The best Rollbar alternatives & competitors, compared
Contents
Rollbar is one of the most dependable tools for catching errors in production. It's lightweight, integrates easily with most frameworks, and gives developers real-time visibility into what's breaking.
Developers like Rollbar because it's simple and reliable, but simplicity only gets you so far. As your product grows, so does the need for context, and some of the best error tracking tools available today go beyond traditional error reporting by combining debugging context, session replay, and observability in one place.
In this guide, we'll take a closer look at some of the best Rollbar alternatives, including tools with broader capabilities.
Best Rollbar alternatives
1. PostHog
PostHog is a developer platform that goes far beyond just error tracking. It combines product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, LLM analytics, surveys, and more, giving developers visibility into what went wrong and why.
Instead of showing only stack traces, PostHog links errors to real user sessions. You can replay the exact actions that caused the issue, see what users did before the crash, and trace frontend behavior back to backend exceptions.
PostHog's pricing is transparent and usage-based, with 1 million events and 5000 replays free each month. More than 90% of companies use it for free!
Choose PostHog if: You want to consolidate your stack and stop paying for six different tools.
PostHog vs Rollbar
Main differences between PostHog and Rollbar
- PostHog ties every exception to a real user session and product data. Rollbar just shows you the error.
- PostHog is open source with a public roadmap and MIT license. Rollbar is proprietary and cloud-only.
- PostHog uses simple usage-based pricing with generous free tiers. Rollbar pricing scales by error volume and plan tier.
Main similarities between PostHog and Rollbar
- Both capture and aggregate exceptions in real time.
- Both integrate with popular frameworks, GitHub, and Slack.
- Both support alerting and triaging across environments.
2. Sentry
Sentry is one of the most established names in error tracking; it's mature, reliable, and most developers have used it at some point.
Known for its precise stack traces, powerful grouping, and strong integrations across frontend and backend frameworks, Sentry also offers performance monitoring, so you can spot slow transactions and bottlenecks alongside exceptions.
Its open-source roots make it transparent, and self-hosting is an option for teams that need full control over their data. For most users, though, the managed Cloud version is easier to run – just expect the bill to climb as you scale.
Choose Sentry if: You need a reliable, mature error monitoring tool with broad framework support and rich traces.
Sentry vs Rollbar
Main differences between Sentry and Rollbar
- Sentry includes built-in performance monitoring; Rollbar focuses only on error tracking.
- Sentry offers both a self-hosted open-source option and a managed Cloud service; Rollbar is fully proprietary and cloud-only.
- Sentry's UI is built for large teams juggling multiple projects; Rollbar's simplicity works better for smaller setups.
Main similarities between Sentry and Rollbar
- Both provide real-time error detection, grouping, and notifications.
- Both integrate with GitHub, Slack, and CI/CD tools.
- Both support wide language and framework coverage.
3. LogRocket
LogRocket also focuses on helping developers and product teams understand what users actually did before an error occurred. It combines session replay, network and console logs, and performance metrics in one interface.
By pairing replay with detailed technical data, LogRocket helps frontend developers reproduce and fix issues faster, without needing to guess or wait for user screenshots. It's especially useful for JavaScript-heavy apps, SPAs, and UX troubleshooting.
LogRocket doesn't cover backend or server-side error tracking, so you'll still need another tool for your API layer.
Choose LogRocket if: You're debugging gnarly frontend issues and need to see exactly what users clicked.
LogRocket vs Rollbar
Main differences between LogRocket and Rollbar
- LogRocket emphasizes frontend debugging with visual replays; Rollbar focuses on backend error tracking.
- LogRocket captures user interactions, network calls, and console logs; Rollbar tracks server exceptions.
- LogRocket's pricing is usage-based but not fully transparent; Rollbar provides tiered plans.
Main similarities between LogRocket and Rollbar
- Both detect JavaScript errors and surface them with stack traces.
- Both integrate with alerting and collaboration tools like Slack and GitHub.
- Both are used by engineering teams to reduce debugging time.
4. Datadog
Datadog is a full observability platform combining application performance monitoring (APM), logs, metrics, traces, and error tracking. Its Real User Monitoring (RUM) connects frontend sessions with backend traces to show the full blast radius of a crash or slowdown.
While Datadog's depth and integrations are unmatched, its complexity and cost make it more suited to enterprise-scale teams than startups. Still, it does a great job at providing a single pane of glass across infrastructure, application performance, and user behavior.
If you're already using Datadog for metrics or APM, enabling its error tracking and RUM modules can help unify your monitoring stack.
Choose Datadog if: You're at enterprise scale and need a single pane of glass across infrastructure, application performance, and user behavior.
