DATADOG ALTERNATIVE FOR SQL SERVER
Running Datadog? Add SQL Server monitoring with cost optimization built in
Keep Datadog for the stack. Add WISdom for the database that drives the bill: the dollar cost of every query, tuning ranked by savings, capacity forecasts, and incidents replayed with ranked fixes, in one product built for SQL Server.
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WHERE TEAMS HIT THE WALL
Built for the whole stack, not for SQL Server
Datadog is built for breadth across applications, infrastructure, and cloud spend. SQL Server teams run into the same three gaps.
// focus
Breadth over depth
Datadog is built so teams can troubleshoot databases without deep database expertise, across every engine they run. WISdom is built by SQL Server experts, for SQL Server.
// stacked cost
Monitoring on top of monitoring
Database Monitoring can’t be bought on its own. It requires Infrastructure Monitoring, and logs, APM, and anything else the team turns on are billed separately again.
// cost visibility
The cloud bill, not the query
Cloud Cost Management splits spend across services and tags. It can’t tell you which stored procedure is driving the bill, or which fix would bring it down.
RESOURCE COST VS QUERY COST
Datadog prices the cloud bill.
WISdom prices the query.
Datadog’s cost tooling follows FinOps Foundation practices and the FOCUS billing spec, and it splits a cloud bill across services and tags. None of it is database-specific, and none of it reaches the code. WISdom attributes cost inside SQL Server, to the individual statement and stored procedure, then shows the fix and the savings next to it.
// datadog, per sql server host
Two products, stacked
Database Monitoring requires Infrastructure Monitoring, and both are billed per host. Logs, APM, and longer retention are separate again.
// wisdom, per server
One edition, everything included
One price per server or host, with unlimited SQL Server instances on it, query cost attribution, capacity planning, 180-day retention, and 24/7 US-based support. No modules, no add-ons.
SIDE BY SIDE
WISdom and Datadog on SQL Server
Where the two overlap, and where WISdom adds depth Datadog doesn’t go after.
| Capability | WISdom | Datadog |
|---|---|---|
| Cost optimization | ||
| Dollar cost of every query and stored procedure | ✓ | - |
| Tuning recommendations ranked by savings | ✓ | - |
| Chargeback and showback by team or app, at the query level | ✓ | by cloud resource and tag |
| Monitoring and diagnostics | ||
| Real-time performance monitoring | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wait stats and top SQL | ✓ | ✓ |
| Blocking and deadlock analysis | ✓ | ✓ |
| Always On availability group health | ✓ | ✓ |
| Minute-by-minute incident review | ranked fixes | AI root cause analysis |
| Anomaly detection tuned for SQL Server | ✓ | general-purpose monitors |
| Notification noise reduction | 90% fewer | manual monitor tuning |
| AI insights on SQL Server (WISdom Advisor) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tuning and workload | ||
| Index and query recommendations, ranked by impact | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workload Compare (any two periods, one instance or two) | ✓ | - |
| Cloud migration sizing and cost | ✓ | - |
| Capacity planning | ||
| SQL Server capacity trends and CPU / memory sizing | ✓ | forecast on any metric |
| Server and cloud-tier right-sizing for SQL Server | ✓ | generic cloud rightsizing |
| Storage growth planning | ✓ | disk metrics |
| Deployment and licensing | ||
| Built for SQL Server and Azure SQL | ✓ | one integration of many |
| Runs alongside the other tool | ✓ | ✓ |
| Products to buy for SQL Server | One edition | Infrastructure + DBM |
| Licensing unit | Per server, unlimited instances | Per host, per product |
Based on each vendor's publicly available product and pricing information as of October 2026. Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
WHAT WISDOM ADDS
A specialist for the database that drives the bill
Datadog keeps watching the stack. Finance gets a number it can trace to a query, your DBAs get fewer alerts and faster answers, and your platform owner gets a capacity plan.
// cost
Every query has a price
The dollar cost of every statement and stored procedure, rolled up into chargeback and showback by team and app, so the budget conversation starts with facts.
// savings
Fixes ranked by what they save
Index and query recommendations ordered by impact, with the projected savings next to each one, so the first fix you make is the one that pays.
// capacity
See the shortfall coming
Capacity forecasting shows when a server will run short while there’s still time to plan, and right-sizing shows where you’re paying for headroom you don’t use.
// analytics
90% fewer notifications
ML anomaly detection built around SQL Server behavior flags what’s actually unusual, so the alerts that reach your team are worth acting on.
// incidents
What Happened?, answered
Replay an incident minute by minute, see only the checks that flagged, the statement behind them compared against four weeks of history, and ranked steps to fix it.
// workload
Prove the change worked
Workload Compare and pre/post-migration analysis put two periods or two environments side by side, so a release or a cloud move comes with evidence.
WHO PICKS UP THE PHONE
Support from people who've run SQL Server estates
WISdom is supported by US-based SQL Server experts, including engineers from the former SQL Sentry support team, with a 95%+ CSAT.
FIND IT · FIX IT · PROVE IT
Datadog shows you the spend. WISdom shows you the query behind it.
FIND IT
The expensive queries
Every statement and stored procedure priced in dollars, with anomalies flagged against normal SQL Server behavior and ranked by cost.
FIX IT
The next step, ranked
The index, the rewrite, or the right-sized server, ordered by impact, with the projected savings shown next to it.
PROVE IT
The result, on record
Compare before and after in performance and in dollars, then hand finance a number they can check.
FAQ
Questions Datadog customers ask us
Do we have to replace Datadog to use WISdom?
No. Most teams keep Datadog for applications, infrastructure, and logs, and add WISdom for SQL Server. WISdom is agentless and connects read-only, so nothing is installed on your SQL Server instances and it doesn’t touch the Datadog Agent. Run both during the 30-day trial and compare what each one tells you about the same server.
Datadog already has cloud cost management. Why add WISdom?
Datadog Cloud Cost Management allocates your cloud bill to services, resources, and tags. It stops at the resource. WISdom goes inside SQL Server and attributes cost to the individual query and stored procedure, then ranks tuning recommendations by the money they save. One tells you the database is expensive; the other tells you why.
How does the cost compare with Datadog Database Monitoring?
In Datadog, Database Monitoring can’t be bought on its own: it requires Infrastructure Monitoring, and logs and APM are billed separately. WISdom is one edition, priced per monitored server or host, billed annually, with unlimited SQL Server instances on that server and every feature included. With WISdom covering SQL Server, you may not need Database Monitoring on those hosts at all.
Is WISdom only for SQL Server?
SQL Server and Azure SQL are what WISdom sells today, and that’s deliberate: depth over breadth. Datadog spreads across every service you run. WISdom goes deep on the one where your spend and your incidents concentrate.
How does WISdom license Azure SQL and failover clusters?
One WISdom license covers a server or VM with unlimited SQL Server instances, one PaaS instance, ten Azure SQL databases, or one failover cluster instance licensed on the active node only.
Keep Datadog for the stack. Give SQL Server a specialist.
No credit card · 30-day free trial · Cancel anytime