Software · head to head
Elastic vs New Relic
The short version
- Only New Relic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Elastic the 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026; 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 Elastic and New Relic actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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
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.
Elastic
No use cases recorded yet. See the Elastic review.
New Relic
- Application monitoringnot Elastic
- Infrastructure monitoringnot Elastic
- Error trackingnot Elastic
- Performance optimizationnot Elastic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Elastic
- The 99.95% monthly uptime SLA is only offered on the Platinum and Enterprise subscription tiers of Hosted deployments, not on lower tiers, per elastic.co, August 2026
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
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Elastic review.
New Relic
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the New Relic review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Elastic if
Nothing in the data separates Elastic from New Relic on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
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 Elastic or New Relic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Elastic starts at On request and New Relic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Elastic or New Relic?
- New Relic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Elastic and Free for New Relic.
- Does Elastic or New Relic run on more platforms?
- Elastic runs on Web. New Relic runs on Web, Api, Mobile.
- Can I use New Relic for free?
- Yes. New Relic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Elastic starts at On request.
- What can Elastic do that New Relic cannot?
- 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.
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.
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
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