Logging · head to head
Airbrake vs Sumo Logic
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier; Sumo Logic neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
- They diverge on capability: Airbrake covers Error tracking, Sumo Logic covers Log aggregation.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airbrake and Sumo Logic actually diverge.
| Attribute | Airbrake | Sumo Logic |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | subscription | usage-based |
| Founded | 2008 | 2010 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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 Sumo Logic
- Log aggregation
- Metrics collection
- Real-time analytics
- Custom dashboards
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 Sumo Logic
- Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Sumo Logic
- Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Sumo Logic
- Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Sumo Logic
Sumo Logic
- Cloud-native log analytics across applications and infrastructurenot Airbrake
- Running a SIEM with MITRE ATT&CK mapped detections and UEBAnot Airbrake
- Compliance and audit readiness reporting from log datanot 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
Sumo Logic
- Neither the Essentials nor the Enterprise Suite package lists a price on the pricing page; both link to Contact Sales
- Quoted per GB figures assume an annual commitment, an average of 1 GB of log ingest per day and a US deployment region
- Pricing varies by the AWS deployment region chosen, so the same volume costs differently in Dublin, Frankfurt, Sydney or Tokyo
- Flex pricing bills per TB scanned rather than per GB ingested, so query activity drives the bill
- Feature activation is subject to minimum volume, minimum user counts and service requirements confirmed at the time of the transaction
- The API is limited to four calls per section, ten concurrent in-flight requests, and query processing times out after two minutes
- Self-serve credit card purchase is capped at $25,000; larger purchases must go through sales or a reseller
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
Sumo Logic
Free- FreeFree
- Log aggregation
- Metrics collection
- Real-time analytics
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.
Choose Sumo Logic if
- You need log aggregation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want metrics collection.
Questions people ask
- Is Airbrake or Sumo Logic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airbrake starts at Free and Sumo Logic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airbrake or Sumo Logic?
- Airbrake starts at Free and Sumo Logic at Free.
- Does Airbrake or Sumo Logic 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 Sumo Logic is typically brought in for.
- What can Airbrake do that Sumo Logic cannot?
- Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Sumo Logic covers Log aggregation, Metrics collection, Real-time analytics, Custom dashboards. 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).
SourceSumo Logic: How much does Sumo Logic cost?
Sumo Logic does not publish specific pricing on its pricing page. Essentials plan is available via self-serve credit card for up to $25,000, with Enterprise Suite requiring sales contact for quotes.
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).
SourceSumo Logic: How is Sumo Logic priced?
Sumo Logic uses a credit-based pricing model. Logs are measured by GB scanned during queries, metrics by Data Points per Minute, and traces up to 5GB per day on Essentials.
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.
SourceSumo Logic: Is there a free trial?
Yes, Sumo Logic offers a 30-day free trial for the Essentials plan, which is available via self-serve credit card signup.
SourceSumo Logic: What are the data retention limits?
The Essentials plan supports up to 365 days of log retention, 300 log monitors, 500 metric monitors, and 5GB per day trace storage.
SourceRelated pages
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