Observability — monitoring logs, metrics, and traces — is essential for modern software. We compared the three leading platforms on features, pricing, and real-world performance.
Comparison
- Datadog: most comprehensive, $15/host/month, expensive at scale
- New Relic: generous free tier (100GB/month), $0.30/GB after
- Grafana Cloud: best for open-source shops, 50GB free, $0.50/GB
Datadog wins on features but costs spiral quickly — a 200-server deployment easily exceeds $10K/month. New Relic's free tier is unmatched for startups. Grafana is ideal for teams already invested in Prometheus and Loki.
