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Software · head to head

Airbrake vs Amplitude

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amplitude logo

Amplitude

Software

The digital analytics platform to understand your users

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; Amplitude metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Amplitude covers Event tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Amplitude actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and Amplitude differ
AttributeAirbrakeAmplitude
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20082012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbrake

  • Error tracking
  • Performance monitoring
  • Deploy tracking
  • Custom notifications
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

Only in Amplitude

  • Event tracking
  • User segmentation
  • Funnel analysis
  • Retention analysis
  • Cohort analysis
  • A/B testing
  • Revenue analytics
  • Predictive analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbrake

  • Error and exception monitoring for web applicationsnot Amplitude
  • Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Amplitude
  • Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Amplitude
  • Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Amplitude

Amplitude

  • User behavior analysisnot Airbrake
  • Feature adoption trackingnot Airbrake
  • Conversion rate optimizationnot Airbrake
  • Customer journey mappingnot Airbrake
  • Retention improvementnot Airbrake

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbrake

  • Data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
  • The entry plan at $19 a month covers 25,000 errors and 7,500 events
  • Errors beyond the plan quota are billed on demand
  • Audit logs and spike forgiveness require the Pro tier
  • The lowest tier is limited to 1 user and 1 team

Amplitude

  • Metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
  • The free plan covers 2M events a month
  • The Plus plan scales to 70M events, above which pricing is custom
  • Growth and Enterprise pricing is not published

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbrake

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Performance monitoring
    • Deploy tracking

Amplitude

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 2 million events per month
  • Plus$49/month
    • $0.049 per MTU
    • Up to 300k MTUs
    • Advanced analytics
  • GrowthFree
    • Causal insights
    • Feature experimentation
    • Real-time streaming
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Cross-product analysis
    • Advanced permissions
    • Dedicated account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbrake if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want performance monitoring.
Airbrake review

Choose Amplitude if

  • You need event tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want user segmentation.
Amplitude review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or Amplitude better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Amplitude at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Amplitude?
Airbrake starts at Free and Amplitude at Free.
Does Airbrake or Amplitude run on more platforms?
Airbrake runs on Web, Api. Amplitude runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Airbrake for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Airbrake best used for?
Airbrake is most often used for error and exception monitoring for web applications, performance monitoring alongside error tracking, alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errors, tracking errors across multiple projects in one account. Of those, error and exception monitoring for web applications and performance monitoring alongside error tracking are not what Amplitude is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that Amplitude cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Amplitude covers Event tracking, User segmentation, Funnel analysis, Retention analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amplitude: Does Amplitude have a free plan?

Yes, Amplitude offers a free Starter plan with 2 million events per month and access to the entire platform including analytics, session replay, and experimentation features.

Source
Amplitude: What is Amplitude's pricing based on?

Amplitude's pricing is based on the number of monthly tracked users (MTUs), data volume, and advanced features selected. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month with a rate of $0.049 per MTU.

Source
Amplitude: What analytics features does every Amplitude plan include?

Every plan includes access to the full platform: analytics, session replay, feature experimentation, web experimentation, guides and surveys, activation, and AI tools like AI Feedback and AI Assistant.

Source
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Related pages

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