Datadog vs Rollbar
Main differences between Datadog and Rollbar
- Datadog covers full-stack observability (APM, logs, metrics); Rollbar focuses only on application errors.
- Datadog's RUM module includes replay-like functionality with performance data; Rollbar doesn't offer this.
- Datadog is enterprise-grade with enterprise pricing; Rollbar is lighter-weight and easier to set up.
Main similarities between Datadog and Rollbar
- Both provide real-time exception alerts.
- Both integrate with popular frameworks and deployment tools.
- Both support team collaboration via dashboards and notifications.
5. Bugsnag
Bugsnag centers around application stability. It measures crash-free sessions and release health to show how each deployment affects users, and uses a stability score to help you prioritize the most impactful issues first.
The platform's mobile SDKs are excellent, particularly strong for mobile teams that need visibility into release regressions and app performance. Bugsnag supports frontend and backend frameworks too, but its mobile game is where it really shines.
Bugsnag is developer-friendly, but unlike PostHog or Sentry, it doesn't include replay or analytics features; it's laser-focused on stability instead.
Choose Bugsnag if: You're a mobile or web team focused on app stability, crash-free sessions, and release health tracking.
Bugsnag vs Rollbar
Main differences between Bugsnag and Rollbar
- Bugsnag focuses on stability metrics and release health; Rollbar centers on raw error tracking.
- Bugsnag's mobile SDKs are significantly better than Rollbar's.
- Bugsnag visualizes the impact of each deployment; Rollbar lacks release-based insights.
Main similarities between Bugsnag and Rollbar
- Both detect, group, and alert developers to errors in real time.
- Both integrate with popular languages, frameworks, and version control systems.
- Both are designed to reduce MTTR (mean time to resolution).
6. Airbrake
Airbrake is one of the earliest error tracking tools and, similar to Rollbar, remains popular for its simplicity and low overhead. It gives you basic aggregation, trend tracking, and notifications, nothing fancy, nothing confusing.
Setup is quick, SDKs cover most major languages, and the UI focuses on what small teams need most: catching and resolving exceptions fast.
Airbrake lacks features like session replay or performance monitoring, but its straightforward approach and affordable plans make it ideal for smaller apps or early-stage startups.
Choose Airbrake if: You're a small team or startup that needs simple, affordable error tracking without enterprise complexity.
Airbrake vs Rollbar
Main differences between Airbrake and Rollbar
- Airbrake is simpler and cheaper; Rollbar offers more advanced automation and grouping.
- Airbrake's interface and setup are lighter-weight; Rollbar's dashboard provides more configuration options.
- Airbrake is better suited to small projects; Rollbar scales better for enterprise needs.
Main similarities between Airbrake and Rollbar
- Both capture and report errors in real time.
- Both integrate with GitHub, Slack, and most major frameworks.
- Both just work.
Which Rollbar alternative should you choose?
- Want an all-in-one platform that ties errors to user sessions, analytics, flags, experiments, and more? Go with PostHog.
- Need deep stack traces and performance tracing? Sentry is the mature choice.
- Debugging difficult frontend issues? Pick LogRocket.
- Enterprise-scale observability? Datadog ties everything together.
- Mobile team tracking release health? Choose Bugsnag.
- Small team or early-stage startup? Airbrake keeps things simple and affordable.
FAQ
What is Rollbar used for?
Rollbar is an error tracking platform that helps developers detect, group, and monitor exceptions in real time. It's popular for its simplicity, strong SDK support, and instant error alerts across environments.
Why look for Rollbar alternatives?
As teams grow, they often need tools that go beyond just catching errors, such as session replay, analytics, or observability. Rollbar excels at alerting, but modern tools like PostHog and Sentry provide more context for debugging and measuring user impact.
What's the best Rollbar alternative overall?
PostHog is the best all-around Rollbar alternative for most teams. It combines error tracking with session replay, product analytics, feature flags, and A/B testing, giving developers a complete view of both the technical issue and its user impact.
Which Rollbar competitor is open source?
Both PostHog and Sentry have open-source roots. PostHog is fully MIT-licensed with a public roadmap, while Sentry offers a self-hosted option alongside its cloud service.
Is Rollbar still a good choice?
Yes. Rollbar is fast, simple, and reliable. But if you're scaling, need replay or analytics, or want more context around crashes, other tools may serve you better.
Which Rollbar alternative includes session replay?
PostHog and LogRocket both include session replay features, so you can watch exactly what users did before an error occurred.
What's the cheapest alternative to Rollbar?
Airbrake is the most budget-friendly option for small projects. PostHog is also cost-effective thanks to its generous free tier and transparent usage-based pricing.