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CloudWatch vs Honeybadger

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Software

AWS Monitoring and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Honeybadger logo

Honeybadger

Software

Error and Uptime Monitoring for Developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB; 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: CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Honeybadger covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudWatch and Honeybadger actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudWatch and Honeybadger differ
AttributeCloudWatchHoneybadger
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Founded20062012

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 CloudWatch

  • Metrics collection
  • Log aggregation
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications

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.

CloudWatch

  • Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot Honeybadger
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Honeybadger
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Honeybadger
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Honeybadger
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot Honeybadger

Honeybadger

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

Where each one falls short

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

CloudWatch

  • The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
  • Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
  • Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
  • Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
  • Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge

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

CloudWatch

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Metrics collection
    • Log aggregation
    • Dashboards

Honeybadger

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

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudWatch if

  • You need metrics collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want log aggregation.
CloudWatch 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 CloudWatch or Honeybadger better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudWatch 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, CloudWatch or Honeybadger?
CloudWatch starts at Free and Honeybadger at Free.
Does CloudWatch or Honeybadger run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use CloudWatch for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CloudWatch best used for?
CloudWatch is most often used for metrics and log collection for aws workloads, alarming on thresholds across aws services, querying logs with logs insights, live tailing logs during an incident. Of those, metrics and log collection for aws workloads and alarming on thresholds across aws services are not what Honeybadger is typically brought in for.
What can CloudWatch do that Honeybadger cannot?
CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Honeybadger covers Error tracking, Uptime monitoring, Status pages, Incident management. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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