Sentry vs Grafana
Sentry is application monitoring platform focused on error tracking, performance monitoring, and session replay, while Grafana is open-source observability platform for metrics visualization, dashboards, and alerting from any data source. The biggest difference up front: Grafana is free, while Sentry starts at $26/mo. Sentry is built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly, whereas Grafana targets teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization.
| Feature | Sentry | Grafana |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Alerting | — | ✓ |
| Alerts | ✓ | — |
| Dashboards | — | ✓ |
| Data Sources | — | ✓ |
| Error Tracking | ✓ | — |
| Open Source | — | ✓ |
| Performance Monitoring | ✓ | — |
| Release Tracking | ✓ | — |
| Session Replay | ✓ | — |
Pricing: Grafana is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Sentry starts at $26/mo, but Free for 5K errors and 10K performance events/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.
Feature gaps: Sentry offers Alerts, Error Tracking and Performance Monitoring that Grafana lacks. Grafana brings Alerting, Dashboards and Data Sources that Sentry does not have.
Team fit: Both tools target any size teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.
Open source: Both Sentry and Grafana are open source, so self-hosting and code audits are on the table with either choice.
Where each tool shines: Sentry's biggest strengths are: best-in-class error tracking with detailed stack traces. session replay shows exactly what users experienced. Grafana's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress.
Watch out for: With Sentry, users commonly note that event-based pricing can get expensive with noisy apps. With Grafana, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.
choose Sentry if
- You need a tool built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly
- You specifically need Alerts and Error Tracking
- You care about session replay shows exactly what users experienced
- The free tier works for you: free for 5k errors and 10k performance events/mo
choose Grafana if
- Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization
- Budget is a hard constraint — Grafana is free, Sentry is not
- You specifically need Alerting and Dashboards
- You care about customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress
frequently asked
What is the difference between Sentry and Grafana?
Sentry is application monitoring platform focused on error tracking, performance monitoring, and session replay, while Grafana is open-source observability platform for metrics visualization, dashboards, and alerting from any data source. The biggest difference up front: Grafana is free, while Sentry starts at $26/mo. Sentry is built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly, whereas Grafana targets teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization.
Should I use Sentry or Grafana?
Grafana is the free option; Sentry charges $26/mo but may offer more polish. Here is how they compare.
When should I choose Sentry over Grafana?
Choose Sentry if You need a tool built for development teams that need to catch, triage, and fix errors quickly; You specifically need Alerts and Error Tracking; You care about session replay shows exactly what users experienced; The free tier works for you: free for 5k errors and 10k performance events/mo.
When should I choose Grafana over Sentry?
Choose Grafana if Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting open-source dashboards and visualization; Budget is a hard constraint — Grafana is free, Sentry is not; You specifically need Alerting and Dashboards; You care about customizable dashboards give real-time visibility into project progress.
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