- Sentry alternatives at a glance
- Ten Sentry alternatives to consider
- Check the licence before you self-host Sentry
- What to look for in an error tracker
- How to switch error trackers without missing bugs
- Error tracking mistakes to avoid
- Questions to ask an error tracking vendor
- My plain advice on Sentry alternatives
- Frequently asked questions
Sentry alternatives are other error tracking tools that catch crashes and exceptions in your apps and tell you where the code broke. Open-source tools suit teams that want to self-host, while managed services suit teams that want alerts working in minutes. Compare language support and alert routing first, because those decide how fast you'll fix bugs.
Sentry is the tool many developers reach for first when they want to know why an app crashed. It does a lot, and that's exactly why some small teams want something lighter or simpler to run.
Here are ten Sentry alternatives in no particular order, sorted alphabetically, from self-hosted open-source tools to managed error trackers. Each description comes from the vendor's own website, re-checked today. If your site also needs to work for everyone, my guide to web accessibility pairs well with good error tracking.
List the languages and frameworks you run. Error tools live or die on how good their SDKs are for your stack.
Then decide where alerts should go. An error nobody sees is the same as no tracking at all, so check email, chat and on-call options.
Sentry alternatives at a glance
In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site describes a free version, free plan or open-source download, Trial only means a time-limited trial, and No means neither is stated. Free versions usually come with limits, so check what's included before you depend on one.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbrake | Error and performance monitoring | Quick error alerts | Trial only |
| AppSignal | Application monitoring | Ruby, Elixir and Node apps | Trial only |
| Bugsnag | Stability monitoring | Mobile app stability | Yes |
| Exceptionless | Open-source error reporting | .NET applications | Yes |
| GlitchTip | Open-source error tracking | Sentry SDK compatible | Yes |
| Honeybadger | Error and uptime monitoring | Small dev teams | Yes |
| LogRocket | Session replay and errors | Frontend debugging | Trial only |
| Raygun | Crash reporting and APM | Crash reports with context | Trial only |
| Rollbar | Error monitoring | Grouping and deploy tracking | Yes |
| TrackJS | JavaScript error monitoring | Frontend JavaScript errors | Trial only |
Ten Sentry alternatives to consider
Airbrake
Best for: Teams who want straightforward error alerts and performance data with little setup.
AppSignal
Best for: Developers on Ruby, Elixir, Node or Python who want errors and performance together.
Bugsnag
Best for: Mobile and web teams who track app stability scores across releases.
Exceptionless
Best for: Developers who want open-source error and log reporting, especially for .NET.
GlitchTip
Best for: Teams who want simple, open-source error tracking that accepts Sentry SDK events.
Honeybadger
Best for: Small development teams who want errors, uptime and check-ins in one place.
LogRocket
Best for: Frontend teams who want session replay alongside errors to see what users did.
Raygun
Best for: Teams who want crash reporting, real user monitoring and APM from one service.
Rollbar
Best for: Teams who want errors grouped intelligently and linked to the deploys that caused them.
TrackJS
Best for: Web teams who mainly need clear, low-noise JavaScript error reports.
Check the licence before you self-host Sentry
Here's a detail people assume wrongly. Sentry's own licensing page explains that it developed the Functional Source License, which it describes as eventually open source, and it says the licence isn't among the OSI-approved licences.
You can still self-host Sentry for your own use. But if open-source licensing matters to your company, or you'd build a competing service on it, read the terms first. Some alternatives here are under traditional open-source licences.
What to look for in an error tracker
- SDKs: good support for your languages and frameworks.
- Grouping: one issue per bug, not thousands of duplicates.
- Context: stack traces, breadcrumbs and user details.
- Releases: linking errors to the deploy that caused them.
- Alerts: routing to chat, email or on-call.
How to switch error trackers without missing bugs
- Add the new SDK alongside the old one in a test build.
- Trigger a test error and check it arrives with full detail.
- Set up alert rules and an owner for each project.
- Run both tools for a week in production.
- Remove the old SDK once nothing's slipping through.
Error tracking mistakes to avoid
- No owner per project. Errors pile up unread.
- Sending personal data. Scrub it before it leaves the app.
- Ignoring releases. Tag deploys so you know what broke.
- Alerting on everything. Noise gets muted.
If you're picking several business tools at once, my piece on how software helps a business succeed is a sensible starting point.
Questions to ask an error tracking vendor
Error trackers look similar in demos. These questions show the differences that matter once you're in production.
- How are similar errors grouped into one issue?
- Can we scrub personal data before it's sent?
- How do releases and source maps work?
- Where can alerts go?
- Can we self-host if our data rules change?
Test with one real bug from your backlog. The tool that helps you fix it fastest is the right one.
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I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Do you make developer tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on Sentry alternatives
Pick the tool that keeps noise down. A tracker that groups errors well and only alerts on new problems will get looked at. One that floods a channel gets muted.
And give every error an owner. The tool finds the bug, but a person has to fix it.
Frequently asked questions
What's a free alternative to Sentry?
Open-source error trackers are free to self-host, and some managed tools have free plans.
Is Sentry open source?
Sentry describes its licence as eventually open source and says it isn't OSI-approved.
Can I use Sentry SDKs with other tools?
Some open-source trackers accept events from Sentry SDKs.
What's the difference between error tracking and logging?
Error tracking groups crashes and exceptions. Logging records everything that happens.
Do I need session replay?
It helps frontend teams see what the user did before an error.
Can these tools track mobile crashes?
Many support iOS and Android crash reporting.
What's release tracking?
It links errors to the version of code that introduced them.
How do I cut alert noise?
Alert on new issues and regressions, not every occurrence.
Is self-hosting worth it?
It suits teams with strict data rules and someone to maintain it.
Do error trackers slow down apps?
The overhead is usually small. Test on a staging build first.
Should small sites use error tracking?
If you run custom code, yes. It finds bugs users won't report.
Can I hide personal data in error reports?
Most tools let you scrub sensitive fields before sending.
Can error trackers monitor performance too?
Many combine errors with basic performance data, such as slow transactions.
What are source maps?
Files that map minified JavaScript back to your original code, so stack traces make sense.
Can I track errors in background jobs?
Most SDKs capture errors from workers and scheduled jobs as well as web requests.
