New Relic vs Sentry
New Relic fits teams that want apm + logs + infra in one ingest bill; Sentry fits application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays.
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
VS
Our verdict
There is no universal winner between New Relic and Sentry. Choose New Relic when Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill. Choose Sentry when Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
New Relic is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Security & admin
Tie
- • Free plan
- • Integrations
Choose New Relic if: Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill
Choose Sentry if: Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
Sentry
Application error monitoring, tracing, and replays — Developer Free; Team $26/mo annual with default prepaid; Business $80/mo. Not a Datadog infra replacement.
Best for
- • Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- • Developers who want a free 5k-error path before Team $26
- • Buyers comparing a specialist to Datadog/Splunk host suites
Starting from $26.00/user/mo
Free plan available
Quick verdict
Start here — then dig into the evidence below.
Choose New Relic if…
- 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
- You prioritize starting pricing
Choose Sentry if…
- Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- Developers who want a free 5k-error path before Team $26
- Buyers comparing a specialist to Datadog/Splunk host suites
Overall recommendation
There is no universal winner between New Relic and Sentry. Choose New Relic when Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill. Choose Sentry when Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
Key trade-off
New Relic's clearest edge is starting pricing.
Winner by category
Only dimensions with researched evidence for this pair.
| Dimension | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Starting pricing | New Relic wins | New Relic publishes a lower researched starting floor ($10/mo vs $26/mo for Sentry). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner. |
| Free plan | Tie | New Relic researches a free plan; Sentry researches a free plan. |
| Integrations | Tie | New Relic and Sentry are close on integrations (8/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing. |
| Security & admin | New Relic wins | New Relic leads on security admin (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing. |
Side-by-side feature matrix
Normalized availability from product research — empty rows are not shown.
Capabilities
| Feature | New Relic | Sentry |
|---|---|---|
| Incident management | Moderate | Moderate |
| Change & problem management | Limited | Limited |
| Service catalog | Limited | Limited |
| Infrastructure monitoring | Strong | Moderate |
| APM & distributed tracing | Strong | Strong |
| Log management | Strong | Moderate |
| Source control & repos | Limited | Limited |
| CI/CD & automation | Moderate | Moderate |
| Hosting control panel | Limited | Limited |
| Proxy / web data network | Limited | Limited |
| ITSM AI assistance | Moderate | Moderate |
| Developer AI assistance | Moderate | Moderate |
| On-call & paging | Moderate | Limited |
| Enterprise security & SSO | Strong | Moderate |
| Analytics & reporting | Strong | Strong |
| Managed hosting platform | Not evidenced | Limited |
Pricing comparison
Pricing evidence last checked Sep 8, 2026.
New Relic
From $10.00/user/mo
- Free$0.00/user/mo
- Standard (first full user)$10.00/user/mo
- Pro (full platform user)$349.00/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
Sentry
From $26.00/user/mo
- Developer$0.00/user/mo
- Team$26.00/mo
- Business$80.00/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
Seat-count estimates
Labeled estimates from verified starting per-seat pricing — not invoices.
| Seats | New Relic | Sentry |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | ~$50.00/mo (5 × starting seat) | ~$130.00/mo (5 × starting seat) |
| 10 | ~$100.00/mo (10 × starting seat) | ~$260.00/mo (10 × starting seat) |
| 25 | ~$250.00/mo (25 × starting seat) | ~$650.00/mo (25 × starting seat) |
| 50 | ~$500.00/mo (50 × starting seat) | ~$1,300.00/mo (50 × starting seat) |
Estimate from verified starting per-seat pricing — actual total depends on plan, annual discounts, and add-ons.
New Relic researched starting price from $10/mo; a free plan is researched. Sentry researched starting price from $26/mo; a free plan is researched. Affiliate economics excluded.
Best for
Scenario picks from researched strengths — not a universal ranking.
- → New Relic
Best for starting pricing
New Relic publishes a lower researched starting floor ($10/mo vs $26/mo for Sentry). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
- → New Relic
Best for security & admin
New Relic leads on security admin (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
The differences that actually matter
Pair-specific analysis for New Relic vs Sentry — not generic category copy.
