New Relic offers broader observability across infrastructure, applications, and logs with lower starting costs, while AppDynamics specializes in deeper application performance monitoring with superior business transaction tracking and is preferred by enterprises with complex Java environments.
New Relic vs AppDynamics — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Full-stack observability platform combining APM, infrastructure monitoring, and log analytics in one UI.
Enterprise APM platform with advanced business transaction mapping, code-level diagnostics, and root cause analysis.
Starting Price (Monthly). Primary Strength. Data Retention (Free Tier). Business Transaction Visibility. Supported Languages. Enterprise Adoption Rate. Average Implementation Time
Choose New Relic if you need cost-effective full-stack observability, faster implementation, and multi-cloud flexibility with transparent per-GB pricing. Choose AppDynamics if you operate in a complex Java-heavy enterprise environment and require best-in-class business transaction tracing, deeper code-level diagnostics, and don't prioritize upfront cost savings.
New Relic: Limited trial only | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 25+ languages | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Native (servers, containers, Kubernetes) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $1,200+ (Enterprise tier) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 45-60 minutes | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Integrated with 100+ data sources | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Advanced profiling and error intelligence | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $0.30 per GB ingested | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 12+ regions | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Solid core capabilities | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: More intuitive, faster onboarding | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Good with cloud-native focus | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Yes (native) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $0.25 - $0.50 | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 15-30 minutes | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Multi-tenant SaaS limit (typically 50-500TB per org) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 3 (NRQL - SQL-like, intuitive) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: SaaS only (cloud-hosted) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $3,000-5,000 | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Method-level profiling | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Rule-based thresholds | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 35-45% reduction | AppDynamics: N/A
Monthly Platform Cost (100GB/month ingestion)
New Relic: $3,000-$9,900 | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 10+ languages | AppDynamics: N/A
Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) Improvement
New Relic: 30-40% faster (manual investigation) | AppDynamics: N/A
Setup Time for Multi-Service Environment
New Relic: 7-14 days (manual per service) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 14 days unlimited | AppDynamics: 14 days limited
New Relic: Supported via agents, requires configuration | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 4.6 stars (1,800+ reviews) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $500-$800 typical (based on ~1-2 GB/day ingestion) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: ~700 integrations (includes agents, APIs, partners) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 900+ with automatic instrumentation | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 1-2 hours (wizard-based, automatic) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Cloud-only SaaS (no self-hosted option) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Built-in AI with predictive analysis and root cause identification | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 24/7 with 1-4 hour response SLA depending on tier | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 30 days (logs), 365 days (metrics) | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Full team access included; per-user pricing optional | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 52 minutes | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 600+ integrations | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Full coverage | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: Advanced ML-based detection | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 16,000+ customers | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: 500+ integrations (AWS, Azure, GCP, Datadog, PagerDuty, Slack) | AppDynamics: 300+ integrations (similar major platforms covered)
New Relic: 600 calls/minute | AppDynamics: 200 calls/minute
New Relic: Transaction tracing, error stack traces | AppDynamics: Method-level tracing, JVM profiling, bytecode instrumentation
New Relic: Native (full instrumentation out-of-box) | AppDynamics: Supported (requires agent configuration)
New Relic: 4.6 stars (2,400+ reviews) | AppDynamics: 4.5 stars (1,800+ reviews)
New Relic: 100 GB ingestion/month | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $75 | AppDynamics: $14.99/user/month
New Relic: 7 days | AppDynamics: 15 days
New Relic: 35+ | AppDynamics: 8+ (Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, C++, Ruby, PHP, Go)
New Relic: Advanced cluster intelligence with pod diagnostics | AppDynamics: N/A
New Relic: $99/month | AppDynamics: $1,000/month (est.)
New Relic: 13 days (metrics) / 8 days (events) | AppDynamics: 7 days (default)
New Relic: 8+ languages | AppDynamics: 10+ languages
New Relic: Manual configuration required | AppDynamics: Automatic (patent-pending)
New Relic: 3-5 days | AppDynamics: 10-20 days
New Relic: Available with premium add-on | AppDynamics: Included in core platform
Average Customer Satisfaction (G2 Rating)
New Relic: 4.3/5.0 (2,100+ reviews) | AppDynamics: 4.4/5.0 (1,800+ reviews)
How to choose between New Relic and AppDynamics
New Relic vs AppDynamics — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for New Relic vs AppDynamics. Contains 86 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
New Relic vs AppDynamics — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for New Relic vs AppDynamics.
Which platform is better for Java applications?
AppDynamics holds a significant advantage for Java/JVM workloads. Its bytecode instrumentation technology automatically monitors Java applications without code changes, and it includes Scala/Groovy/Clojure support. New Relic supports Java well but requires more manual configuration for complex environments. For enterprises with legacy Java monoliths, AppDynamics' zero-code approach typically reduces implementation time by 50%.
How do pricing models differ and which is cheaper?
New Relic uses per-GB ingestion pricing ($0.30-0.50/GB typical), starting at $99/month, while AppDynamics requires enterprise contracts with $12,000+ annual minimums. New Relic is cheaper for small-to-mid companies monitoring <10GB/day. AppDynamics becomes cost-competitive for enterprises monitoring >50GB/day where per-GB pricing at New Relic would exceed $15,000/month. New Relic offers better cost visibility; AppDynamics requires negotiation.
Which platform has faster time-to-value?
New Relic deploys in 3-5 days with immediate dashboards and automatic service mapping. AppDynamics typically requires 2-4 weeks including business transaction definition, tuning, and validation. For organizations needing rapid observability, New Relic's faster deployment is a significant advantage. However, AppDynamics' time investment upfront yields deeper insights once configured.
Can both platforms work together or do I need to choose one?
Both platforms can coexist in hybrid environments. New Relic typically monitors infrastructure, microservices, and cloud-native apps while AppDynamics focuses on critical Java business applications. However, most enterprises choose one primary platform to avoid tool sprawl and conflicting metrics. AppDynamics integrations with infrastructure monitoring (via Cisco ecosystem) and New Relic's all-in-one approach make single-platform deployments more common.
Which is better for microservices and Kubernetes?
New Relic has a modern advantage here with native Kubernetes instrumentation, streamlined Prometheus integration, and superior support for containerized Node.js/Python workloads. AppDynamics supports Kubernetes but excels more in traditional VM/bare-metal Java environments. For cloud-native organizations, New Relic's architecture and simpler onboarding provide better fit. For Java-dominant microservices, AppDynamics' business transaction mapping still delivers superior insights.
How to Choose Between New Relic and AppDynamics
Starting Price (Monthly): New Relic has $99/month, while AppDynamics has $12,000/year (minimum).
Primary Strength: New Relic has Full-stack observability (infrastructure + APM + logs), while AppDynamics has Application performance monitoring and business transaction mapping.
Data Retention (Free Tier): New Relic has 24 hours, while AppDynamics has None (paid-only).
Consider: Business Transaction Visibility
Business Transaction Visibility: New Relic has Good, while AppDynamics has Excellent (purpose-built feature).
Supported Languages: New Relic has 8+ (Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, C++), while AppDynamics has 10+ (Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, C++, Scala, Groovy).
Enterprise Adoption Rate: New Relic has 65% of monitored workloads, while AppDynamics has 72% of monitored workloads (2024 G2 data).
Average Implementation Time: New Relic has 3-5 days, while AppDynamics has 2-4 weeks (more complex setup).