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Logging · head to head

Airbrake vs Datadog Logs

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Logging

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Datadog Logs logo

Datadog Logs

Logging

Log Management and Analytics

From
$0.1/per GB ingested per 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 Logs complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Datadog Logs actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and Datadog Logs differ
AttributeAirbrakeDatadog Logs
Starting priceFree$0.1/per GB ingested per month
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiCloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud)
Founded20082010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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 Datadog Logs

  • Log ingestion
  • Full-text search
  • Custom dashboards
  • Log-based metrics

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 Datadog Logs
  • Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Datadog Logs
  • Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Datadog Logs
  • Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Datadog Logs

Datadog Logs

  • Centralised log aggregation and analysisnot Airbrake
  • Multi-source log correlation with metrics and tracesnot Airbrake
  • Root cause analysis and troubleshootingnot Airbrake
  • Security monitoring and threat detectionnot 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 Logs

  • Complex, multi-tiered pricing model based on ingestion, indexing, and storage; can become expensive at scale
  • Ingestion pricing of $0.10/GB can accumulate rapidly for high-volume logging environments

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

Datadog Logs

$0.1/per GB ingested per month

No published plan breakdown. See the Datadog Logs 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.
Airbrake review

Choose Datadog Logs if

  • You need log ingestion.
  • You work on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
  • You also want full-text search.
Datadog Logs review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or Datadog Logs better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Datadog Logs at $0.1/per GB ingested per month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Datadog Logs?
Airbrake has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airbrake and $0.1/per GB ingested per month for Datadog Logs.
Does Airbrake or Datadog Logs run on more platforms?
Airbrake runs on Web, Api. Datadog Logs runs on Cloud (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud).
Can I use Airbrake for free?
Yes. Airbrake has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Datadog Logs starts at $0.1/per GB ingested per 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 Logs is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that Datadog Logs cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Datadog Logs covers Log ingestion, Full-text search, Custom dashboards, Log-based metrics. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

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
Datadog Logs: What pricing options does Datadog offer for log ingestion and processing?

Log ingestion starts at $0.10/GB (annual billing; $0.10 on-demand). Standard indexing costs $1.70 per million events per month (annual; $2.55 on-demand). Flex Storage costs $0.05/million events stored per month (annual; $0.075 on-demand). Flex Logs Starter costs $0.60/million events stored per month (annual; $0.90 on-demand).

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
Datadog Logs: What retention options are available and how does it affect pricing?

Standard indexing offers 15-day retention with options for 3 to 30+ days. Flex Storage supports flexible retention up to 15 months. Flex Logs Starter includes bundled compute for retention of 3-15 months.

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
Datadog Logs: Is there a cost to forward logs to external systems?

Yes, log forwarding costs $0.25/GB outbound per destination for routing logs to external systems.

Source
Datadog Logs: What discounts are available for high-volume customers?

Multi-year and volume discounts are available for customers processing 3B+ events per month.

Source
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