Top 2 Steps Alternatives for Advanced Application Monitoring
2 Steps revolutionized synthetic testing by enabling agentless synthetic tests and video replays for various platforms like web, Windows, Java, and mobile apps. It offers an intuitive, code-free approach to monitoring, making it accessible for anyone to identify and troubleshoot application issues, even producing detailed reports for all teams. While 2 Steps provides comprehensive experience automation, many organizations seek alternatives that might better align with their existing tech stacks, specific monitoring needs, or budget constraints. This article explores several top 2 Steps alternatives that offer robust application performance management (APM) and monitoring capabilities.
Top 2 Steps Alternatives
Looking for a different approach to application monitoring, or perhaps a more specialized tool? Here are some of the leading 2 Steps alternatives that provide powerful insights into your applications and infrastructure.

Datadog
Datadog is a comprehensive monitoring service for IT, Dev & Ops teams, specializing in turning vast amounts of application data into actionable insights. Available on Commercial, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web platforms, Datadog offers a wide array of features including APM monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, Error logging, Network Monitoring, Performance Monitoring, Server Monitoring, Software as a Service, and Web log analysis, making it a strong 2 Steps alternative for those needing an all-in-one solution.

New Relic
New Relic helps pinpoint and solve performance issues across various programming languages like Ruby, Java, .NET, PHP, and Python. As a Freemium web-based platform, it offers extensive APM & Profiling, Application Monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, End User Monitoring, Performance Monitoring, Server Monitoring, Software as a Service, and Uptime Monitoring, providing a robust set of tools for in-depth application insights similar to or exceeding those offered by 2 Steps.

Site24x7
Site24x7 provides comprehensive website and web application monitoring, simulating real browser behavior to check performance. This Commercial web-based solution includes Server Monitoring, IT Automation, Custom Dashboards, Factful reports, and integrations with Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, and Slack. Its focus on detailed website and application performance makes it an excellent 2 Steps alternative for those prioritizing web-centric monitoring.

Zipkin
Zipkin is a Free and Open Source distributed tracing system for troubleshooting latency in microservice architectures. Available on Linux, BSD, and Docker, its primary feature is distributed tracing, which helps gather timing data for deep analysis of service interactions. While not a direct feature-for-feature alternative in terms of synthetic testing, Zipkin serves as a powerful 2 Steps alternative for developers focused on understanding complex distributed system performance.

Monitis
Monitis is a Cloud monitoring and IT analytics service offering a broad spectrum of monitoring capabilities. This Commercial web-based platform features Uptime Monitoring, Application Monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, Load testing, Network Monitoring, Server Monitoring, and Website monitoring, making it a well-rounded 2 Steps alternative for businesses seeking a comprehensive cloud-based monitoring solution.

Librato
Librato is a Commercial, cloud-based monitoring platform designed for devops, development, and operations teams to monitor key metrics and events. Available on Windows, Linux, and Web, its core features include Cloud Monitoring and Server Monitoring. Librato provides a flexible and powerful 2 Steps alternative for organizations that need granular control and deep insights into their system's performance metrics.

Instana
Instana offers Dynamic APM for Microservice Management, providing real-time impact analysis, operational health, and quality of service visibility. This Commercial, Web, and Self-Hosted platform excels in End User Monitoring, Infrastructure monitoring, and Performance Monitoring with low memory usage. Instana stands out as a sophisticated 2 Steps alternative for organizations running complex microservice architectures and needing automated, real-time insights.

Pinpoint APM
Pinpoint is a Free and Open Source APM tool specifically for large-scale distributed systems written in Java. Available on Linux, BSD, OpenJDK, and Java, its features include APM monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, Distributed tracing, Performance Monitoring, Server Monitoring, and Software as a Service capabilities. For Java-heavy environments, Pinpoint APM offers a compelling, open-source 2 Steps alternative with deep performance insights.

CULA
CULA controls site performance, response time, and availability, notifying users about downtime and allowing content checks on chosen sites. As a Freemium web-based service, CULA offers Uptime Monitoring, APM monitoring, Performance Monitoring, Real User Monitoring, Server Monitoring, and Website monitoring, among other features. It’s a solid 2 Steps alternative for those prioritizing uptime and content verification for their web assets.

CoScale
CoScale provides full-stack monitoring of containers and microservices, powered by anomaly detection. This Commercial web-based platform, compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux, offers Application Monitoring, Cloud Monitoring, Docker support, End User Monitoring, Hardware Monitoring, Real User Monitoring, Server Monitoring, and Website monitoring. CoScale is an excellent 2 Steps alternative for organizations deeply invested in containerized and microservice environments.
Choosing the right application monitoring solution depends heavily on your specific architecture, team size, budget, and desired level of detail. While 2 Steps offers unique advantages in agentless synthetic testing and video replay, these alternatives provide a diverse range of features, from comprehensive APM suites to specialized open-source tools. We encourage you to explore these options further to find the best fit for your application monitoring needs.