Software · head to head
Fluent Bit vs Airbrake
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fluent Bit fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box; Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
- They diverge on capability: Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Airbrake covers Error tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fluent Bit and Airbrake actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fluent Bit | Airbrake |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | usage-based |
| Founded | 2015 | 2008 |
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 Fluent Bit
- Log collection
- Lightweight processing
- Data parsing
- Event filtering
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.
Fluent Bit
- Lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devicesnot Airbrake
- Kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprintnot Airbrake
- Filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backendnot Airbrake
Airbrake
- Error and exception monitoring for web applicationsnot Fluent Bit
- Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Fluent Bit
- Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Fluent Bit
- Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Fluent Bit
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fluent Bit
- Fluent Bit ships over 100 built in plugins against more than 1,000 external plugins available for Fluentd, so fewer integrations exist out of the box
- It is written in C, so extending it beyond the built in plugins means writing C rather than Ruby
- Dependencies are zero only until a plugin requires one
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
Fluent Bit
Free- FreeFree
- Log collection
- Lightweight processing
- Data parsing
Airbrake
Free- FreeFree
- Error tracking
- Performance monitoring
- Deploy tracking
Which should you pick?
Choose Fluent Bit if
- You need log collection.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want lightweight processing.
Choose Airbrake if
- You need error tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want performance monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Fluent Bit or Airbrake better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fluent Bit 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, Fluent Bit or Airbrake?
- Fluent Bit starts at Free and Airbrake at Free.
- Does Fluent Bit or Airbrake run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Fluent Bit for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fluent Bit best used for?
- Fluent Bit is most often used for lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devices, kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprint, filtering and enriching telemetry before shipping it to a backend. Of those, lightweight log and metric forwarding from containers and edge devices and kubernetes node level log collection with a small memory footprint are not what Airbrake is typically brought in for.
- What can Fluent Bit do that Airbrake cannot?
- Fluent Bit covers Log collection, Lightweight processing, Data parsing, Event filtering. Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.