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Airbrake vs AppDynamics

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Logging

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AppDynamics logo

AppDynamics

Logging

Enterprise Application Performance Management

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Airbrake has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; AppDynamics appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and AppDynamics actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and AppDynamics differ
AttributeAirbrakeAppDynamics
Starting priceFree$6/month
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging), founded (2008).

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

Only in AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring
  • Distributed tracing
  • Real-time analytics
  • Alert management

Both cover

  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Airbrake

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

AppDynamics

  • Application performance monitoring for Java, .NET and other enterprise application stacksnot Airbrake
  • Business transaction tracing across distributed application tiersnot Airbrake
  • Infrastructure monitoring priced per vCPUnot 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

AppDynamics

  • appdynamics.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to Splunk's observability pricing page; the product is now sold as Splunk AppDynamics
  • Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU per month billed annually, so cost scales with core count rather than host count
  • Premium Edition starts at $33 per host per month and Enterprise Edition at $50 per host per month, both billed annually
  • The published figures are starting prices only, with volume pricing requiring a sales quote

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbrake

Free
  • Tier 1 (Dev + errors)$19/month
    • 25,000 errors per month
    • 1 user
    • 1 team
  • Tier 2 (Basic + errors)$38/month
    • 100,000 errors per month
    • Unlimited users
    • 3 teams
  • Pro$76/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited teams
    • Unlimited projects
  • Tier 5 (Growth)$299/month
    • 1 million errors per month

AppDynamics

$6/month
  • Infrastructure Edition$6/month
    • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Premium Edition$33/month
    • Infrastructure monitoring
    • Applications
    • APM
  • Enterprise Edition$50/month
    • Premium Edition features
    • Business Analytics

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 AppDynamics if

  • You need application performance monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want distributed tracing.
AppDynamics review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or AppDynamics better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and AppDynamics at $6/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or AppDynamics?
Airbrake has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airbrake and $6/month for AppDynamics.
Does Airbrake or AppDynamics run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Airbrake for free?
Yes. Airbrake has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AppDynamics starts at $6/month.
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 AppDynamics is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that AppDynamics cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. AppDynamics covers Application performance monitoring, Distributed tracing, Real-time analytics, Alert management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbrake: What is the lowest-cost Airbrake plan and what does it include?

Tier 1 costs $19 per month and includes 25,000 errors per month, 1 user seat, 1 team, and unlimited projects. This plan targets individual developers. A 10% discount applies when paying annually ($17.10 per month).

Source
AppDynamics: How is AppDynamics priced?

AppDynamics uses a subscription model based on vCPU usage, billed annually. Infrastructure Edition starts at $6 per vCPU/month, Premium Edition at $33 per vCPU/month, and Enterprise Edition at $50 per vCPU/month. Additional capabilities like Secure Application, Real User Monitoring, and Synthetics have separate per-unit pricing.

Source
Airbrake: Which Airbrake plan is marked as the best value?

The Pro plan at $76 per month is marked as Best Value. It includes unlimited users, unlimited teams, unlimited projects, audit logs, and spike forgiveness. Annual billing provides a 10% discount ($68 per month).

Source
AppDynamics: What add-on costs does AppDynamics charge?

Secure Application costs $13.75 per CPU core per month (billed annually). Real User Monitoring is $0.06 per 1000 tokens per month. Browser Synthetics costs $12 per test location per month. SAP Solutions monitoring is $95 per CPU core per month.

Source
Airbrake: How many errors per month does each Airbrake tier allow?

Tier 1 allows 25,000 errors per month at $19/month. Tier 2 allows 100,000 errors at $38/month. Tier 4 allows 300,000 errors at $129/month. Tier 5 allows 1 million errors at $299/month. Tier 6 allows 5 million errors at $799/month.

Source
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