New Relic alternatives: A data-backed comparison
Explore comprehensive data on top observability and application performance monitoring platforms to find the best New Relic alternatives tailored to your business needs.
Best New Relic alternatives in 2025
Grafana Labs
Best for: Micro businesses that need observability and monitoring dashboards without the complexity of enterprise-level infrastructure management systems.
- Highly customizable, open-source dashboards.
- Integrates with a wide range of data sources.
- Robust alerting and notification features.
- Vibrant community and plugin ecosystem.
- Some advanced features require paid tiers.
- Can be complex to set up for beginners.
- No native data collection or storage in the base product.
- Enterprise support comes at a higher price.
Honeycomb
Best for: Micro businesses that need advanced observability and debugging tools without the complexity of enterprise-level monitoring systems.
- Powerful high-cardinality event analysis.
- Real-time visibility into distributed systems.
- Innovative features like BubbleUp analytics.
- Flexible and collaborative workflow tools.
- Steeper learning curve for new users.
- Advanced features can be expensive at scale.
- Limited on-premise support.
- Requires instrumentation for best results.
Timescale
Best for: Micro businesses that need time-series database capabilities without the complexity of enterprise-level data infrastructure systems.
- Built on reliable PostgreSQL with familiar SQL.
- Scalable for high-ingest time-series data.
- Advanced compression and storage optimization.
- Suitable for real-time analytics and monitoring.
- Some advanced features require paid plans.
- Not purpose-built for non-SQL environments.
- May require Postgres expertise for complex use cases.
- Limited built-in visualization options.
Criteria for evaluating New Relic alternatives
When evaluating New Relic alternatives, it is important to focus on the features and criteria that best support modern application performance monitoring and observability. Below are the most important areas to consider.
Core functionality
Leading APM and observability platforms must provide real-time monitoring, distributed tracing, and detailed metrics for applications, infrastructure, and services. Look for solutions with comprehensive dashboards, advanced alerting, and AI-powered root cause analysis.
The ability to monitor both cloud-native and legacy environments, support for custom instrumentation, and integrations for log management are crucial for achieving complete visibility and resolving issues quickly.
User experience and support
Effective user experience is key for onboarding and daily workflows. Select platforms that offer intuitive dashboards, guided setup, and clear documentation. Responsive support channels such as chat, email, or ticketing help resolve issues quickly.
Training resources, best-practice guides, and active user forums enable teams to self-serve and accelerate their learning. Onboarding assistance and customer success programs further reduce time-to-value.
Integration capabilities
Strong native integrations with cloud providers, infrastructure platforms, and third-party tools are essential for unified monitoring. Look for support for CI/CD tools, cloud environments, container orchestration, and popular programming languages.
Open APIs, webhooks, and plug-in ecosystems are important for building custom workflows and maintaining flexibility as your stack evolves. Effective integration supports seamless data flow across the entire observability ecosystem.
Value for money
APM and observability platforms offer a variety of pricing models, including usage-based, tiered, or enterprise agreements. Evaluate total cost by considering data ingestion, user seats, feature access, and retention periods.
Transparent pricing models and clear plan features help with budgeting and avoiding surprise charges. Review which advanced features or premium support options are included in each plan and whether additional fees apply.
Industry-specific requirements
Some sectors require observability platforms tailored to compliance, security, or industry-specific workflows. Evaluate solutions with certifications, role-based access, and audit logging for regulated environments.
For industries like finance or healthcare, ensure the platform supports necessary standards and provides integrations or templates for sector-specific use cases. Pre-built dashboards and reporting for industry KPIs can streamline deployment and ongoing monitoring.
How to choose the right alternative
Use the following approach to select the best New Relic alternative for your business:
Assess your team's requirements
- List all critical applications, services, and systems to monitor.
- Identify compliance standards relevant to your industry.
- Determine must-have integrations and data sources.
- Set baseline requirements for user roles and permissions.
Test drive before committing
- Experiment with sandbox environments using real operational data.
- Validate alerting, dashboard customization, and tracing features.
- Include developers and operations in hands-on testing sessions.
- Review the support process during trial and note any issues encountered.
Evaluate long-term fit
- Examine the vendor’s release history and roadmap for ongoing innovation.
- Consider the ease of onboarding new teams or scaling across regions.
- Evaluate how data migration or exporting works in case of future transitions.
- Look into the platform’s support for upcoming technologies your business plans to adopt.
Consider support and training resources
- Assess the availability and depth of live and on-demand training content.
- Check for dedicated customer success or technical account management.
- Explore peer-to-peer forums and whether user groups exist in your region.
- Review the provider’s history of support, responsiveness, and resolution times.