Software · head to head
Airbrake vs Bugsnag
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; Bugsnag owned by SmartBear rather than being independent
- They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Performance monitoring, Bugsnag covers Crash reporting.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Bugsnag actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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
- Performance monitoring
- Deploy tracking
- Custom notifications
Only in Bugsnag
- Crash reporting
- Release tracking
- Trend analysis
Both cover
- Error tracking
- 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 Bugsnag
- Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Bugsnag
- Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Bugsnag
- Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Bugsnag
Bugsnag
- Crash and error reporting for mobile and web applicationsnot Airbrake
- Stability scores per releasenot Airbrake
- Grouping errors by root cause across deploysnot Airbrake
- Alerting when a release regressesnot 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
Bugsnag
- Owned by SmartBear rather than being independent
- The free tier covers 7,500 events a month
- Paid tiers are usage-priced by event volume rather than by seat, so a noisy release raises the bill
- Enterprise pricing is quote-only
Pricing, plan by plan
Airbrake
Free- FreeFree
- Error tracking
- Performance monitoring
- Deploy tracking
Bugsnag
Free- FreeFree
- Error tracking
- Crash reporting
- Release tracking
Which should you pick?
Choose Airbrake if
- You need performance monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want deploy tracking.
Choose Bugsnag if
- You need crash reporting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want release tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbrake or Bugsnag better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Bugsnag at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Bugsnag?
- Airbrake starts at Free and Bugsnag at Free.
- Does Airbrake or Bugsnag 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 Bugsnag is typically brought in for.
- What can Airbrake do that Bugsnag cannot?
- Airbrake covers Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Bugsnag covers Crash reporting, Release tracking, Trend analysis. Both handle Error tracking, API, Webhooks, REST.
Related pages
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