Bugsnag vs New Relic 2026: Error Tracking vs Full-Stack APM
Bugsnag specializes in error and crash reporting with lightweight SDK integration, while New Relic offers comprehensive full-stack observability including APM, infrastructure monitoring, and log management. New Relic provides broader monitoring capabilities, whereas Bugsnag excels at focused error tracking with faster deployment.
Bugsnag
Error and crash reporting platform for detecting and debugging production issues in real-time.
Development teams, startups, and companies that prioritize lightweight error tracking without broader observability needs.
New Relic
Full-stack observability platform providing APM, infrastructure monitoring, logs, and synthetic monitoring.
Enterprise organizations, microservices architectures, and teams needing unified visibility across entire technology stacks.
Quick Answer
AI SummaryBugsnag specializes in error and crash reporting with lightweight SDK integration, while New Relic offers comprehensive full-stack observability including APM, infrastructure monitoring, and log management. New Relic provides broader monitoring capabilities, whereas Bugsnag excels at focused error tracking with faster deployment.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose Bugsnag if you need lightweight error tracking, fast implementation, and lower infrastructure costs for development/QA teams. Choose New Relic if you require comprehensive observability across applications, infrastructure, databases, and logs with advanced analytics and enterprise-grade features.
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Best pickDevelopment teams, startups, and companies that prioritize lightweight error tracking without broader observability needs.
Choose New Relic if
Enterprise organizations, microservices architectures, and teams needing unified visibility across entire technology stacks.
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Primary Focus:✓ New Relic wins(Full-stack observability (APM, infrastructure, logs, synthetics) vs Error & crash reporting)
- Supported Languages/Frameworks:✓ New Relic wins(40+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, Node.js, plus custom instrumentation) vs 20+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, React Native, iOS, Android, etc.))
- SDK Size (JavaScript):✓ Bugsnag wins(~15 KB gzipped vs ~35 KB gzipped)
Key Facts & Figures
80 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Bugsnag | New Relic | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier Event Quota(events/month) | 50,000 | 100 | |
| Minimum Paid Plan Price(USD/month) | $29 | — | — |
| Data Retention (Free Tier)(days/months) | 7 days | 30 days (logs), 365 days (metrics) | |
| Session Replay Pixel Fidelity(percent accurate) | 95% | — | — |
| Mobile Platform SDKs(platforms supported) | 15+ | — | — |
| Alert Response Time (Median)(seconds) | <3 seconds | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Events(events) | 50,000 | — | — |
| Pro Plan Starting Price (Annual)(USD/month) | $49 | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Error Events(events) | 50,000 | — | — |
| Supported Languages & Frameworks(count) | 50+ | 25+ | |
| Average Integration Time(minutes) | 7 | — | — |
| Cost per Event (Enterprise)(USD) | $0.03 | — | — |
| Additional Backend Services Included(count) | 0 (error monitoring only) | — | — |
| Alert Delivery Speed(seconds) | < 1 second | — | — |
| Entry-Level Paid Plan(USD/month) | $29 | — | — |
| Mid-Tier Plan (Growth)(USD/month) | $299 | — | — |
| Supported Integrations(count) | 32 integrations | — | — |
| On-Premise Minimum Cost(USD/month) | $2,000 (Enterprise) | — | — |
| Dashboard Widget Types(count) | 8 types | — | — |
| Monthly Cost (Small Team)(USD) | $29/month | — | — |
| Error Detection Latency(seconds) | <1 second | — | — |
| Installation Size(MB) | <100 MB (SDK) | — | — |
| Native Integrations(integrations) | 50+ integrations | 400+ | |
| Available Integrations(count) | 150+ integrations | 600+ | |
