The $7 agent that will revolutionalise infrastructure monitoring

In case you missed it, Dynatrace announced a $7 discovery agent that now makes a huge challenge on the agentless stronghold in the world of infrastructure monitoring, which has long been dominated by agentless vendors. Tools that rely on polling mechanisms like SNMP, WMI, or API calls have been popular for their ease of deployment—no software installation required on monitored hosts. Vendors like SolarWinds, PRTG, LogicMonitor, and Zenoss have built empires on this model, offering simplicity and broad compatibility. But as environments grow more complex with hybrid clouds, microservices, and real-time demands, the limitations of agentless monitoring become glaring: missed anomalies, coarse-grained data, and incomplete visibility. Enter Dynatrace Discovery Agents—a lightweight, agent-based solution that's making a bold move to disrupt this stronghold. With a fixed cost of just $7 per month per host (approximately $0.25 per day), these agents deliver unparalleled depth without the overhead traditionally associated with agents. Let's dive into how they stack up, why they're a game-changer, and a pricing comparison with the incumbents.

The limitations of agentless monitoring agentless monitoring polls systems at intervals—typically every 1-5 minutes. It's great for basic health checks but falls short in dynamic environments:

• Missed Insights: Polling can't detect fleeting issues like microsecond spikes in CPU or transient network glitches.

• Inaccurate Analysis: Capacity planning and performance metrics are often estimates, lacking real-time context.

• No Log Ingestion: Most agentless setups require separate tools for logs, leading to siloed data.

• Scalability Challenges: As infrastructure scales, polling overhead can strain networks and provide incomplete coverage for containers or ephemeral resources.
  

  

This is where Dynatrace flips the script. Their Discovery Agents start in a low-impact "discovery" mode but can escalate to full-stack observability in seconds, all while maintaining efficiency. This means immediate traces, logs and also a security vulnerability feature can be enabled whenever you need it.(note you pay per hour for uplift per agent). The features that outpace the competition Dynatrace's OneAgent technology underpins the Discovery Agents, offering a seamless path from basic monitoring to comprehensive insights.

Here's what sets them apart:

• Millisecond Granularity: Unlike polling's minute-level resolution, Dynatrace captures data at 1-millisecond intervals. This means spotting anomalies that agentless tools would never detect, such as brief resource contention in a database query or a split-second latency spike.

• Instant Upgrade to Full-Stack: Deployed as a lightweight agent, it runs in "just in case" mode for basic topology and health monitoring. Need more? Flip a switch in the Dynatrace platform, and it transforms into a full-stack agent in seconds—monitoring applications, microservices, and infrastructure without redeployment.

• Log Ingestion and Analysis: Agents ingest logs directly, correlating them with metrics and traces. This is far more cost-effective than bolt-on log tools, with pricing based on host units rather than data volume. Spot issues like error patterns in real-time, something polling simply can't achieve. Imagine having linux syslog or Windows System logs across your servers.

• Accurate Capacity and Performance Analysis: By embedding deeply into the host, agents provide precise data on CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. This enables reliable forecasting and optimisation, reducing overprovisioning costs.

• Extensive Extensions: Out-of-the-box support for databases (e.g., Oracle, MySQL), queues (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ), clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP), hardware, networks, SaaS apps (e.g., Salesforce, Office 365), and more. These extensions integrate seamlessly, offering end-to-end visibility that agentless polling struggles to match.

• Davis AI: Your Extra Team Member: Dynatrace's cutting-edge AI engine, Davis, is streets ahead of competitors. It automates root-cause analysis, predicts issues before they escalate, and provides actionable insights like an additional ops expert. While other tools offer basic alerts, Davis uses causal AI to connect dots across your stack—saving hours of manual troubleshooting.

All this at a predictable $7 per month per host for the Foundation & Discovery tier, with no hidden fees for basic features. For fuller infrastructure monitoring, it scales to $29 per month per host, still competitive. $58 per host in full stack pm. Pricing Comparison: Dynatrace vs. The Agentless Heavyweights Let's put numbers to the claims. Pricing for infrastructure monitoring varies by scale, but here's a high-level comparison based on entry-level or per-resource costs (assuming a small setup of 10 hosts/devices). Note: Actual quotes may vary; these are approximate monthly figures from public website data.

Vendor	Pricing Model	Cost for 10 Hosts (Monthly)	Key Notes
Dynatrace (Discovery Agents)	Per host (Foundation & Discovery)	$70 ($7/host)	Fixed per-host pricing; upgrades to full infrastructure for $290 ($29/host). Includes AI-driven insights and log correlation. No polling limitations.
SolarWinds	Per node	~$70 ($7/node)	Similar entry cost but often requires add-ons for advanced features like logs ($27.50/service). Agentless polling standard, with optional agents.
PRTG	Per sensors (10/device avg.)	~$179 (for 500 sensors/50 devices)	Scales to $35.80/device for larger setups. Free tier for small use; strong on network monitoring but polling-based for basics.
LogicMonitor	Per resource	$220 ($22/resource)	Higher per-unit cost; includes logs at extra $2.50/GB. Hybrid agentless/agent options, but depth requires agents.
Zenoss	Per device (quote-based)	~$100 ($10/device)	Custom pricing; focuses on ITOM with AIOps, but agentless modes limit granularity. Extensions add costs.

Dynatrace's $7 per host entry point matches or undercuts rivals like SolarWinds, while offering superior agent-based depth. For logging, Dynatrace's inclusion in the platform makes it more cost-effective than LogicMonitor's add-ons. And unlike PRTG's sensor limits or Zenoss's quotes, Dynatrace provides transparency and scalability without overcomplicating billing. Why Make the Switch? Agentless monitoring had its day for simplicity, but in 2026's fast-paced IT landscape, depth wins. Dynatrace Discovery Agents bridge the gap: easy to deploy like agentless tools, they update themselves, but with the power of agents for mission-critical insights. Add Davis AI as your "extra team member," and you're not just monitoring— you're predicting and finding root cause. If you're tired of polling's blind spots, give Dynatrace a trial. We think it will dethrone the agentless kings in your stack.

Like always, thank you for reading. We offer ready made services that get you up and running with Dynatrace within just a few minutes. Whether its just advice, or help running an infrastructure monitoring service - email us at hello@visibilityplatforms.com