Kibana vs New Relic vs Prometheus: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Kibana, New Relic, and Prometheus

Kibana, New Relic, and Prometheus are popular monitoring tools used in the industry. Here, we outline the key differences among these tools.

1. Data Sources: Kibana primarily works with Elasticsearch, a distributed search and analytics engine. It provides visualization and exploration capabilities for data stored in Elasticsearch. On the other hand, New Relic can monitor a wide range of technology stacks, including applications, infrastructure, and user experience, by collecting and analyzing data from various sources. Prometheus, an open-source monitoring system, focuses on monitoring containers and microservices architectures, collecting metrics from instrumented applications and systems.

2. Monitoring and Alerting: Kibana offers monitoring and alerting features through the Elastic Stack and X-Pack. It allows users to create visualizations, dashboards, and email reports based on predefined rules. New Relic comes with built-in monitoring and alerting capabilities, providing real-time performance monitoring, problem identification, and notification features. Prometheus, being a time series-based monitoring system, offers powerful alerting functionality based on configurable rules and alerts notifications via various channels.

3. Data Visualization: Kibana, as a part of the Elastic Stack, focuses heavily on data visualization and exploration. It provides a wide range of visualizations like line charts, bar charts, maps, and tables to analyze and present data in a comprehensive manner. New Relic also offers robust visualization capabilities, with pre-built charts and customizable dashboards to display real-time data and performance metrics. Prometheus, although it includes a basic console dashboard, primarily relies on Grafana for advanced and flexible visualization.

4. Scalability and Flexibility: Kibana, being integrated with Elasticsearch, is highly scalable and flexible, capable of handling large amounts of data. It also supports various data ingestion options, allowing users to integrate data from different sources. New Relic provides a scalable monitoring solution that can handle diverse technology stacks and supports integrations with various platforms. Prometheus, designed for monitoring dynamic container environments, provides horizontal scalability by applying a federated approach and supports automatic service discovery.

5. Community and Ecosystem: Kibana, as a part of the Elastic Stack, enjoys a strong community support and a rich ecosystem. It offers a wide range of plugins and integrations to enhance its functionality. New Relic has an active community and a comprehensive ecosystem of plugins and integrations, making it compatible with multiple frameworks and environments. Prometheus, being an open-source project, has a growing community and ecosystem. It provides numerous exporters and libraries, facilitating integration with different systems.

6. Pricing Model: Kibana, along with Elasticsearch, offers open-source and subscription-based licensing options, allowing users to choose the appropriate plan based on their requirements. New Relic follows a subscription-based pricing model, charging based on the features and services required. Prometheus, being an open-source project, is free to use, making it a cost-effective option for organizations.

In summary, Kibana is primarily designed for data visualization and works seamlessly with Elasticsearch, while New Relic provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities for various technology stacks. Prometheus focuses on monitoring containerized environments and has a federated approach to scalability. Each tool has its own strengths and can be selected based on specific monitoring and data analysis requirements.