Starting pricing
New Relic aheadOn starting pricing, New Relic is ahead. New Relic: New Relic publishes a lower researched starting floor ($10/mo vs $26/mo for Sentry). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.. Sentry: Trails New Relic on this criterion. Feature evidence also diverges on Infrastructure monitoring (New Relic: Strong; Sentry: Moderate); Log management (New Relic: Strong; Sentry: Moderate); On-call & paging (New Relic: Moderate; Sentry: Limited).
Security & admin
New Relic aheadOn security & admin, New Relic is ahead. New Relic: New Relic leads on security admin (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.. Sentry: Trails New Relic on this criterion.
Pros and cons
Product-specific for this pair — derived from researched outcomes and editorial notes.
New Relic
Pros
- Stronger on starting pricing
- Stronger on security & admin
Sentry
Cons
- Trails on starting pricing
- Trails on security & admin
Who should not choose each product
Decision quality improves when we say who should walk away.
Don't choose New Relic if…
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Developers who want a free 5k-error path before Team $26
Don't choose Sentry if…
- You need New Relic's stronger starting pricing more than Sentry's strengths
- You need New Relic's stronger security & admin more than Sentry's strengths
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Orgs that can live with 1–5 Standard full users
Alternatives worth considering
When neither product is the right fit.
Observability suite — infrastructure, APM, logs, and security signals with consumption/host pricing; Infrastructure Pro from $15/host/mo annual.
Enterprise observability — Dynatrace Platform Subscription (DPS) annual commit + rate card. Full-Stack list unit ~$58/mo per 8 GiB host; 15-day trial. No per-seat SKU.
Splunk Observability Cloud — Infrastructure Monitoring from $15/host/mo annual; App & Infra $60/host; End-to-End $75/host; free up to 15 hosts. Not Splunk Platform/SIEM ingest.
Managed Grafana observability — Free 10k series / 50 GB logs; Pro from $19/mo platform fee + usage ($6.50/1k series, $8/user).
Final verdict
Scenario-level close — not a repeat of the intro.
New Relic wins when…
Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill
Sentry wins when…
Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- Best for starting pricingNew Relic
- Best for security & adminNew Relic
Which one should you choose?
Choose New Relic if:
- 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
Choose Sentry if:
- Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- Developers who want a free 5k-error path before Team $26
- Buyers comparing a specialist to Datadog/Splunk host suites
Product screenshots
Real product UI from our media library — no placeholders.
New Relic
Sentry
FAQ
- Is New Relic better than Sentry?
- There is no universal winner between New Relic and Sentry. Choose New Relic when Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill. Choose Sentry when Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
- Which It Development fits which team?
- New Relic: Teams that want APM + logs + infra in one ingest bill Sentry: Application teams whose primary observability job is errors, traces, and replays
- Does New Relic or Sentry have a free plan?
- New Relic: Free plan available. Sentry: Free plan available.
- How does New Relic vs Sentry pricing compare?
- New Relic starts from $10.00/user/mo. Sentry starts from $26.00/user/mo. Confirm live vendor pricing before purchasing.
- How did SoftwareGlimpse compare these products?
- We map both products to the same category criteria, then evaluate trade-offs using verified product, pricing and feature evidence. Affiliate relationships never change outcomes.
- reviewNew Relic review
- reviewSentry review
- pricingNew Relic pricing
- pricingSentry pricing
- alternativeDatadog alternative
- alternativeDynatrace alternative
- alternativeSplunk Observability Cloud alternative
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- guideHow to Choose IT & Development Software
- guideIT & Development Software Pricing Guide
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Related comparisons
Alternatives to consider
Datadog
Observability suite — infrastructure, APM, logs, and security signals with consumption/host pricing; Infrastructure Pro from $15/host/mo annual.
Dynatrace
Enterprise observability — Dynatrace Platform Subscription (DPS) annual commit + rate card. Full-Stack list unit ~$58/mo per 8 GiB host; 15-day trial. No per-seat SKU.
Splunk Observability Cloud
Splunk Observability Cloud — Infrastructure Monitoring from $15/host/mo annual; App & Infra $60/host; End-to-End $75/host; free up to 15 hosts. Not Splunk Platform/SIEM ingest.
Grafana Cloud
Managed Grafana observability — Free 10k series / 50 GB logs; Pro from $19/mo platform fee + usage ($6.50/1k series, $8/user).
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