| Free Tier Data Retention(days) | 14 days | 7 days | |
| Supported Programming Languages(count) | 20+ | 35+ | |
| Free Tier Event Limit(events/month) | 7,500 events/month | 100 GB ingestion/month | — |
| Minimum Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) | $29/month | $99/month | |
| Average Setup Time(days) | 7 minutes | 45 minutes | |
| Starting Price (Monthly)(USD) | $49 | — | — |
| Integration Count(integrations) | 120+ | — | — |
| Error Alert Latency(seconds) | <2 seconds | — | — |
| Data Retention (Default)(days) | 90 days | — | — |
| Mobile SDKs Supported(platforms) | iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter | — | — |
| Typical Enterprise Cost (Annual)(USD) | $2,000-$5,000 | — | — |
| SDK Size (JavaScript)(KB gzipped) | ~15 KB | ~35 KB | |
| Base Monthly Price(USD) | $99 | $99 | |
| Free Tier Events per Month(events) | Limited trial only | Limited trial only | |
| Supported Languages/SDKs(count) | 25+ languages | 25+ languages | |
| Session Replay Starting Tier(USD/month) | $1,200+ (Enterprise tier) | $1,200+ (Enterprise tier) | |
| Setup Time (First Deploy)(minutes) | 45-60 minutes | 45-60 minutes | |
| Native Integrations(count) | 600+ | 600+ | |
| Metrics Data Retention(months) | 13 months | 13 months | |
| Global Data Centers(locations) | 12+ regions | 12+ regions | |
| Starting Monthly Cost(USD) | $99 | $99 | |
| Setup Time for First Alert(minutes) | 22 | 22 | |
| Data Retention (Free Plan)(days) | 7 | 7 | |
| Monthly Ingestion Cost per GB(USD) | $0.25 - $0.50 | $0.25 - $0.50 | |
| Setup Time to Production(hours) | 15-30 minutes | 15-30 minutes | |
| Maximum Data Volume per Cluster(TB) | Multi-tenant SaaS limit (typically 50-500TB per org) | Multi-tenant SaaS limit (typically 50-500TB per org) | |
| Query Language Complexity (1-10 scale)(complexity rating) | 3 (NRQL - SQL-like, intuitive) | 3 (NRQL - SQL-like, intuitive) | |
| Average Customer Onboarding Time(days) | 3-7 days | 3-7 days | |
| Base Monthly Cost (100 GB/month)(USD) | $3,000-5,000 | $3,000-5,000 | |
| Implementation Timeline(weeks) | 2-4 weeks | 2-4 weeks | |
| Out-of-Box Integrations(count) | 700+ | 700+ | |
| Average MTTR Improvement(percent reduction) | 35-45% reduction | 35-45% reduction | |
| Max Data Retention (free tier)(days) | 7 days | 7 days | |
| Monthly Platform Cost (100GB/month ingestion)(USD) | $3,000-$9,900 | $3,000-$9,900 | |
| Supported Programming Languages (APM)(languages) | 10+ languages | 10+ languages | |
| Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR) Improvement(percent reduction) | 30-40% faster (manual investigation) | 30-40% faster (manual investigation) | |
| Setup Time for Multi-Service Environment(days) | 7-14 days (manual per service) | 7-14 days (manual per service) | |
| Data Retention (Standard Plan)(days) | 30 days | 30 days | |
| Free Trial Period(days) | 30 days + $100 credits | 30 days + $100 credits | |
| User Satisfaction Score (G2 Reviews)(out of 5.0) | 4.6 stars (1,800+ reviews) | 4.6 stars (1,800+ reviews) | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Small Org)(USD) | $500-$800 typical (based on ~1-2 GB/day ingestion) | $500-$800 typical (based on ~1-2 GB/day ingestion) | |
| Data Source Integrations Available(count) | ~700 integrations (includes agents, APIs, partners) | ~700 integrations (includes agents, APIs, partners) | |
| Supported APM Frameworks(count) | 900+ with automatic instrumentation | 900+ with automatic instrumentation | |
| Setup Time for Basic Monitoring(days) | 1-2 hours (wizard-based, automatic) | 1-2 hours (wizard-based, automatic) | |
| User Seats Included (Starter)(seats) | Full team access included; per-user pricing optional | Full team access included; per-user pricing optional | |
| Monthly Pricing (Starter Plan)(USD) | $99 | $99 | |
| Implementation Time (Average)(minutes) | 52 minutes | 52 minutes | |
| Third-Party Integrations(count) | 600+ integrations | 600+ integrations | |
| Global Customer Base(customers) | 16,000+ customers | 16,000+ customers | |
