and waits 1 week, actual plans 3 days
Pricing basis	Per database host per month, public list price	Per server per year, volume tiers; Azure SQL Database licence covers up to 5 databases
Main trade-off	Broad, trace-linked monitoring if you live in Datadog, but usage-based and SaaS only	Deep SQL Server DBA tooling and self-hosting, but narrower engine list and no tracing

Key differences

Who the tool is built for

Datadog DBM is aimed at teams that already share one observability platform. Datadog documents that connecting DBM and APM injects trace identifiers into SQL comments, so you can break down database connections by calling service, show only the hosts a service calls, and open the APM trace behind a query sample. This is supported for Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle and MongoDB, with tracer language support varying by engine.

Redgate Monitor is aimed at DBAs who look after a database estate. Its documentation centres on server and instance overviews, top waits, top queries, alerts and estate views, with alert notifications by email, Slack or webhook. It also tracks deployments so you can see whether a release coincided with a change in performance, and Enterprise adds security monitoring, a data API and a high-availability architecture. If you are unsure which approach you need, read Database Monitoring vs APM.

SQL Server depth

Both cover SQL Server, but with a different emphasis. Redgate documents remote collection through WMI and PerfMon counters plus T-SQL against DMVs such as sys.dm_exec_query_stats and sys.dm_os_wait_stats, and it reads the blocked_process_report Extended Event where available. It supports SQL Server from 2008 R2 to 2025 on Windows and Linux, Windows failover clusters and availability groups on WSFC (not Basic availability groups, clusterless groups or Linux availability groups).

Datadog lists SQL Server 2012 to 2025 and, beyond query metrics and plans, optional collection of SQL Server Agent job metrics, deadlocks, index usage, schemas, and query completions and errors through Extended Events. For Always On, Datadog recommends installing the Agent on each replica. Both tools build on the same DMVs you can query yourself:

-- T-SQL (SQL Server): most expensive cached queries by total CPU
SELECT TOP (10)
    qs.total_worker_time, qs.execution_count,
    SUBSTRING(st.text, 1, 200) AS query_text
FROM sys.dm_exec_query_stats AS qs
CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(qs.sql_handle) AS st
ORDER BY qs.total_worker_time DESC;

For background on reading these numbers, see the performance tuning lesson, and for deadlock errors see error 1205.

Hosting and where data lives

Datadog is SaaS only. For managed databases such as Azure SQL, Datadog states that the Agent must run on a separate host that can reach the database. Query bind parameters are obfuscated before they leave your network, but schema elements and SQL comments are not obfuscated by default.

Redgate Monitor can be fully self-hosted: the Base Monitor and web server run on Windows (Windows 10 and 11, Windows Server 2016 to 2025) or Linux (tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and later, Red Hat 8 and later, and Docker), and data goes to your own SQL Server or PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB repository. Redgate also offers SaaS editions for teams that would rather not host the front end.

Engine breadth beyond SQL Server

Datadog's list is wider: Postgres 9.6 to 18 across self-hosted, RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, AlloyDB, Azure, Heroku and Supabase; MySQL 5.6 to 9 and MariaDB 10.5 to 13; Oracle; MongoDB; Amazon DocumentDB and ClickHouse. Redgate Monitor documents PostgreSQL 10 to 18, MySQL 8.0.31 and later, Oracle on Linux or Amazon RDS, and MongoDB 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0. If you need ClickHouse, DocumentDB or older MySQL versions, Datadog covers them and Redgate does not.

Retention

Datadog keeps DBM query metrics for 15 months and query samples for 15 days. Redgate Monitor lets you set retention per data category; documented defaults include one week for top queries, server waits and estimated plans, and three days for actual plans. Because the repository is yours when self-hosted, longer retention is a storage decision rather than a pricing one.

Pricing and licensing

Datadog Database Monitoring. Listed on the vendor's pricing page in October 2026 (USD): $70 per database host per month billed annually, or $84 billed month-to-month or on demand. Each database host includes 200 normalized queries according to Datadog's billing documentation. DBM is priced separately from Infrastructure Monitoring and APM, so a Datadog bill usually combines several products. Datadog offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card.

