Log Management · head to head
Better Stack vs New Relic
Better Stack
Log Management
AI-native observability and incident response platform.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Better Stack pricing model combines multiple separate line items (bundles, incident management, monitoring, status pages), making total cost unpredictable until all services are selected; New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Better Stack and New Relic actually diverge.
| Attribute | Better Stack | New Relic |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Unknown |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, API, Self-hosted | Web, Api, Mobile |
| Founded | Unknown | 2008 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Better Stack
Nothing recorded that New Relic does not also cover.
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.
Better Stack
- Cost-conscious teams looking to replace Datadog loggingnot New Relic
- Companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident managementnot New Relic
- Teams adopting AI-assisted incident response and root cause analysisnot New Relic
- Organisations needing real-time user monitoring with session replaynot New Relic
- Infrastructure teams using eBPF-based distributed tracingnot New Relic
New Relic
- Application monitoringnot Better Stack
- Infrastructure monitoringnot Better Stack
- Error trackingnot Better Stack
- Performance optimizationnot Better Stack
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Better Stack
- Pricing model combines multiple separate line items (bundles, incident management, monitoring, status pages), making total cost unpredictable until all services are selected
- Transactional monitoring (Playwright-based) billed separately at $1 per 100 minutes
- On-call and reporting features require additional per-user fees on top of base telemetry bundle
- Agentic AI SRE features billed at $5 per million tokens, creating variable costs for AI-driven analysis
- SSO and advanced security features reserved for Enterprise tier with custom pricing
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
Better Stack
Free- FreeFree
- 10 monitors and heartbeats
- 1 status page
- Limited log, trace, metric and web event allocations
- Nano$25/month
- Core telemetry bundle
- Log management
- Trace management
- Micro$100/month
- Higher telemetry limits than Nano
- All Nano features
- Mega$500/month
- Premium telemetry allocation
- All lower-tier features
New Relic
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the New Relic review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Better Stack if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, API, Self-hosted.
Choose New Relic if
- You need apm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Mobile.
- You also want infrastructure monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Better Stack or New Relic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Better Stack 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, Better Stack or New Relic?
- Better Stack starts at Free and New Relic at Free.
- Does Better Stack or New Relic run on more platforms?
- Better Stack runs on Web, iOS, Android, API, Self-hosted. New Relic runs on Web, Api, Mobile.
- Can I use Better Stack for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Better Stack best used for?
- Better Stack is most often used for cost-conscious teams looking to replace datadog logging, companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident management, teams adopting ai-assisted incident response and root cause analysis, organisations needing real-time user monitoring with session replay. Of those, cost-conscious teams looking to replace datadog logging and companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident management are not what New Relic is typically brought in for.
- What can Better Stack do that New Relic cannot?
- New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Better Stack: How much cheaper is Better Stack than Datadog?
Better Stack claims to be 30 times cheaper than Datadog, with pricing structured to allow customers to ingest up to 80 times more data for the same budget compared to Datadog.
SourceNew 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.
SourceBetter Stack: What mobile platforms does Better Stack support?
Better Stack offers native mobile apps for both iOS and Android.
SourceNew 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.
SourceBetter Stack: Does Better Stack support Sentry SDKs?
Yes. Better Stack's error tracking is compatible with Sentry SDKs for seamless integration.
SourceNew 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.
SourceNew 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.
SourceNew 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.
SourceNew 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.
SourceRelated pages
More on Better Stack
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