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Software · head to head

Airbrake vs Fluentd

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fluentd logo

Fluentd

Software

Open Source Data Collector for Unified Logging

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; Fluentd fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Fluentd covers Log collection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Fluentd actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and Fluentd differ
AttributeAirbrakeFluentd
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Founded20082011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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

  • Error tracking
  • Performance monitoring
  • Deploy tracking
  • Custom notifications

Only in Fluentd

  • Log collection
  • Data parsing
  • Filtering and buffering
  • Event routing

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

Fluentd

  • Unified log collection and routing from many sources to many destinationsnot Airbrake
  • Parsing and transforming log records before forwardingnot Airbrake
  • Aggregating logs from containers into Elasticsearch, S3 or a SIEMnot 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

Fluentd

  • Fluentd needs more than 60 MB of memory at runtime, against roughly 450 KB for Fluent Bit
  • Fluentd is built as a Ruby gem and depends on other gems, so a Ruby runtime is required
  • Its capability comes from over 1,000 external plugins rather than built in functionality, so each added input or output is a separate dependency
  • The Fluent Bit documentation states that cloud providers have switched from Fluentd to Fluent Bit for performance and compatibility and calls Fluent Bit the next generation solution

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbrake

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

Fluentd

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Data parsing
    • Filtering and buffering

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 Fluentd if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data parsing.
Fluentd review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or Fluentd better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Fluentd at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Fluentd?
Airbrake starts at Free and Fluentd at Free.
Does Airbrake or Fluentd 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 Fluentd is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that Fluentd cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Fluentd covers Log collection, Data parsing, Filtering and buffering, Event routing. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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