Softwr

Software · head to head

Elastic APM vs Bugsnag

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bugsnag logo

Bugsnag

Software

Application Stability Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Elastic APM pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service; Bugsnag owned by SmartBear rather than being independent
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Bugsnag covers Crash reporting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic APM and Bugsnag actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and Bugsnag differ
AttributeElastic APMBugsnag
Pricing modelopen-sourceusage-based
Founded20112012

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 Elastic APM

  • Performance monitoring
  • Transaction tracing
  • Custom metrics

Only in Bugsnag

  • Crash reporting
  • Release tracking
  • Trend analysis

Both cover

  • Error tracking
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Elastic APM

  • Distributed tracing across microservicesnot Bugsnag
  • Auto-instrumenting Java, .NET, Python, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP and C++ servicesnot Bugsnag
  • OpenTelemetry-native collection through the Elastic distributionsnot Bugsnag
  • Correlating latency and errors with machine learningnot Bugsnag
  • Monitoring LLM calls alongside application tracesnot Bugsnag

Bugsnag

  • Crash and error reporting for mobile and web applicationsnot Elastic APM
  • Stability scores per releasenot Elastic APM
  • Grouping errors by root cause across deploysnot Elastic APM
  • Alerting when a release regressesnot Elastic APM

Where each one falls short

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

Elastic APM

  • Pricing is not published on the product page; cost follows the underlying Elastic deployment rather than being quoted per host or per service
  • Self-managed deployment means running and scaling Elasticsearch yourself
  • Serverless does not carry every capability the hosted option does

Bugsnag

  • Owned by SmartBear rather than being independent
  • The free tier covers 7,500 events a month
  • Paid tiers are usage-priced by event volume rather than by seat, so a noisy release raises the bill
  • Enterprise pricing is quote-only

Pricing, plan by plan

Elastic APM

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Performance monitoring
    • Error tracking
    • Transaction tracing

Bugsnag

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Crash reporting
    • Release tracking

Which should you pick?

Choose Elastic APM if

  • You need performance monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want transaction tracing.
Elastic APM review

Choose Bugsnag if

  • You need crash reporting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want release tracking.
Bugsnag review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or Bugsnag better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM starts at Free and Bugsnag at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Elastic APM or Bugsnag?
Elastic APM starts at Free and Bugsnag at Free.
Does Elastic APM or Bugsnag run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Elastic APM for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Elastic APM best used for?
Elastic APM is most often used for distributed tracing across microservices, auto-instrumenting java, .net, python, go, node.js, ruby, php and c++ services, opentelemetry-native collection through the elastic distributions, correlating latency and errors with machine learning. Of those, distributed tracing across microservices and auto-instrumenting java, .net, python, go, node.js, ruby, php and c++ services are not what Bugsnag is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that Bugsnag cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. Bugsnag covers Crash reporting, Release tracking, Trend analysis. Both handle Error tracking, API, Webhooks, REST.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Elastic APM

More on Bugsnag

Keep looking

Other head to heads