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Software · head to head

Airbrake vs Datadog

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datadog logo

Datadog

Software

Modern monitoring & security

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Airbrake has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; Datadog consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Datadog actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and Datadog differ
AttributeAirbrakeDatadog
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Linux, Windows, macOS
Founded20082010

Identical on both: 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

  • Error tracking
  • Performance monitoring
  • Deploy tracking
  • Custom notifications
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

Only in Datadog

  • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Application performance monitoring
  • Log management
  • Real user monitoring
  • Synthetic monitoring
  • Security monitoring
  • Network monitoring
  • Serverless monitoring

What people use each for

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

Airbrake

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

Datadog

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Airbrake
  • Application performancenot Airbrake
  • Security monitoringnot Airbrake
  • Log analysisnot Airbrake
  • Cloud monitoringnot 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

Datadog

  • Consumption-based pricing model makes costs hard to predict and can scale quickly
  • Add-on modules significantly increase costs: custom metrics, indexed spans, extended retention
  • No free tier for production monitoring
  • High costs for organizations with large amounts of log data or high-cardinality metrics

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbrake

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Performance monitoring
    • Deploy tracking

Datadog

$15/month
  • Infrastructure Monitoring$15/month
    • Host monitoring
    • Basic dashboards
  • APM$31/month
    • Application performance monitoring
    • Trace collection
  • Log Management$0.1/gb
    • Log indexing
    • Search and filter

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 Datadog if

  • You need infrastructure monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want application performance monitoring.
Datadog review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or Datadog better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Datadog at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Datadog?
Airbrake has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airbrake and $15/month for Datadog.
Does Airbrake or Datadog run on more platforms?
Airbrake runs on Web, Api. Datadog runs on Web, Linux, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Airbrake for free?
Yes. Airbrake has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog starts at $15/month.
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 Datadog is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that Datadog cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Datadog covers Infrastructure monitoring, Application performance monitoring, Log management, Real user monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Datadog: How is Datadog pricing structured?

Datadog uses consumption-based pricing tied to data volume ingested, hosts monitored, and products enabled. Infrastructure Monitoring starts at $15/host/month, APM at $31/host/month, and Log Management at $0.10/GB for indexed logs.

Source
Datadog: Does Datadog offer a free tier?

Datadog offers a free trial but not a permanent free tier for production monitoring. Pricing begins with paid plans only.

Source
Datadog: What integrations does Datadog support?

Datadog offers 1000+ built-in integrations including AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure, GCP, and most major cloud platforms and services.

Source
Datadog: Can Datadog monitor Kubernetes clusters?

Yes. The Datadog Agent runs as a DaemonSet to provide real-time visibility into pods, nodes, deployments, and control-plane health across major Kubernetes distributions including EKS, AKS, GKE, OpenShift, and others.

Source
Datadog: How can I reduce Datadog costs?

Datadog bills based on indexed logs, custom metrics, and high-cardinality tags. Costs can be unpredictable and may run 2-3x estimates. Prepaying annually can secure 5-15% discounts.

Source
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