Datadog for Startups | Datadog
Datadog for Startups

Datadog for Startups

Ship faster, monitor smarter, and scale confidently with
a year of free Datadog Pro

TRUSTED BY COMPANIES YOU ADMIRE

BENEFITS

Why Startups Choose Datadog

Get real-time visibility, a centralized stack—and no growing pains as you scale

A year of Datadog (up to $100k in credits)

Use your credits for the entire Datadog platform for your first year with Datadog. No watered-down tiers, no hidden limits

Build, iterate, and fix faster than before

Get complete visibility into your stack—from frontend glitches to backend bottlenecks. Datadog helps you debug in minutes, not hours

Integrations with the tools you use

Datadog integrates with the AI-native tools you use: Anthropic, Cursor, OpenAI, Pinecone, Qdrant, Vercel, Weaviate and so many more

Set up in an afternoon, not weeks

No lengthy sales calls or complicated setup. Apply online, get your credits quickly, and start monitoring—with tailored support to guide you through

Who's Eligible

Datadog for Startups is for builders early in their journey who are:

Series A or earlier

Referred by one of our partners

New to Datadog

THE DATADOG PLATFORM

Modern Monitoring & Security

Don’t waste time on a duct-taped stack. Track application performance, user behavior, and LLM output—all with a single login

Infrastructure Monitoring

Avoid downtime, right-size your resources, and catch issues early

Application Performance

Catch errors, latency, and bottlenecks—before your users do

Log management

From incidents to insights, log data that actually helps you move faster

Explore the Product

From LLM Observability and Session Replays to Error Tracking and Threat Detection, there's a lot more to love about the Datadog platform

Apply to Datadog for Startups

How to apply

1. Submit an application Tell us more about your team

2. Sign up for a Datadog trial You can start using Datadog immediately while your application is reviewed

3. Notification of acceptance We’ll let you know via email within a couple of days if your application has been accepted

4. Start building We’ll apply the credits to your account and you can start building with Datadog!

Questions? Review our FAQs or email us at startups@datadoghq.com

Interested in becoming a Datadog for Startups partner? Let us know at ddfspartners@datadoghq.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply to Datadog for Startups (DDFS)?
  • Startups that are Series A or earlier
  • Must apply through one of our official referral partners (see full list in our application drop down menu which includes many VCs as well as hyperscaler and other vendor partner startup programs)
  • The company must be new to Datadog. That means you cannot be a current or prior Datadog customer, nor can you have previously received DDFS credits.
Can I apply directly without a referral?

No. All applicants must come through one of our referral partners. If you’re not sure who your referral partner is, please reach out to your investor, accelerator, or startup community contact (see full list in our application drop down menu which includes many VCs as well as hyperscaler and other vendor partner startup programs).

Can existing Datadog customers apply?

Unfortunately, no. The program is only open to companies that are not current or past Datadog customers, nor can you have previously received DDFS credits.

What happens if I'm not eligible?

Datadog’s Trial is a 2-week trial that is available to all companies to experience the value of our entire platform.

What about if I'm a student?

Datadog has a Student Developer Program to provide 2 years of free access with various limits on usage for currently enrolled students.

What does my company get with the program?

DDFS participants receive access to the full Datadog platform (including front and back-end observability and security modules), with all Generally Available (GA) products plus any new products and features that may GA during the course of your program. DDFS participants are also permitted to sign up for Preview products if space permits. This allows your team to monitor, analyze, and secure your entire technology stack in one unified platform.

What happens after I apply?

The approval process typically takes 3 to 5 business days. If you’re approved, you’ll be notified via email. It’s important to provide accurate information for our team to approve your application.

While your application is being reviewed, set up a trial account here. Please make sure to select the correct region as you cannot change it after you start the program. Every time you log-in, make sure the correct region is selected.

Once you receive an email confirming your acceptance, you must respond to confirm your credit activation. If you do not complete this step within 30 days, your acceptance will expire, and you’ll need to reapply in the future if eligible.

After joining the program, you’ll receive onboarding materials to help you get started with Datadog. If your account remains inactive for three months, you’ll receive a warning and have 30 days to start utilizing products. If no action is taken within that time, your account will be kindly removed from the program.

How do I select a region?

When creating your Datadog account, you’ll be asked to select a region. This determines where your data is stored and processed. Choose the region that best fits your data residency requirements and is closest to your infrastructure.

For example, if your workloads are based in the United States, pick one of the US regions near your infrastructure. If your systems primarily run in Europe and you need to comply with GDPR, select the EU1 region.

You can see all Datadog regions here.

I'm having trouble signing in. What should I do?

First, double-check your account region. You can identify the URL for your region on this page or select the region from the top-right corner of any Datadog login page.

If you’re still unable to sign in, please reach out to support@datadoghq.com.

I don't know how best to use or set up Datadog. Can you help?

Yes - start with our onboarding resources to get set up. If you run into install or configuration issues, please contact support@datadoghq.com for troubleshooting.

Once you have data flowing (metrics/logs/traces) and some initial usage in the platform, you can book a Technical Engagement Manager (TEM) session. TEMs focus on demos, best practices, architecture reviews, and optimization - they do not handle initial setup or troubleshooting.

What resources are available to help us succeed?

In addition to platform access, DDFS companies receive:

  • Optional TEM (technical engagement manager) for personalized onboarding support.
  • Access to Datadog’s documentation, guides, and learning resources.
  • Best practices for observability, security, and scaling as your company grows.
  • After several months in the program you’ll be assigned a customer success representative who will help you understand your usage and help you determine the best way to transition to program graduation.
  • If you have any technical issues you can set up a support ticket by emailing support@datadoghq.com