# GlitchTip vs Better Stack

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/glitchtip-vs-betterstack/

Every value below is read from GlitchTip's and Better Stack's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | GlitchTip | Better Stack |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Entry paid plan | $15/month for the 100,000 event plan; $50 for 500,000 and $250 for 3 million | From $29/month, or $34/month depending on the plan selected; Better Stack advertises both figures as starting prices on the same page. |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly tiers bought by event ceiling, with a free self-hosted build as the alternative to paying at all | One plan covering uptime monitoring, log management and error tracking together, with exceptions counted per month and web events metered by volume and retention rather than by count. |
| Events included | 100,000 events a month on the cheapest paid plan; 1,000 on the free hosted plan. One meter, not several — GlitchTip counts events and nothing else. | 100,000 exceptions and 5,000 session replays a month on the free personal plan, plus 30 GB metrics and 3 GB each of logs, traces and web events. Six meters, priced separately: exceptions at $0.000050 each, replays at $0.00150, metrics at $0.50 per GB per month. |
| Retention window | 90 days by default when self-hosted, set by GLITCHTIP_RETENTION_DAYS and configurable per data type — events, transactions, logs, uptime checks and files all inherit it, releases keep 365 days. Events move from Postgres to cold storage after 30 days but stay queryable. GlitchTip publishes no retention figure for its hosted plans. | 90 days for errors and session replays. Logs, traces and web events are retained 3 days on the free personal plan, where retention is what the 3 GB allowance buys rather than a fixed window. |

## Where they differ

### Entry paid plan

- GlitchTip: $15/month for the 100,000 event plan; $50 for 500,000 and $250 for 3 million ([source](https://glitchtip.com/pricing))
- Better Stack: From $29/month, or $34/month depending on the plan selected; Better Stack advertises both figures as starting prices on the same page. ([source](https://betterstack.com/pricing))

### Pricing model

- GlitchTip: Flat monthly tiers bought by event ceiling, with a free self-hosted build as the alternative to paying at all ([source](https://glitchtip.com/pricing))
- Better Stack: One plan covering uptime monitoring, log management and error tracking together, with exceptions counted per month and web events metered by volume and retention rather than by count. ([source](https://betterstack.com/pricing))

### Events included

- GlitchTip: 100,000 events a month on the cheapest paid plan; 1,000 on the free hosted plan. One meter, not several — GlitchTip counts events and nothing else. ([source](https://glitchtip.com/pricing))
- Better Stack: 100,000 exceptions and 5,000 session replays a month on the free personal plan, plus 30 GB metrics and 3 GB each of logs, traces and web events. Six meters, priced separately: exceptions at $0.000050 each, replays at $0.00150, metrics at $0.50 per GB per month. ([source](https://betterstack.com/pricing))

### Retention window

- GlitchTip: 90 days by default when self-hosted, set by GLITCHTIP_RETENTION_DAYS and configurable per data type — events, transactions, logs, uptime checks and files all inherit it, releases keep 365 days. Events move from Postgres to cold storage after 30 days but stay queryable. GlitchTip publishes no retention figure for its hosted plans. ([source](https://glitchtip.com/documentation/install))
- Better Stack: 90 days for errors and session replays. Logs, traces and web events are retained 3 days on the free personal plan, where retention is what the 3 GB allowance buys rather than a fixed window. ([source](https://betterstack.com/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick GlitchTip if Anyone who wants Sentry-shaped error tracking without Sentry's bill — the SDKs are compatible, so switching is a DSN change, and self-hosting is free and genuinely supported.

Pick Better Stack if Teams who would otherwise buy uptime monitoring, log management and error tracking separately, and would rather have one bill and one dashboard.

Consider something else: GlitchTip — It tracks errors and nothing else. No tracing, no replays, no uptime monitoring, so a team wanting one pane of glass will be assembling it from parts.

Consider something else: Better Stack — Web event retention is 3 days on the free plan, which is short enough to miss a Monday-morning investigation of a Friday-night incident.

## Documented by only one

- Session replay: Better Stack: Supported
- Self-hostable: GlitchTip: Supported

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: GlitchTip or Better Stack?**

GlitchTip: $15/month for the 100,000 event plan; $50 for 500,000 and $250 for 3 million
Better Stack: From $29/month, or $34/month depending on the plan selected; Better Stack advertises both figures as starting prices on the same page.

**Should I choose GlitchTip or Better Stack?**

Pick GlitchTip if Anyone who wants Sentry-shaped error tracking without Sentry's bill — the SDKs are compatible, so switching is a DSN change, and self-hosting is free and genuinely supported.
Pick Better Stack if Teams who would otherwise buy uptime monitoring, log management and error tracking separately, and would rather have one bill and one dashboard.