| Pre-Built Integrations(count) | 500+ integrations (AWS, Azure, GCP, Datadog, PagerDuty, Slack) | 500+ integrations (AWS, Azure, GCP, Datadog, PagerDuty, Slack) | |
| API Call Rate Limit (Standard Plan)(calls per minute) | 600 calls/minute | 600 calls/minute | |
| Customer Satisfaction (G2 Rating)(stars out of 5) | 4.6 stars (2,400+ reviews) | 4.6 stars (2,400+ reviews) | |
| Starting Monthly Price(USD) | $75 | $75 | |
| APM Transaction Sampling Interval(seconds) | 8 seconds | 8 seconds | |
| Log Management Cost(USD per GB/month) | $0.35 | $0.35 | |
| Average Implementation Time(weeks) | 3-4 days | 3-4 days |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
- Error & crash reportingPrimary FocusFull-stack observability (APM, infrastructure, logs, synthetics)(winner)
- 20+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, React Native, iOS, Android, etc.)Supported Languages/Frameworks40+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, Node.js, plus custom instrumentation)(winner)
- ~15 KB gzipped(winner)SDK Size (JavaScript)~35 KB gzipped
- $0-$999+ (freemium model)(winner)Starting Price (Monthly)$0-$2,000+ (freemium model with higher enterprise costs)
- 7 daysData Retention (Free Tier)7-30 days depending on data type(winner)
- Unlimited (error-focused)(winner)API Endpoints Tracked per HourScales with APM pricing tier
- Basic browser performance monitoringReal User Monitoring (RUM)Advanced RUM with session replay and custom attributes(winner)
- Primary Focus
Bugsnag
Error & crash reporting
New Relic
Full-stack observability (APM, infrastructure, logs, synthetics)(winner)
- Supported Languages/Frameworks
Bugsnag
20+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, React Native, iOS, Android, etc.)
New Relic
40+ (JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Go, .NET, Node.js, plus custom instrumentation)(winner)
- SDK Size (JavaScript)
Bugsnag
~15 KB gzipped(winner)
New Relic
~35 KB gzipped
- Starting Price (Monthly)
Bugsnag
$0-$999+ (freemium model)(winner)
New Relic
$0-$2,000+ (freemium model with higher enterprise costs)
- Data Retention (Free Tier)
Bugsnag
7 days
New Relic
7-30 days depending on data type(winner)
- API Endpoints Tracked per Hour
Bugsnag
Unlimited (error-focused)(winner)
New Relic
Scales with APM pricing tier
- Real User Monitoring (RUM)
Bugsnag
Basic browser performance monitoring
New Relic
Advanced RUM with session replay and custom attributes(winner)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | Bugsnag | New Relic |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier Event Quota(events/month) | 50,000(winner) | 100 |
| Free Tier Monthly Events(events) | 50,000 | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Error Events(events) | 50,000 | — |
| Cost per Event (Enterprise)(USD) | $0.03 | — |
| Entry-Level Paid Plan(USD/month) | $29 | — |
Show 13 more attributesMid-Tier Plan (Growth)(USD/month) $299 — Monthly Cost (Small Team)(USD) $29/month — Starting Price (Monthly)(USD) $49 — Typical Enterprise Cost (Annual)(USD) $2,000-$5,000 — Base Monthly Price(USD) $99 — Free Tier Events per Month(events) Limited trial only — Starting Monthly Price(USD) $0.30 per GB ingested — Starting Monthly Cost(USD) $99 — Monthly Ingestion Cost per GB(USD) $0.25 - $0.50 — Base Monthly Cost (100 GB/month)(USD) $3,000-5,000 — Monthly Pricing (Starter Plan)(USD) $99 — Starting Monthly Price(USD) $75 — Log Management Cost(USD per GB/month) $0.35 — | ||
| Minimum Paid Plan Price(USD/month) | $29 | — |
| Data Retention (Free Tier)(days/months) | 7 days | 30 days (logs), 365 days (metrics)(winner) |
| Session Replay Pixel Fidelity(percent accurate) | 95% | — |
| Distributed Tracing | Not available | — |
| Self-Hosting Support | Cloud-only SaaS | — |
| Mobile Session Replay(availability) | Native iOS/Android support | — |
