What is the difference between New Relic and Checkly?

New Relic is best for Engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability, while Checkly is best for DevOps teams wanting monitoring as code. New Relic starts at Free and Checkly starts at Free.

Is New Relic or Checkly cheaper?

New Relic starts at Free with a free tier. Checkly starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Checkly?

Both New Relic and Checkly offer free tiers.

New Relic vs Checkly (2026)

At a glance

	New Relic	Checkly
Best for	Engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability	DevOps teams wanting monitoring as code
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
API Checks	—	✓
APM	✓	—
Alerts	—	✓
Browser	✓	—
Infrastructure	✓	—
Logs	✓	—
Monitoring as Code	—	✓
Playwright	—	✓
Synthetics	✓	—

New Relic

Strengths

Includes APM as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Includes Infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Free 100 GB/mo — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 18+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Enterprise-focused design means the interface can feel heavy for smaller teams
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in monitoring
Overkill for freelancers or small teams who need something lightweight

Try New Relic → Full review

Checkly

Strengths

Includes Monitoring as Code as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Includes Playwright as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Free for 5 checks — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes api checks alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in monitoring
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Checkly → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. New Relic's free plan: Free 100 GB/mo. Checkly's free plan: Free for 5 checks.

Feature gaps: New Relic offers APM, Browser and Infrastructure that Checkly lacks. Checkly brings API Checks, Alerts and Monitoring as Code that New Relic does not have.

Team fit: New Relic is geared toward enterprise teams, while Checkly is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: New Relic's biggest strengths are: includes apm as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows. includes infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows. Checkly's biggest strengths are: includes monitoring as code as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows. includes playwright as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows.

Watch out for: With New Relic, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Checkly, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose New Relic if...

You need a tool built for engineering teams wanting all-in-one observability
You specifically need APM and Browser
You care about includes infrastructure as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Your team size fits the enterprise profile New Relic is designed for
The free tier works for you: free 100 gb/mo

Choose Checkly if...

You need a tool built for devops teams wanting monitoring as code
You specifically need API Checks and Alerts
You care about includes playwright as a core feature, purpose-built for monitoring workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Checkly is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 5 checks