Chronosphere vs New Relic
Compare Chronosphere and New Relic on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
Chronosphere
Control-plane observability for high-cardinality Prometheus-class telemetry — contact sales / pilot (typically free 2–3 weeks). Does not outrank Datadog 8.6.
Best for
- • SRE teams drowning in Prometheus cardinality who will run a 2–3 week pilot
- • Buyers comparing Chronosphere control-plane quotes to Datadog module TCO
- • Estates that already speak PromQL rather than host-map onboarding
No free plan
VS
Our verdict
There is no universal winner between Chronosphere and New Relic. Choose Chronosphere when SRE teams drowning in Prometheus cardinality who will run a 2–3 week pilot. Choose New Relic when Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
New Relic is better for
- ✓ Free plan
Tie
- • Integrations
- • Security & admin
Choose Chronosphere if: SRE teams drowning in Prometheus cardinality who will run a 2–3 week pilot
Choose New Relic if: Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill
New Relic
Observability — Free 100 GB ingest + 1 full user; Standard from $10 first full user then $99; data $0.40/GB after 100 GB; Pro $349/full user annual.
Best for
- • Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill
- • Orgs that can live with 1–5 Standard full users
- • Buyers comparing usage-based observability to Datadog hosts
Starting from $10.00/user/mo
Free plan available
Comparison scorecard
Criterion-by-criterion results for Chronosphere and New Relic. Numeric bars appear only when both products have approved scores.
- Depends
Starting pricing
Published floor price and what that floor actually includes.
Chronosphere starting price was not verified in current research — confirm on the vendor pricing page; New Relic researched starting price from $10/mo; a free plan is researched. Better value depends on plan rungs, currency, and add-ons.
ChronosphereDependsNew RelicDepends - New Relic
Free plan
Whether a usable free plan is published, and what it gates.
Chronosphere does not research a free plan; New Relic researches a free plan.
ChronosphereWeakerNew RelicStronger - Depends
User / licence minimum
Seat floors, per-employee minimums, and small-team pricing traps.
Check seat, agent, or licence minimums for Chronosphere and New Relic on current vendor packaging.
ChronosphereDependsNew RelicDepends - Tie
Integrations
Important third-party integrations.
Chronosphere and New Relic are close on integrations (8/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Chronosphere8/10New Relic8/10 - Tie
Security & admin
Admin controls, access, compliance posture, and security packaging.
Chronosphere and New Relic are close on security admin (8/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
ChronosphereTieNew RelicTie
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