Logging · head to head
Airbrake vs Cline
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; Cline no seat licenses or subscription fees for open source tier creates unclear Enterprise pricing model
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Cline actually diverge.
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 Cline
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 Cline
- Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Cline
- Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Cline
- Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Cline
Cline
- AI-assisted code generation and refactoringnot Airbrake
- VS Code extension for developersnot Airbrake
- Enterprise multi-user team collaborationnot 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
Cline
- no seat licenses or subscription fees for open source tier creates unclear Enterprise pricing model
- JetBrains IDE support only in Enterprise tier
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
Cline
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cline review.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbrake or Cline better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Cline at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Cline?
- Airbrake starts at Free and Cline at Free.
- Does Airbrake or Cline run on more platforms?
- Airbrake runs on Web, Api. Cline 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 Cline is typically brought in for.
- What can Airbrake do that Cline 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).
SourceCline: Is Cline free?
Yes, Cline open source is free and Apache 2.0 licensed; you pay only for AI model inference when you use it, with no subscriptions or seat licenses.
SourceAirbrake: 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).
SourceCline: Does Cline have team collaboration features?
Team collaboration is available in the Enterprise tier only, which includes SSO/OIDC, role-based access control, team management dashboard, and audit logs.
SourceAirbrake: 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.
SourceCline: Can I use my own AI API keys with Cline?
Yes, you can bring your own API keys from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other providers, giving you full control over inference costs.
SourceCline: What's included in Cline Enterprise?
Cline Enterprise adds JetBrains IDE support, SSO/OIDC authentication, SLA, dedicated support, centralized billing, role-based access control, and audit logging to the open source features.
SourceRelated pages
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- Cline vs Checkly
- Cline vs CloudWatch
- Cline vs Dynatrace
- Cline vs InfluxDB
- Cline vs AppDynamics
- Cline vs Axiom
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- Cline vs Cursor
- Cline vs Windsurf
- Cline vs Zed
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- Cline vs DeepSource
- Cline vs Devin
- Cline vs SonarQube Cloud
- Cline vs Augment Code
- Cline vs Baseten
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- Cline vs Flagsmith
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