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Logging · head to head

incident.io vs Retrace

incident.io logo

incident.io

Logging

Software reliability platform with on-call management and agentic root cause analysis

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Retrace logo

Retrace

Logging

Application Performance Monitoring and Logs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: incident.io free plan limited to single team and basic features; Retrace end of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued
  • They diverge on capability: incident.io covers Intelligent alert routing, Retrace covers Log management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which incident.io and Retrace actually diverge.

Attributes where incident.io and Retrace differ
Attributeincident.ioRetrace
PlatformsWeb, Slack, Microsoft TeamsWeb, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python
Founded20212012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), 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 incident.io

  • Intelligent alert routing
  • Agentic root cause analysis
  • On-call scheduling
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • AI call transcription
  • Status pages
  • Workflow automation

Only in Retrace

  • Log management
  • Application performance tracking
  • Error detection
  • Code profiling
  • Performance baselines
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

incident.io

  • Manage incident response workflows in Slacknot Retrace
  • Automatically investigate root causes with AInot Retrace
  • Maintain on-call schedules across teamsnot Retrace
  • Track incident metrics and trendsnot Retrace
  • Communicate status to customers automaticallynot Retrace

Retrace

  • Log monitoringnot incident.io
  • Application performancenot incident.io
  • Security analyticsnot incident.io
  • Troubleshootingnot incident.io

Where each one falls short

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

incident.io

  • Free plan limited to single team and basic features
  • Per-user pricing increases costs for larger teams
  • Agentic features may require additional integrations
  • Advanced features concentrated in higher price tiers

Retrace

  • End of Life scheduled for March 31, 2027; the product is being discontinued
  • Costs escalate quickly with per-server billing model, expensive at scale
  • User interface and dashboard criticisms; UI is outdated and difficult to use
  • Logging latency; logs can take time to appear and are not instant
  • Less mature support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems
  • Reporting issues where process restarts provide only timeline without root cause data
  • Reliability concerns; monitoring has stopped collecting traces with no warning

Pricing, plan by plan

incident.io

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Slack and Teams support
    • Single team on-call
    • Status pages
  • Pro$25/user-month
    • All Team features
    • Advanced insights
    • Custom dashboards
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Pro features
    • Dedicated success manager
    • Advanced access controls

Retrace

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log management
    • Application performance tracking
    • Error detection

Which should you pick?

Choose incident.io if

  • You need intelligent alert routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want agentic root cause analysis.
incident.io review

Choose Retrace if

  • You need log management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python.
  • You also want application performance tracking.
Retrace review

Questions people ask

Is incident.io or Retrace better?
Neither clearly leads. incident.io starts at Free and Retrace at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, incident.io or Retrace?
incident.io starts at Free and Retrace at Free.
Does incident.io or Retrace run on more platforms?
incident.io runs on Web, Slack, Microsoft Teams. Retrace runs on Web, .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python.
Can I use incident.io for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is incident.io best used for?
incident.io is most often used for manage incident response workflows in slack, automatically investigate root causes with ai, maintain on-call schedules across teams, track incident metrics and trends. Of those, manage incident response workflows in slack and automatically investigate root causes with ai are not what Retrace is typically brought in for.
What can incident.io do that Retrace cannot?
incident.io covers Intelligent alert routing, Agentic root cause analysis, On-call scheduling, Slack and Teams integration. Retrace covers Log management, Application performance tracking, Error detection, Code profiling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

incident.io: What is included in the free incident.io plan?

The Basic free plan includes Slack and Teams support, single team on-call, status pages, and 1 custom field, ideal for getting started with incident management.

Source
Retrace: What does Retrace monitor?

Retrace provides application performance monitoring (APM), centralized log management, error tracking, code profiling, and real user monitoring (RUM). It aggregates logs from applications and servers in one place.

Source
incident.io: How much does on-call management cost?

On-call is an add-on costing $10/user/month for Team plan or $20/user/month for Pro plan, in addition to base incident management pricing.

Source
Retrace: What programming languages does Retrace support?

Retrace supports .NET, .NET Core, PHP, Node.js, Ruby, Python, and Java applications. Support for Node.js, Python, and newer ecosystems is noted as less mature.

Source
incident.io: Can incident.io integrate with my existing tools?

incident.io natively integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams for incident management workflows, with additional integrations available.

Source
Retrace: Is Retrace being discontinued?

Yes. Retrace will reach End of Life on March 31, 2027. Users should plan to migrate to alternative solutions.

Source
incident.io: What SLA does incident.io offer?

Only the Enterprise plan includes a 99.99% SLA guarantee. Basic, Team, and Pro plans do not have published SLAs.

Source
Retrace: What databases and services does Retrace integrate with?

Retrace supports SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure.

Source
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