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Airbrake vs Braintrust

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Logging

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Braintrust logo

Braintrust

Software Development

The active observability platform for agents

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; Braintrust enterprise plan pricing not published, requires custom quote

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Braintrust actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and Braintrust differ
AttributeAirbrakeBraintrust
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb
CategoryLoggingSoftware Development
Founded2008Unknown

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

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 Braintrust

Nothing recorded that Airbrake does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Airbrake

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

Braintrust

  • Monitoring production AI agents for qualitynot Airbrake
  • Detecting patterns in agent failuresnot Airbrake
  • Defining quality expectations before shipping agentsnot Airbrake
  • Tracking prompts and tool calls in productionnot 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

Braintrust

  • Enterprise plan pricing not published, requires custom quote
  • Pro plan includes 6-12 months free discount for startups only

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

Braintrust

Free
  • StarterFree
    • $10 model credits monthly included
    • 1 GB processed data monthly
    • 10000 scores monthly
  • Pro$249/month
    • $249 model credits monthly included
    • 5 GB processed data monthly
    • 50000 scores monthly
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom data retention and export capabilities
    • RBAC and premium support
    • On-premises or hosted solutions available

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 Braintrust if

  • You want to start without paying.
Braintrust review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or Braintrust better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Braintrust at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Braintrust?
Airbrake starts at Free and Braintrust at Free.
Does Airbrake or Braintrust run on more platforms?
Airbrake runs on Web, Api. Braintrust runs on Web.
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 Braintrust is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that Braintrust cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications.

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
Braintrust: Does Braintrust have a free plan?

Braintrust Starter plan is free and includes $10 model credits monthly, 1 GB processed data, 10000 scores monthly, and 14-day data retention with unlimited users and projects. No credit card required.

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
Braintrust: How much does the Braintrust Pro plan cost?

Braintrust Pro plan costs $249 per month and includes $249 model credits, 5 GB processed data, 50000 scores monthly, and 30-day data retention. Qualifying startups receive 6-12 months free.

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
Braintrust: What are Braintrust's overage charges?

Braintrust charges overage rates after monthly allocations: model credits beyond monthly allotment are charged at token rates, data overage is $4 per GB on Starter or $3 per GB on Pro, scores overage is $2.50 per 1000 on Starter or $1.50 per 1000 on Pro. Extended data retention beyond the included period costs $0.50 per GB per month.

Source
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