Show 21 more attributesSession Replay Support Native support with video replay — Real-time Alert Native Support Native with custom rules — Breadcrumb Event Capture Up to 100 events per crash — Dashboard Widget Types(count) 8 types — Production Monitoring(boolean) Yes (primary focus) — Code Editing Capabilities(boolean) No — APM (Application Performance Monitoring) Basic APM with error tracking — Infrastructure Monitoring Application errors only Native (servers, containers, Kubernetes) Session Replay Quality(pixel-perfect fidelity) Basic session replay — Supported Programming Languages(count) 20+ 35+ Session Replay Starting Tier(USD/month) $1,200+ (Enterprise tier) — Log Aggregation Capability Integrated with 100+ data sources — APM Specialization Advanced profiling and error intelligence — Log Ingestion & Parsing Solid core capabilities — Native Infrastructure Monitoring Yes (native) — Integrated Log Management Yes — Out-of-Box Integrations(count) 700+ — Data Retention (Standard Plan)(days) 30 days — Kubernetes/Container Auto-Discovery(capability) Supported via agents, requires configuration — Infrastructure Monitoring Included Full coverage — AI-Powered Anomaly Detection Advanced ML-based detection — | ||
| Mobile Platform SDKs(platforms supported) | 15+ | — |
| Alert Response Time (Median)(seconds) | <3 seconds | — |
| Alert Delivery Speed(seconds) | < 1 second | — |
| Error Detection Latency(seconds) | <1 second | — |
| Installation Size(MB) | <100 MB (SDK) | — |
| Error Alert Latency(seconds) | <2 seconds | — |
Show 1 more attributeMean Time To Resolution (MTTR) Improvement(percent reduction) 30-40% faster (manual investigation) — | ||
| Pro Plan Starting Price (Annual)(USD/month) | $49 | — |
| Free Tier Event Limit(events/month) | 7,500 events/month | 100 GB ingestion/month |
| Minimum Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) | $29/month(winner) | $99/month |
| Error Grouping Method | AI/ML-powered (automatic learning) | — |
| Source Map Processing | Automatic with obfuscation detection | — |
| Real User Monitoring (RUM) | Advanced with interaction tracking and performance metrics | — |
| AI Anomaly Detection(capability) | Built-in AI with predictive analysis and root cause identification | — |
| Supported Languages & Frameworks(count) | 50+(winner) | 25+ |
| Supported Languages/SDKs(count) | 25+ languages | — |
| Average Integration Time(minutes) | 7 | — |
| Additional Backend Services Included(count) | 0 (error monitoring only) | — |
| Supported Integrations(count) | 32 integrations | — |
| Available Integrations(count) | 150+ integrations | 600+(winner) |
| Integration Count(integrations) | 120+ | — |
| On-Premise Minimum Cost(USD/month) | $2,000 (Enterprise) | — |
| Implementation Timeline(weeks) | 2-4 weeks | — |
| Average Implementation Time(weeks) | 3-4 days | — |
| Session Replay Capability | Yes (automatic) | — |
| Native Integrations(integrations) | 50+ integrations | 400+(winner) |
| Native Integrations(count) | 600+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(count) | 600+ integrations | — |
| Pre-Built Integrations(count) | 500+ integrations (AWS, Azure, GCP, Datadog, PagerDuty, Slack) | — |
| Setup Time(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | — |
| Average Setup Time(days) | 7 minutes(winner) | 45 minutes |
| Setup Time for First Alert(minutes) | 22 | — |
| Query Language Complexity (1-10 scale)(complexity rating) | 3 (NRQL - SQL-like, intuitive) | — |
| Setup Time for Basic Monitoring(days) | 1-2 hours (wizard-based, automatic) | — |
Show 1 more attributeImplementation Time (Average)(minutes) 52 minutes — | ||
| Free Tier Data Retention(days) | 14 days(winner) | 7 days |
| Data Retention (Default)(days) | 90 days | — |
| Metrics Data Retention(months) | 13 months | — |
| Data Retention (Free Plan)(days) | 7 | — |
| Max Data Retention (free tier)(days) | 7 days | — |
| Enterprise Security Features(count) | Basic authentication and data encryption | — |
| Mobile SDKs Supported(platforms) | iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter | — |
| SDK Size (JavaScript)(KB gzipped) | ~15 KB(winner) | ~35 KB |
| Setup Time (First Deploy)(minutes) | 45-60 minutes | — |
