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Software · head to head

Airbrake vs New Relic

Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
New Relic logo

New Relic

Software

Observability made simple

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; New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
  • They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, New Relic covers APM.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbrake and New Relic actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbrake and New Relic differ
AttributeAirbrakeNew Relic
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Api, Mobile

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2008).

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 New Relic

  • APM
  • Infrastructure Monitoring
  • Log Management
  • Browser Monitoring
  • Synthetic Monitoring
  • Mobile Monitoring
  • Kubernetes Monitoring
  • AI Ops

What people use each for

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

Airbrake

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

New Relic

  • Application monitoringnot Airbrake
  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Airbrake
  • Error trackingnot Airbrake
  • Performance optimizationnot 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

New Relic

  • Data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
  • Core user licensing model adds complexity to pricing with distinction between full platform users and basic users
  • Default logs obfuscation may miss some sensitive patterns requiring custom configuration
  • Retention limits even on paid tiers require additional storage for long-term compliance requirements

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbrake

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

New Relic

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the New Relic 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 New Relic if

  • You need apm.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Mobile.
  • You also want infrastructure monitoring.
New Relic review

Questions people ask

Is Airbrake or New Relic better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and New Relic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbrake or New Relic?
Airbrake starts at Free and New Relic at Free.
Does Airbrake or New Relic run on more platforms?
Airbrake runs on Web, Api. New Relic runs on Web, Api, Mobile.
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 New Relic is typically brought in for.
What can Airbrake do that New Relic cannot?
Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

New Relic: Does New Relic offer a free tier?

Yes, New Relic's free tier is perpetual with no credit card required. It includes 100 GB of free data ingest monthly, one Full Platform User with access to all 50+ capabilities, and unlimited Basic Users for querying and dashboard creation.

Source
New Relic: How much does New Relic cost for paid plans?

Paid plans start at $49 per month per core user. New Relic uses consumption-based pricing where you pay only for what you use. Annual commitment options are available with volume discounts for larger teams.

Source
New Relic: What data retention is included in New Relic's free tier?

The free tier includes a minimum of 8 days data retention for troubleshooting. Paid plans offer extended retention periods and customizable data retention policies.

Source
New Relic: How many integrations does New Relic support?

New Relic provides access to 780+ integrations and unlimited hosts at no additional cost. These include monitoring integrations for various cloud services, databases, and applications.

Source
New Relic: Can I use New Relic to monitor multiple cloud providers?

Yes, New Relic is cloud-agnostic and supports monitoring across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and on-premises infrastructure in a single platform.

Source
New Relic: What is New Relic's ownership structure today?

New Relic was acquired by TPG and Francisco Partners on July 31, 2023, for $6.5 billion and transitioned from a publicly traded company to a private company in November 2023.

Source
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Related pages

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