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Log Management · head to head

Azure Monitor vs Honeybadger

Azure Monitor logo

Azure Monitor

Log Management

Azure's Monitoring and Diagnostics Service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Honeybadger logo

Honeybadger

Log Management

Error and Uptime Monitoring for Developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Azure Monitor billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does; Honeybadger the free Developer plan is limited to one user, 5,000 errors per month, 50 MB per day of logging and one uptime monitor
  • They diverge on capability: Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Honeybadger covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Monitor and Honeybadger actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Monitor and Honeybadger differ
AttributeAzure MonitorHoneybadger
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Founded20102012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Log Management).

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 Azure Monitor

  • Log collection
  • Metrics collection
  • Alerts and notifications
  • Custom dashboards

Only in Honeybadger

  • Error tracking
  • Uptime monitoring
  • Status pages
  • Incident management

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.

Azure Monitor

  • Collecting logs and metrics from Azure resourcesnot Honeybadger
  • Alerting on metric thresholds and log queriesnot Honeybadger
  • Application performance monitoring through Application Insightsnot Honeybadger
  • Long-term log retention for compliancenot Honeybadger
  • Querying operational data with KQLnot Honeybadger

Honeybadger

  • Exception and error tracking for Ruby, Elixir, PHP, Python and JavaScript applicationsnot Azure Monitor
  • Uptime and cron heartbeat monitoring alongside error datanot Azure Monitor
  • Publishing a public status page for a small SaaS productnot Azure Monitor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Azure Monitor

  • Billed per GB ingested across three separate log plans, Auxiliary, Basic and Analytics, so the plan chosen changes the rate as much as the volume does
  • Only the first 5 GB a month of Analytics logs is free per billing account
  • Retention beyond the base period is charged per GB per month, up to 2 years interactive and 12 years long term
  • Log queries and search jobs are billed per GB scanned, so investigating an incident costs money
  • Alert rules are billed per time series for metrics and by execution frequency for logs
  • The pricing page shows placeholders rather than rates until a region and currency are chosen

Honeybadger

  • The free Developer plan is limited to one user, 5,000 errors per month, 50 MB per day of logging and one uptime monitor
  • SSO, unlimited teams and priority support require the Business plan at $80 per month
  • Error data retention is 15 days on Developer, 90 days on Team and 180 days on Business
  • Log and event retention is 7 days on the free plan and up to 30 days on Team
  • Premium integrations including Jira, PagerDuty, SMS and webhooks are excluded from the free Developer plan
  • S3 archiving of Insights events is not available on the Developer plan
  • Uptime check frequency is capped at 5 minutes on Developer and 2 minutes on Team; 1 minute checks require Business

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Monitor

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log collection
    • Metrics collection
    • Alerts and notifications

Honeybadger

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Uptime monitoring
    • Status pages

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Monitor if

  • You need log collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want metrics collection.
Azure Monitor review

Choose Honeybadger if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want uptime monitoring.
Honeybadger review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Monitor or Honeybadger better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Monitor starts at Free and Honeybadger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Monitor or Honeybadger?
Azure Monitor starts at Free and Honeybadger at Free.
Does Azure Monitor or Honeybadger run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Azure Monitor for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Azure Monitor best used for?
Azure Monitor is most often used for collecting logs and metrics from azure resources, alerting on metric thresholds and log queries, application performance monitoring through application insights, long-term log retention for compliance. Of those, collecting logs and metrics from azure resources and alerting on metric thresholds and log queries are not what Honeybadger is typically brought in for.
What can Azure Monitor do that Honeybadger cannot?
Azure Monitor covers Log collection, Metrics collection, Alerts and notifications, Custom dashboards. Honeybadger covers Error tracking, Uptime monitoring, Status pages, Incident management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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