Datadog vs New Relic — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Datadog starts at $18/mo. New Relic starts at $99/mo. Datadog is $81/mo cheaper on the entry tier than New Relic.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Datadog (Per Usage) — Datadog bills on usage — host on top of a paid plan starting at $18/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- New Relic (Per Usage) — New Relic bills on usage — Free 100GB/mo + 1 user; then $0.30-$0.55/GB + $99-$549 per full user/mo on top of a paid plan starting at $99/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
The dominant cloud observability platform (metrics, logs, traces, APM), publicly traded (DDOG), ~$45B market cap. Positioned as the alternative to New Relic + Splunk + PagerDuty stitched together. Distinctive for its notorious usage-based pricing that has surprised engineering teams with 6-figure monthly bills (Coinbase's leaked contract was ~$65M/year in 2022). Priced by seat + host + volume across 20+ meters. Popular with engineering teams; feared by finance teams.
New Relic is a full-stack observability platform with 50+ capabilities (APM, infrastructure, logs, RUM, browser, mobile). Best-in-class free tier: 100GB/mo ingest + 1 full-platform user + unlimited basic users. Paid tiers layer per-user fees (Standard ~$99/user/mo, Pro up to $549/user/mo) plus per-GB ingest above 100GB. Enterprise custom.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Datadog monthly | Datadog annual | New Relic monthly | New Relic annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Infrastructure Pro / Standard | $18 | $15 | $99 | $99 |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $349 | $349 |
| Enterprise | Infrastructure Enterprise / Enterprise | $27 | $23 | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Datadog is worth it if… infrastructure teams (10+ engineers) that need APM + logs + metrics + synthetics + RUM in one platform — the observability default at mid-market and enterprise scale. Infrastructure covers hosts; APM, Logs, RUM, Synthetics, Database Monitoring each priced separately per module.
New Relic is worth it if… New Relic is ideal for teams starting observability who want a generous free tier (100GB) to test-drive before committing. Best if you can plan around hybrid per-user + per-GB pricing that scales with team size and data volume.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Datadog over New Relic if…
Choose Datadog if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $18/mo).
- You match the profile Datadog is built for: infrastructure teams (10+ engineers) that need APM + logs + metrics + synthetics + RUM in one platform — the observability default at mid-market and enterprise scale.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose New Relic if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $99/mo).
- You match the profile New Relic is built for: ideal for teams starting observability who want a generous free tier (100GB) to test-drive before committing.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Datadog | New Relic | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $18/mo | $99/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Per Usage |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 27, 2026. Tracked daily.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about Datadog and New Relic
- How much does Datadog cost in 2026?
- Does Datadog have a free plan?
- How often does Datadog change prices?
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- How much does New Relic cost in 2026?
- Does New Relic have a free plan?
- How often does New Relic change prices?
- What are the best New Relic alternatives in 2026?