Softwr

Software · head to head

Dynatrace vs Airbrake

Dynatrace logo

Dynatrace

Software

Application Performance Management and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Dynatrace pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase; Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
  • They diverge on capability: Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, Airbrake covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dynatrace and Airbrake actually diverge.

Attributes where Dynatrace and Airbrake differ
AttributeDynatraceAirbrake
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Founded20052008

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 Dynatrace

  • AI-powered analytics
  • APM
  • Infrastructure monitoring
  • Log analysis

Only in Airbrake

  • Error tracking
  • Performance monitoring
  • Deploy tracking
  • Custom notifications

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.

Dynatrace

  • Full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discoverynot Airbrake
  • Kubernetes and container platform observability priced per podnot Airbrake
  • Log ingest, processing and query analyticsnot Airbrake
  • Real user monitoring and session replay for web applicationsnot Airbrake

Airbrake

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

Where each one falls short

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

Dynatrace

  • Pricing is commitment based: rates require an annual platform level commitment rather than month to month purchase
  • Full-Stack Monitoring is priced at $58 per month per 8 GiB of host memory, so a 64 GiB host counts as eight units
  • Infrastructure Monitoring at $29 per host per month excludes code level tracing, which requires Full-Stack
  • Session Replay doubles Real User Monitoring cost from $2.25 to $4.50 per 1,000 sessions
  • Runtime Vulnerability Analytics and Runtime Application Protection are each charged separately at $13 per month per 8 GiB host on top of monitoring

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Dynatrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • AI-powered analytics
    • APM
    • Infrastructure monitoring

Airbrake

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Dynatrace if

  • You need ai-powered analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want apm.
Dynatrace review

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

Questions people ask

Is Dynatrace or Airbrake better?
Neither clearly leads. Dynatrace starts at Free and Airbrake at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dynatrace or Airbrake?
Dynatrace starts at Free and Airbrake at Free.
Does Dynatrace or Airbrake run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Dynatrace for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dynatrace best used for?
Dynatrace is most often used for full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discovery, kubernetes and container platform observability priced per pod, log ingest, processing and query analytics, real user monitoring and session replay for web applications. Of those, full stack application performance monitoring with automatic dependency discovery and kubernetes and container platform observability priced per pod are not what Airbrake is typically brought in for.
What can Dynatrace do that Airbrake cannot?
Dynatrace covers AI-powered analytics, APM, Infrastructure monitoring, Log analysis. Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Dynatrace

More on Airbrake

Keep looking

Other head to heads