Redgate Monitor. Licensed per monitored server per year, in Standard and Enterprise editions, each self-hosted or SaaS, with volume tiers (1 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 to 19 servers; 20 or more through sales). For Azure SQL Database, one licence covers up to five databases. The price table on Redgate's pricing page loads dynamically and we could not read the amounts, so check the page or ask Redgate. A 14-day free trial is available.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 October 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

Datadog Database Monitoring strengths

Query samples and explain plans linked to APM traces and calling services
Wide engine list, including MongoDB, Amazon DocumentDB and ClickHouse
Nothing to host, with a public per-host list price
Optional SQL Server collection of Agent jobs, deadlocks and index usage
Query metrics kept for 15 months

Redgate Monitor strengths

SQL Server 2008 R2 to 2025 supported, on Windows and Linux
No agent on monitored servers; Base Monitor collects remotely
Self-hosted option keeps monitoring data on your own repository
Built for DBAs: estate overview, SQL Server alerting, deployment tracking
Retention set per data category in your own repository

Limitations

Datadog Database Monitoring limitations

SaaS only; query text and metadata are sent to Datadog
Usage-based bill across several products needs managing
Metrics cover the top 200 normalized queries per host unless you pay for more
Not focused on DBA estate tasks such as SQL Server availability group health views

Redgate Monitor limitations

Prices not readable on the public page at the time of checking
No application tracing; links to code need another tool
Narrower engine list than Datadog; no ClickHouse or DocumentDB
Linux and Basic availability groups and RDS multi-AZ failover instances are not supported

When to choose each

Choose Datadog Database Monitoring if

Your organisation already uses Datadog for infrastructure, logs or APM
Developers and SREs investigate database slowdowns alongside application traces
You run MongoDB, DocumentDB or ClickHouse as well as relational databases
You do not want to host any monitoring infrastructure

Choose Redgate Monitor if

Most of your estate is SQL Server, including older versions back to 2008 R2
A DBA team owns monitoring and alerting
Monitoring data must stay on your own infrastructure
You want per-server licensing rather than a usage-based bill

When neither is right

You want wait-time analysis with long history and Oracle, Db2 or SAP HANA coverage: compare Redgate Monitor vs SolarWinds DPA and Datadog vs SolarWinds DPA.
You are choosing between SQL Server DBA monitors: see Redgate Monitor vs SQL Sentry.
You prefer open source you run yourself: see Prometheus vs Datadog and the best open source database monitoring tools.
You already pay for New Relic: see Datadog vs New Relic for database monitoring.

Final recommendation

Bottom line

Redgate Monitor is the more natural choice for a DBA team running a SQL Server estate: long version coverage, agentless collection, SQL Server alerting and a self-hosted option. Datadog Database Monitoring is the better fit when databases are monitored as part of a shared observability practice, where linking a slow query to the trace that caused it matters more than DBA estate views, and where engines such as MongoDB or ClickHouse are in scope. Some organisations run both, with DBAs in Redgate Monitor and application teams in Datadog. For wider shortlists, see the best database monitoring tools, the best SQL Server monitoring tools and the best Redgate alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Is Redgate Monitor the same as SQL Monitor?

Yes. Redgate Monitor is the current name of the product formerly sold as SQL Monitor. It now covers SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL and MongoDB.

Does Redgate Monitor need an agent on each server?

No. Redgate documents that the Base Monitor collects data remotely, using WMI and PerfMon counters and T-SQL queries against dynamic management views.

Can Datadog Database Monitoring monitor Azure SQL Database?

Yes. Datadog documents setup for Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure VMs, with the Agent installed on a separate host that can reach the database.

Is Redgate Monitor available as SaaS?

Yes. Redgate sells Standard and Enterprise editions in both self-hosted and SaaS forms.

Which is cheaper?

It depends on your estate. Datadog lists DBM at a per-database-host monthly price, usually alongside other Datadog products; Redgate licenses per server per year with volume tiers, and we could not read its current prices. Price both for your server count.

Sources

Checked October 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.