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Logging · head to head

Honeybadger vs Loki

Honeybadger logo

Honeybadger

Logging

Error and Uptime Monitoring for Developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loki logo

Loki

Logging

Like Prometheus but for Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Honeybadger the free Developer plan is limited to one user, 5,000 errors per month, 50 MB per day of logging and one uptime monitor; Loki the Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • They diverge on capability: Honeybadger covers Error tracking, Loki covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Honeybadger and Loki actually diverge.

Attributes where Honeybadger and Loki differ
AttributeHoneybadgerLoki
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Founded20122014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Api), 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 Honeybadger

  • Error tracking
  • Uptime monitoring
  • Status pages
  • Incident management

Only in Loki

  • Log aggregation
  • Label-based indexing
  • Real-time log streaming
  • LogQL query language

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.

Honeybadger

  • Exception and error tracking for Ruby, Elixir, PHP, Python and JavaScript applicationsnot Loki
  • Uptime and cron heartbeat monitoring alongside error datanot Loki
  • Publishing a public status page for a small SaaS productnot Loki

Loki

  • Aggregating application and infrastructure logs with label based indexingnot Honeybadger
  • Querying logs alongside metrics in Grafananot Honeybadger

Where each one falls short

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

Honeybadger

  • The free Developer plan is limited to one user, 5,000 errors per month, 50 MB per day of logging and one uptime monitor
  • SSO, unlimited teams and priority support require the Business plan at $80 per month
  • Error data retention is 15 days on Developer, 90 days on Team and 180 days on Business
  • Log and event retention is 7 days on the free plan and up to 30 days on Team
  • Premium integrations including Jira, PagerDuty, SMS and webhooks are excluded from the free Developer plan
  • S3 archiving of Insights events is not available on the Developer plan
  • Uptime check frequency is capped at 5 minutes on Developer and 2 minutes on Team; 1 minute checks require Business

Loki

  • The Grafana Cloud free tier caps log ingestion at 50 GB a month with 14 day retention
  • Paid log pricing is split across three separate meters, at $0.050 per GB processed, $0.400 per GB written and $0.100 per GB retained
  • Retaining logs is billed separately from ingesting them, so keeping data costs on an ongoing basis rather than once
  • The Pro plan carries a $19 a month platform fee before any usage charges

Pricing, plan by plan

Honeybadger

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • 5,000 errors per month
    • 50 MB per day logging
    • 1 monitor
  • Team$26/month
    • 50,000 errors per month
    • 100 MB per day logging
    • 5 monitors
  • Business$80/month
    • 50,000 errors per month
    • 100 MB per day logging
    • 5 monitors

Loki

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Label-based indexing
    • Real-time log streaming

Which should you pick?

Choose Honeybadger if

  • You need error tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want uptime monitoring.
Honeybadger review

Choose Loki if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want label-based indexing.
Loki review

Questions people ask

Is Honeybadger or Loki better?
Neither clearly leads. Honeybadger starts at Free and Loki at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Honeybadger or Loki?
Honeybadger starts at Free and Loki at Free.
Does Honeybadger or Loki run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Honeybadger for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Honeybadger best used for?
Honeybadger is most often used for exception and error tracking for ruby, elixir, php, python and javascript applications, uptime and cron heartbeat monitoring alongside error data, publishing a public status page for a small saas product. Of those, exception and error tracking for ruby, elixir, php, python and javascript applications and uptime and cron heartbeat monitoring alongside error data are not what Loki is typically brought in for.
What can Honeybadger do that Loki cannot?
Honeybadger covers Error tracking, Uptime monitoring, Status pages, Incident management. Loki covers Log aggregation, Label-based indexing, Real-time log streaming, LogQL query language. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Honeybadger: Is Honeybadger free?

Honeybadger offers a free Developer plan permanently with 5,000 errors per month, 50 MB per day logging, and 1 monitor, supporting unlimited projects for a single user.

Source
Loki: What does it cost to use Grafana Loki?

Loki is open source and free under the AGPLv3 license for self-hosted deployments. Grafana's managed Cloud Logs service includes a free tier up to 50GB of logs at no cost.

Source
Honeybadger: How much does the Honeybadger Team plan cost annually?

The Team plan costs $26 per month billed annually at $286 per year, providing 50,000 errors per month with unlimited users and 90-day error retention.

Source
Loki: Are there paid options for Loki beyond the free tier?

Yes. Grafana Cloud Logs offers paid tiers for teams and enterprises, and Enterprise Logs provides self-managed options with expert support for organizations with data localization or privacy requirements.

Source
Honeybadger: What's the difference between Honeybadger Business and Team plans?

Both Team and Business plans include 50,000 errors per month, but Business adds 180-day error retention (vs 90-day), includes enterprise security and compliance features, and supports unlimited teams.

Source
Loki: What license does open source Loki use?

Loki is released under the AGPLv3 license, which requires you to share modifications and publish your source code if you deploy modifications publicly.

Source
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