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Elastic APM vs New Relic

Elastic APM logo

Elastic APM

Software

Application Performance Monitoring from Elastic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
New Relic logo

New Relic

Software

Observability made simple

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; New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
  • They diverge on capability: Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, New Relic covers APM.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Elastic APM and New Relic actually diverge.

Attributes where Elastic APM and New Relic differ
AttributeElastic APMNew Relic
Pricing modelopen-sourceUnknown
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Api, Mobile
Founded20112008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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
  • Error tracking
  • Transaction tracing
  • Custom metrics
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

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.

Elastic APM

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

New Relic

  • Application monitoringnot Elastic APM
  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Elastic APM
  • Error trackingnot Elastic APM
  • Performance optimizationnot 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

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

Elastic APM

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

New Relic

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the New Relic review.

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 error tracking.
Elastic APM review

Choose New Relic if

  • You need apm.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Mobile.
  • You also want infrastructure monitoring.
New Relic review

Questions people ask

Is Elastic APM or New Relic better?
Neither clearly leads. Elastic APM 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, Elastic APM or New Relic?
Elastic APM starts at Free and New Relic at Free.
Does Elastic APM or New Relic run on more platforms?
Elastic APM runs on Web, Api. New Relic runs on Web, Api, Mobile.
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 New Relic is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic APM do that New Relic cannot?
Elastic APM covers Performance monitoring, Error tracking, Transaction tracing, Custom metrics. New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

New 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.

Source
New 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.

Source
New 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.

Source
New 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.

Source
New 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.

Source
New 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.

Source
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