Log Management · head to head
Airbrake vs Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor
Log Management
Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service
- 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; Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
- They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Azure Monitor covers Log collection.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Azure Monitor actually diverge.
| Attribute | Airbrake | Azure Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 | 2010 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).
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 Azure Monitor
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
- Custom dashboards
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 Azure Monitor
- Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Azure Monitor
- Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Azure Monitor
- Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor
- Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Airbrake
- Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Airbrake
- Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Airbrake
- Long-term log retention for compliancenot Airbrake
- Querying operational data with KQLnot 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
Azure Monitor
- Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
- Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
- Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
- Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
- Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
- The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen
Pricing, plan by plan
Airbrake
Free- FreeFree
- Error tracking
- Performance monitoring
- Deploy tracking
Azure Monitor
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Metrics collection
- Alerts and notifications
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 Azure Monitor if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want metrics collection.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbrake or Azure Monitor better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Azure Monitor?
- Airbrake starts at Free and Azure Monitor at Free.
- Does Airbrake or Azure Monitor 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 Azure Monitor is typically brought in for.
- What can Airbrake do that Azure Monitor cannot?
- Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.