Side by side
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring vs Prometheus
Both stand on kubernetes monitoring. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWeb+1
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring covers cluster telemetry, application correlation, and alerting in one integration. Its free tier has a stated ingest allowance, but installation requires a license key and the default configuration uses a privileged sidecar.
Visit New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2
Prometheus provides a free monitoring and alerting toolkit with flexible metric collection and querying. Its stated accuracy limitation makes it unsuitable for per-request billing workloads.
Visit PrometheusThe facts
| New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring | Prometheus | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Self-hosted, Web, Windows | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | newrelic.com | prometheus.io |
| On kubernetes monitoring | #13 of 49 | #16 of 49 |
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring: what it does well
- Combines Kubernetes metrics, events, logs, and traces.
- Collects Prometheus metrics through workload service discovery.
- Links application performance data with Kubernetes data.
- Supports predefined and custom Kubernetes alerts.
- Free tier includes 100 GB monthly ingest.
What to know first
- Installation requires a New Relic license key.
- Default setup uses a privileged Infrastructure Agent sidecar.
- Unprivileged mode provides reduced host visibility.
Prometheus: what it does well
- Free and open source.
- PromQL queries time-series metrics.
- Targets can be discovered or configured statically.
- Server runs without external dependencies.
- TLS and HTTP Basic Authentication are supported.
What to know first
- Not recommended where data must be 100% accurate.
- Public exposure of component endpoints requires protective measures.
- Security fixes are handled on a best-effort basis.
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