Azure Application Insights vs New Relic: What are the differences?

Azure Application Insights and New Relic are two popular application performance monitoring (APM) tools used to monitor and troubleshoot web applications. Let's explore the key difference between them.

1. Integration with Azure Services: Azure Application Insights is a native monitoring solution provided by Microsoft Azure, which seamlessly integrates with other Azure services and provides in-depth monitoring and diagnostics capabilities for applications hosted on Azure. On the other hand, New Relic is a third-party APM tool that can be used with Azure services, but it requires additional configuration and setup to integrate with Azure-specific components.

2. Pricing Model: Azure Application Insights is part of the Azure platform and offers a range of pricing options, including a free tier for basic monitoring and paid plans for more advanced features and higher data volumes. New Relic, on the other hand, follows a subscription-based pricing model, where the cost is determined based on the number of hosts or applications being monitored, along with the desired feature set.

3. Analytics and Visualization: Both Azure Application Insights and New Relic offer powerful analytics and visualization capabilities to help analyze application performance data. However, there are differences in the depth and flexibility of these capabilities. Azure Application Insights leverages the power of Azure Monitor and provides rich analytics and visualization options, including custom dashboards, log analytics, and integration with other Azure services like Azure Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer. New Relic also offers advanced analytics and visualization features, but its capabilities may be more tailored towards specific application types or use cases.

4. Language and Platform Support: Azure Application Insights and New Relic support a wide range of programming languages and platforms. However, there may be differences in the level of support and availability of specific features for different languages and platforms. Azure Application Insights has native support for several popular programming languages, including .NET, Java, Node.js, and Python, and provides SDKs and instrumentation libraries for easy integration with different application types. New Relic also supports multiple languages and platforms but may have variations in the level of support and maturity for different ecosystems.

5. Alerting and Notifications: When it comes to alerting and notifications, both Azure Application Insights and New Relic offer similar functionalities, allowing users to set up custom alerts based on specific metrics or thresholds. However, there may be differences in the ease of setup and configurability. Azure Application Insights integrates with Azure Monitor and provides a flexible alerting system that can send notifications through various channels, such as email, SMS, or Azure Logic Apps. New Relic also offers a robust alerting system but may have variations in terms of available notification channels or integrations with external systems.

6. Ecosystem and Community: Azure Application Insights is part of the larger Azure ecosystem, which comes with its own set of benefits, including access to a wide range of Azure services, documentation, and community support. Being a Microsoft product, there is a vast community of developers and resources available for troubleshooting and learning. New Relic, on the other hand, has its own ecosystem and community that provides dedicated support and resources for users of their platform. The size and focus of the ecosystem/community may influence the availability of resources or community-driven extensions/plugins.

In summary, Azure Application Insights offers seamless integration with Azure services, customizable pricing options, and deep integration with Azure Monitor. New Relic, on the other hand, provides a flexible pricing model, advanced analytics and visualization features, and a dedicated ecosystem/community for support.