| User Interface Intuitiveness | More intuitive, faster onboarding | — |
| Global Data Centers(locations) | 12+ regions | — |
| Kubernetes Support | Good with cloud-native focus | — |
| Deployment Flexibility | Cloud-only SaaS (no self-hosted option) | — |
| Kubernetes Cluster Support(native vs requires config) | Native (full instrumentation out-of-box) | — |
| Setup Time to Production(hours) | 15-30 minutes | — |
| Average Customer Onboarding Time(days) | 3-7 days | — |
| Maximum Data Volume per Cluster(TB) | Multi-tenant SaaS limit (typically 50-500TB per org) | — |
| Deployment Options | SaaS only (cloud-hosted) | — |
| Code-Level Instrumentation Depth(null) | Method-level profiling | — |
| Automatic Anomaly Detection(null) | Rule-based thresholds | — |
| Average MTTR Improvement(percent reduction) | 35-45% reduction | — |
| Monthly Platform Cost (100GB/month ingestion)(USD) | $3,000-$9,900 | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Small Org)(USD) | $500-$800 typical (based on ~1-2 GB/day ingestion) | — |
| Supported Programming Languages (APM)(languages) | 10+ languages | — |
| Setup Time for Multi-Service Environment(days) | 7-14 days (manual per service) | — |
| Free Trial Period(days) | 30 days + $100 credits | — |
| User Satisfaction Score (G2 Reviews)(out of 5.0) | 4.6 stars (1,800+ reviews) | — |
| Data Source Integrations Available(count) | ~700 integrations (includes agents, APIs, partners) | — |
| Supported APM Frameworks(count) | 900+ with automatic instrumentation | — |
| Enterprise Support SLA(uptime %) | 24/7 with 1-4 hour response SLA depending on tier | — |
| User Seats Included (Starter)(seats) | Full team access included; per-user pricing optional | — |
| Global Customer Base(customers) | 16,000+ customers | — |
| API Call Rate Limit (Standard Plan)(calls per minute) | 600 calls/minute | — |
| Code-Level Diagnostics Depth(granularity level) | Transaction tracing, error stack traces | — |
| Customer Satisfaction (G2 Rating)(stars out of 5) | 4.6 stars (2,400+ reviews) | — |
| APM Transaction Sampling Interval(seconds) | 8 seconds | — |
| Kubernetes Monitoring Capabilities(text) | Advanced cluster intelligence with pod diagnostics | — |
Show 13 more attributes
Show 21 more attributes
Show 1 more attribute
Show 1 more attribute
Pros & Cons
12 pros·6 cons across both
Bugsnag
Pros
- Lightweight SDK (15 KB gzipped) with minimal performance impact
- Simple setup with 5-minute integration for most frameworks
- Unlimited error tracking in free tier (7-day retention)
- Excellent breadth of language/framework support (20+)
- Real-time error notifications and alert routing
- Source map integration and automatic stack trace enhancement
Cons
- Limited to error/crash reporting without broader observability
- No infrastructure monitoring or database query insights
- Lower data retention even on premium plans (30-90 days max)
New Relic
Pros
- Comprehensive observability across applications, infrastructure, and databases
- Advanced APM with distributed tracing across 40+ languages
- Infrastructure and Kubernetes monitoring built-in
- Log aggregation and analysis with natural language querying
- Session replay and real user monitoring with custom attributes
- Extensive third-party integrations and data ingestion flexibility
Cons
- Higher costs at scale, especially for high-volume data ingestion
- Steeper learning curve for teams new to full-stack observability
- Heavier SDK footprint (35 KB gzipped) compared to focused competitors
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
Bugsnag focuses exclusively on error and crash reporting with lightweight SDK integration, while New Relic provides comprehensive full-stack observability including APM, infrastructure monitoring, logs, and synthetic testing. Choose Bugsnag for focused error tracking; choose New Relic for unified observability across your entire technology stack.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
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