Log Management · head to head
Airbrake vs AppDynamics
A
AppDynamics
Log Management
Enterprise Application Performance Management
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbrake and AppDynamics actually diverge.
| Attribute | Airbrake | AppDynamics |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management), 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- FreeFree
- Error tracking
- Performance monitoring
- Deploy tracking
AppDynamics
Free- FreeFree
- Application performance monitoring
- Distributed tracing
- Real-time 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.
Choose AppDynamics if
- You need application performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want distributed tracing.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbrake or AppDynamics better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbrake or AppDynamics?
- Airbrake starts at Free and AppDynamics at Free.
- 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?
- 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 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.