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Papertrail vs Airbrake

Papertrail logo

Papertrail

Software

Cloud-Hosted Log Management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Airbrake logo

Airbrake

Software

Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Papertrail log Observability starts at $5.00 per GB per month; Airbrake data retention is 30 days on every plan, including the $799 a month Business tier
  • They diverge on capability: Papertrail covers Log aggregation, Airbrake covers Error tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Papertrail and Airbrake actually diverge.

Attributes where Papertrail and Airbrake differ
AttributePapertrailAirbrake
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Founded20112008

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 Papertrail

  • Log aggregation
  • Real-time tail
  • Saved searches
  • System alerts

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.

Papertrail

  • Aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable streamnot Airbrake
  • Tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidentsnot Airbrake
  • Long-term log archiving to Amazon S3 for later analysisnot Airbrake

Airbrake

  • Error and exception monitoring for web applicationsnot Papertrail
  • Performance monitoring alongside error trackingnot Papertrail
  • Alerting a team when a deploy introduces a spike in errorsnot Papertrail
  • Tracking errors across multiple projects in one accountnot Papertrail

Where each one falls short

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

Papertrail

  • Log Observability starts at $5.00 per GB per month
  • Usage beyond the plan volume is billed at a 30% higher price per GB and is capped at 200% extra
  • Transferred volume is measured as message length plus 50 bytes of metadata per message, so metadata counts against the quota

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

Papertrail

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • Real-time tail
    • Saved searches

Airbrake

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Error tracking
    • Performance monitoring
    • Deploy tracking

Which should you pick?

Choose Papertrail if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want real-time tail.
Papertrail review

Choose Airbrake if

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

Questions people ask

Is Papertrail or Airbrake better?
Neither clearly leads. Papertrail 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, Papertrail or Airbrake?
Papertrail starts at Free and Airbrake at Free.
Does Papertrail or Airbrake run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Papertrail for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Papertrail best used for?
Papertrail is most often used for aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable stream, tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidents, long-term log archiving to amazon s3 for later analysis. Of those, aggregating syslog and application logs from many hosts into one searchable stream and tail-and-search style troubleshooting during incidents are not what Airbrake is typically brought in for.
What can Papertrail do that Airbrake cannot?
Papertrail covers Log aggregation, Real-time tail, Saved searches, System alerts. Airbrake covers Error tracking, Performance monitoring, Deploy tracking, Custom notifications. Both handle API, Webhooks, REST, Web support.
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