Error Monitoring
Best Bugsnag Alternatives & Open-Source Competitors in 1970
Bugsnag (SmartBear) is priced as per-event plan tiers, starting at Free tier then from ~$46/mo. Here are 3 alternatives, with their pricing, self-hosting effort and trade-offs.
Why teams move away from Bugsnag
- Price steps up steeply once the free event allowance is exceeded
- Shallower performance tracing than Sentry
- UI and API feel dated next to newer tools
Bugsnag alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Licence | Starting price | Self-hosting | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bugsnag (SmartBear) | Proprietary | Free tier then from ~$46/mo | Not available | N/A |
| GlitchTip | Open SourceSelf-Hostable | $0 (self-hosted) or ~$15/mo (hosted) | Low (Docker Compose with Postgres and Redis) | N/A |
| Sentry | ProprietarySelf-Hostable | $26/mo (Team, 50,000 errors) | High (Docker Compose with Kafka, ClickHouse and Snuba) | 45.8k |
| Rollbar | Proprietary | $12/mo (Starter, 25,000 events) | Not available | N/A |
The alternatives in detail
GlitchTip
Open source (MIT, source on GitLab) / hosted plans
- Starting price
- $0 (self-hosted) or ~$15/mo (hosted)
- Free tier
- Hosted Hobby: 1,000 events/mo; self-hosted unlimited
- Self-hosting
- Low (Docker Compose with Postgres and Redis)
Pros
- Sentry-compatible event intake, so the existing Sentry SDKs just point at it
- MIT licensed and runnable on one modest server with Postgres and Redis
- Roughly a fifth of the operational weight of a Sentry self-host
Cons
- Source lives on GitLab, so GitHub-based tooling does not see it
- Fewer features than Sentry: no comparable profiling or replay depth
- Small team, so releases and integrations move slower
Sentry
Per-event volume + seats
- Starting price
- $26/mo (Team, 50,000 errors)
- Free tier
- Free Developer plan: 5,000 errors/mo, 1 user
- Self-hosting
- High (Docker Compose with Kafka, ClickHouse and Snuba)
Pros
- Best-in-class stack traces with releases, source maps and breadcrumbs
- Performance tracing, session replay and profiling share one SDK
- Self-hosted option keeps error data inside your own infrastructure
Cons
- Event and seat pricing climbs quickly for teams and noisy apps
- Self-hosting is heavy: Kafka, ClickHouse, Snuba and workers to operate
- The self-hosted licence is source-available (FSL), not OSI open source
Rollbar
Per-event volume + seats
- Starting price
- $12/mo (Starter, 25,000 events)
- Free tier
- Free 5,000 events/mo
- Self-hosting
- Not available
Pros
- Real-time error grouping with deploy tracking and auto-assignment
- Simple SDK setup and a fast triage interface
- Cheaper entry plan than Sentry for small teams
Cons
- Event-based pricing becomes expensive as traffic grows
- No self-hosting option
- Weaker performance-monitoring story than Sentry or Datadog
Bugsnag alternatives: FAQ
Why do teams look for Bugsnag alternatives?
The most common reasons are: price steps up steeply once the free event allowance is exceeded; shallower performance tracing than Sentry; uI and API feel dated next to newer tools.
What is the best open-source alternative to Bugsnag?
GlitchTip is the most-starred open-source option in this directory (N/A GitHub stars). Sentry-compatible event intake, so the existing Sentry SDKs just point at it.
Can I self-host a Bugsnag alternative?
GlitchTip: Low (Docker Compose with Postgres and Redis). Sentry: High (Docker Compose with Kafka, ClickHouse and Snuba).
Is there a free alternative to Bugsnag?
GlitchTip: Hosted Hobby: 1,000 events/mo; self-hosted unlimited. Sentry: Free Developer plan: 5,000 errors/mo, 1 user. Rollbar: Free 5,000 events/mo.