Amplitude for Startups vs Datadog for Startups (2026): Which Is Better for Startups?

Both are developer tool perks. Here is how Amplitude for Startups and Datadog for Startups compare on what a startup gets, who qualifies and how to apply, and which one we would pick.

Amplitude for Startups

First year of Amplitude Growth free (up to 100M events a month, about $60,000 value), then 40% off year two.

8.0 /10

Pricing: Up to $60k in credits & perks

Pros

Full Growth plan free for a year, no card needed
40% off year two or a free fallback plan
No partner needed

Cons

Capped at 20 employees
Full eligibility terms are not spelled out

Visit Amplitude for Startups ↗

Datadog for Startups

A year of Datadog Pro with up to $100,000 in credits for Series A or earlier startups, via a referral partner.

6.5 /10

Pricing: Up to $100k in credits & perks

Pros

Up to $100,000 in credits for a year
Covers most of the Datadog platform

Cons

Only through an official referral partner
Strict activity and activation rules

Visit Datadog for Startups ↗

Amplitude for Startups vs Datadog for Startups at a glance

	Amplitude for Startups	Datadog for Startups
Editor score	8.0 / 10	6.5 / 10
Pricing model	Free	Free
What you get	Up to $60k in credits & perks	Up to $100k in credits & perks
Who qualifies	Raised $10M or less and 20 employees or fewer (per Amplitude's comparison table); other conditions not stated.	Series A or earlier, new to Datadog (no current or past customers), must apply through an official Datadog referral partner.
Partner code needed	No	Yes
Steps it helps with	claim startup credits, set up analytics, build your mvp, validate your idea	claim startup credits, host and deploy, set up analytics
Who it is for	Any stage, Bootstrapped, Pre-seed, Seed stage, Series A+, VC-backed only, SaaS	Pre-seed, Seed stage, Series A+, VC-backed only, SaaS
Reader upvotes	0	0
Best for	amplitude, product analytics, session replay	datadog, observability, monitoring

Our pick

Amplitude for Startups edges it with a score of 8.0 versus 6.5. Amplitude for Startups is the better fit if you value: full growth plan free for a year, no card needed, 40% off year two or a free fallback plan. Choose Datadog for Startups instead if you need: up to $100,000 in credits for a year, covers most of the datadog platform. Many startups can claim both: see credits by value.