What Is New Relic Used For: Features, Reviews & Alternatives
Observability platform for applications/infra.
Editorially updated Oct 25, 2025
The overview
What New Relic is for
1Core Capabilitie
- APM service map visualization
- Infrastructure host metric explorer
- Distributed tracing UI
- NRQL query console
- Alert condition builder
2Specialized Workflow
- Synthetic monitor configuration panel
- Log pattern analysis view
- Browser RUM performance breakdown
- Mobile crash reporting dashboard
- Kubernetes cluster explorer
Who it helps
Useful ways to use New Relic
A practical path
Deploying an APM Agent
Navigate to the 'Add Data' section in the web portal, select your application language/framework, copy the provided agent installation commands, and integrate them into your service deployment pipeline
External signals
Reviews & reputation
Aggregated review score
Praised for its comprehensive full-stack observability, deep APM insights, and robust querying capabilities. Users value the unified platform for reducing tool sprawl and accelerating incident resolution. Some feedback notes a learning curve for advanced features and potential cost considerations at scale.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
1How is New Relic's pricing structured, especially for varying data ingest volumes and user counts?⌄
Pricing is primarily consumption-based, centered on data ingest (GB/month) and user seats. There are different user tiers (Basic, Core, Full Platform) with varying access to features and data retention. Specific details and a usage calculator are available on the official pricing page.
2Can I send custom metrics from my applications or infrastructure that aren't covered by standard agents?⌄
Yes, custom metrics can be ingested via the Telemetry SDKs, Metric API, or OpenTelemetry exporters. This allows for instrumenting unique business logic or specialized infrastructure components not automatically detected by out-of-the-box agents.
3What are the data retention policies for different types of telemetry data (metrics, events, logs, traces)?⌄
Data retention varies by data type and subscription tier. Typically, metrics have longer retention (e.g., 13 months for aggregated data), while raw events, logs, and traces might have shorter default retention (e.g., 8-30 days), which can often be extended with add-ons.
4How does New Relic handle data security and compliance for sensitive application performance data?⌄
New Relic employs industry-standard security practices, including data encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and regular security audits. They maintain various compliance certifications like SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR readiness. Data is typically processed in regional data centers.
5Is New Relic suitable for monitoring highly dynamic, ephemeral serverless environments like AWS Lambda or Azure Functions?⌄
Yes, New Relic offers specific instrumentation for serverless functions, including language-specific agents and integrations for cloud provider monitoring services. It provides cold start analysis, invocation tracing, and error tracking tailored for the ephemeral nature of serverless compute.
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