See What’s Happening Right Now, Not 30 Seconds Ago

For infrastructure monitoring: Yes. Netdata provides superior real-time visibility, edge-based ML, and 90% cost savings for servers, containers, Kubernetes, and cloud resources. For APM: Partially. Netdata excels at infrastructure but lacks distributed tracing until Q2 2026. Many customers use both: Netdata for infrastructure (90% savings) and New Relic for APM, or replace New Relic entirely if infrastructure is their priority. Learn about Netdata’s APM roadmap.

New Relic’s dual pricing (users + data GB) creates unpredictable costs. Netdata uses simple per-node pricing with unlimited metrics, logs, users, and retention. No consumption traps, no hidden fees, no surprise bills. Calculate your savings.

Most operational anomalies last 2-10 seconds - CPU spikes, memory bursts, network congestion. New Relic’s 15+ second collection averages these away, making them invisible. Netdata’s 1-second granularity captures every spike, revealing the transient issues that trigger cascading failures. During incidents, 15× more granular data means faster root cause identification and 80% faster MTTR. See real-time demo.

Not yet. Distributed tracing via OpenTelemetry is planned for Q2 2026. Until then, Netdata focuses on infrastructure monitoring excellence: per-second metrics, edge-based ML, and real-time troubleshooting. Many customers use hybrid approach: Netdata for infrastructure (90% savings) + New Relic for APM/tracing. This reduces total observability costs significantly while maintaining full visibility. Learn about complementary positioning.

New Relic’s cloud-based ML adds latency (data must reach cloud, process, return results) and requires manual configuration. Netdata trains 18 models per metric at the edge during collection - anomalies detected in <1 second with 99% false positive reduction in anomaly detection (10^-36 theoretical rate via consensus). Zero setup, zero cloud dependency, instant detection. Learn about ML accuracy.

Yes, recommended. Netdata supports parallel deployment with zero conflicts. Install Netdata agents alongside New Relic agents, compare dashboards side-by-side for 14-30 days. Most customers start with non-production environments, then expand as they see value. Netdata’s minimal overhead (<5% CPU) means no performance impact. Start free trial.

Netdata uses algorithmic dashboards that auto-generate based on discovered data - no manual building required. Your New Relic custom dashboards won’t transfer directly, but Netdata’s zero-config approach means you’ll have comprehensive visibility within 60 seconds of installation. For specific visualizations, Netdata supports custom dashboards with drag-and-drop. Most customers find algorithmic dashboards superior because they adapt automatically as infrastructure changes. See dashboard examples.

Yes, natively. Netdata provides per-second Kubernetes monitoring with auto-discovery of services, pod/container metrics, and cluster health - all with zero configuration. Unlike New Relic’s complex setup, Netdata deploys via Helm chart in 5 minutes. Handles high container churn without cost explosions. Learn about Kubernetes monitoring.

Netdata processes and stores all metrics on-premises via edge architecture - no data leaves your infrastructure. This provides GDPR and HIPAA compliance by design without vendor cloud dependencies. Optional on-premises Netdata Cloud for complete air-gapped deployments. New Relic centralizes data in their cloud, creating compliance challenges. Learn about data sovereignty.

Netdata: Hours to days. Zero-config auto-discovery, algorithmic dashboards, and point-and-click interface mean instant productivity. No query language (vs New Relic’s NRQL). New Relic: Weeks to months. NRQL training, dashboard building, and configuration setup require significant investment. Netdata provides 30+ free courses and certifications, but basic use requires no training. Explore free training.

Yes, comprehensively. Netdata provides native integrations for AWS (EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda), Azure (VMs, AKS), and GCP (Compute Engine, GKE) with auto-discovery and per-second metrics. Unlike New Relic’s cloud-centric approach, Netdata’s edge architecture eliminates egress costs while providing unified visibility across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. View cloud integrations.

Community Plan: Active forums and Discord (76,300+ GitHub community). Business Plan: Email/ticket support with SLA during business hours. Enterprise Plan: 24/7 phone support, dedicated teams, custom SLAs. Netdata provides comprehensive documentation and free training for self-service. Compare support tiers.

Linearly and predictably. Netdata charges per node with volume discounts. Unlimited metrics, logs, users at every tier. New Relic’s consumption model creates exponential cost growth as infrastructure expands. Calculate your costs.

Be transparent: Netdata focuses on infrastructure monitoring excellence and lacks some APM features: (1) Distributed tracing until Q2 2026, (2) Code-level profiling not supported, (3) Mobile app is notification-focused, not full dashboard, (4) User experience monitoring (RUM, session replay) not available. For these use cases, consider hybrid approach: Netdata for infrastructure + complementary APM for tracing. Learn about use case fit.

Yes, recommended approach. Start with non-production environments or specific infrastructure segments (e.g., Kubernetes clusters). Run both platforms in parallel for 30-60 days. Gradually expand Netdata coverage as confidence grows. Many customers keep New Relic for APM while moving infrastructure monitoring to Netdata - achieving significant total cost reduction. Netdata provides migration support and documentation. Contact migration team.