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Elastic vs New Relic

Elastic logo

Elastic

Logging

Search AI powered by Elasticsearch

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
New Relic logo

New Relic

Logging

Observability made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only New Relic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Elastic no specific pricing amounts published on pricing page; customer must contact sales or start trial; New Relic data ingest costs can be high for large-scale deployments with high logging volume, making budgeting difficult
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Elastic and New Relic differ
AttributeElasticNew Relic
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Api, Mobile
FoundedUnknown2008

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

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

  • Building ecommerce search experiences with vector databases and AInot New Relic
  • Monitoring application performance and resolving infrastructure issues at scalenot New Relic
  • Investigating security incidents across distributed cloud infrastructurenot New Relic
  • Analyzing customer support logs to identify recurring issuesnot New Relic

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

  • No specific pricing amounts published on pricing page; customer must contact sales or start trial
  • Three deployment models (Cloud Hosted, Cloud Serverless, Self-managed) have different pricing structures

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 request

No published plan breakdown. See the Elastic review.

New Relic

Free

No 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.

Elastic 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 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 is Elastic best used for?
Elastic is most often used for building ecommerce search experiences with vector databases and ai, monitoring application performance and resolving infrastructure issues at scale, investigating security incidents across distributed cloud infrastructure, analyzing customer support logs to identify recurring issues. Of those, building ecommerce search experiences with vector databases and ai and monitoring application performance and resolving infrastructure issues at scale are not what New Relic is typically brought in for.
What can Elastic do that New Relic cannot?
New Relic covers APM, Infrastructure Monitoring, Log Management, Browser Monitoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Elastic: What are Elastic's deployment pricing options?

Elastic offers three deployment models: Elastic Cloud Hosted (resource-based, pay-as-you-go or prepaid monthly), Elastic Cloud Serverless (usage-based on search/indexing consumption, pay-as-you-go or prepaid), and Self-managed (license-based on nodes and RAM). Actual dollar amounts are not published and require contacting sales or starting a free trial.

Source
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
Elastic: Does Elastic Cloud Serverless have feature limitations?

Yes, Elastic Cloud Serverless deployments have 'Most solution and platform capabilities' with some upcoming features not yet available, including traffic filtering, cross-project search, and bring-your-own-key encryption.

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
Elastic: How can you get Elastic pricing?

Elastic directs customers to start a free trial, contact sales for specific quotes, or visit dedicated pricing pages for individual products (Elasticsearch, Observability, Security).

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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