New Relic vs SolarWinds: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for New Relic and SolarWinds side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below, New Relic leads on lower entry price and a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
New Relic
Full-stack observability with 50+ monitoring capabilities
Best for you if:
- • You want a free tier before you commit
SolarWinds
Drive operational resilience with unified visibility and AI-powered insights across your IT environment.
Best for you if:
- • You want comprehensive suite of IT management tools under one platform
| At a Glance | New Relic | |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $10/mo Standard plan | From $15/user/mo, billed monthly Incident Response plan |
Category | Monitoring DevOps | Monitoring Cloud & Infrastructure |
Rating | 4.4/5 G2 4.4 · Capterra 4.5 783 reviews | 4.3/5 G2 4.3 · SourceForge 4.3 934 reviews |
Free plan | Yes | No |
Watch out for | Data ingest overages at $0.40/GB (Standard) | n/a |
Choose New Relic or SolarWinds?
Choose New Relic if
- You want a free tier before you commit
- You want generous free tier
- You want full-stack observability
- Budget matters ($10/mo vs $15/user/mo, billed monthly)
Choose SolarWinds if
- You want comprehensive suite of IT management tools under one platform
- You want AI-powered insights and automation for proactive issue resolution
In-Depth Analysis
New Relic
Full-stack observability with 50+ monitoring capabilities
New Relic's freemium model is generous, offering 100 GB/month and a full platform user for free.
Watch out
Data ingest overages at $0.40/GB (Standard)
Strengths
- Pro: Generous free tier
- Pro: Full-stack observability
- Pro: AI insights
Weaknesses
- Con: Complex to set up
- Con: Data can be expensive
Key features
SolarWinds
Drive operational resilience with unified visibility and AI-powered insights across your IT environment.
SolarWinds' pricing structure is quite varied, with 'Monitoring & Observability' at $7/node/month appearing fair for comprehensive visibility.
Strengths
- Pro: Comprehensive suite of IT management tools under one platform
- Pro: AI-powered insights and automation for proactive issue resolution
- Pro: Supports diverse IT environments including on-premise, cloud, and hybrid
- Pro: Flexible deployment options (self-hosted and SaaS)
- Pro: Strong focus on operational resilience and unified visibility
Weaknesses
- Con: No free tier or trial explicitly mentioned for individual products
- Con: Requires integration and setup for full benefit across complex IT landscapes
Key features
Plans and prices: New Relic vs SolarWinds
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New Relic |
| newrelic.com/pricing read Oct 25, 2026 |
| SolarWinds |
| solarwinds.com/pricing read Oct 30, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on New Relic pricing and SolarWinds pricing.
Key Takeaways
New Relic
- Lower entry price: $10/mo vs $15/user/mo, billed monthly
- Has a free plan
SolarWinds
- Choose if you want drive operational resilience with unified visibility and AI-powered insights across your IT environment
What the data shows
On the data below, New Relic leads on lower entry price and a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
- User ratings are within 0.2 points (4.4/5 from 783 reviews for New Relic, 4.3/5 from 934 reviews for SolarWinds).
- New Relic has the lower entry price: $10/mo (Standard) against $15/user/mo, billed monthly (Incident Response) for SolarWinds.
- Only New Relic has a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do New Relic and SolarWinds compare in 2026?
On the data below, New Relic leads on lower entry price and a free plan. We do not name an overall winner for this pair. User ratings are within 0.2 points (4.4/5 from 783 reviews for New Relic, 4.3/5 from 934 reviews for SolarWinds). New Relic has the lower entry price: $10/mo (Standard) against $15/user/mo, billed monthly (Incident Response) for SolarWinds. Only New Relic has a free plan.
What are New Relic and SolarWinds used for?
New Relic: Full-stack observability with 50+ monitoring capabilities. SolarWinds: Drive operational resilience with unified visibility and AI-powered insights across your IT environment.
What does New Relic cost vs SolarWinds?
New Relic's cheapest paid plan is Standard at $10/mo; it also has a free plan. SolarWinds's cheapest paid plan is Incident Response at $15/user/mo, billed monthly. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Oct 30, 2026.
What's the main difference between New Relic and SolarWinds?
New Relic's main strength: generous free tier. SolarWinds's main strength: comprehensive suite of IT management tools under one platform.