> Source: https://glassmkr.com/vs/newrelic

# Glassmkr vs New Relic: bare-metal monitoring vs APM-first observability platform.

Both can monitor servers. They differ on what they’re built around: hardware-level signals vs application telemetry.

Last verified: 2026-06-25. Glassmkr is not affiliated with New Relic.

> New Relic uses a data-ingest + user-based pricing model: 100 GB/month free, $0.40/GB Original (or $0.60/GB Data Plus) beyond [1](#fn1). Free tier includes 1 full platform user; paid tiers (Standard up to 5 full users; Pro at ~$349/user/year; Enterprise custom) scale with users [1](#fn1). The platform is APM-first: agents for Java/Node/Python/Ruby/Go/.NET instrument application code [4](#fn4). Glassmkr is bare-metal monitoring at $3/node/month with 3 free nodes [G](#fn-glassmkr). 65 alert rules tuned for hardware failure modes. Different products for different problems. If APM is the primary need, New Relic. If bare-metal hardware monitoring is the primary need, Glassmkr.

## What’s the same

Both have infrastructure monitoring as a product. Both ship agents that collect Linux server metrics. Both have alerting, dashboards, and multi-channel notifications. Both have free tiers.

## What’s different

| Dimension | New Relic | Glassmkr |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary product | APM-first observability platform; infrastructure is one of 50+ capabilities [1](#fn1) | Bare-metal monitoring; single focused product |
| Pricing model | Data-ingest (GB) + user-based [1](#fn1) | Per-node flat ($3/node) [G](#fn-glassmkr) |
| Free tier | 100 GB/mo ingest, 1 full user, 8-day default retention (minimum) [1](#fn1) | 3 nodes, all 65 rules + all channels, 7-day retention (AI is Pro) |
| Paid tiers | Standard (≤5 full users, ~$99/user/mo additional); Pro (~$349/user/yr); Enterprise custom [1](#fn1) | Free up to 3 nodes, then $3/node/mo (Enterprise custom) |
| Data overage | $0.40/GB (Original) or $0.60/GB (Data Plus) [1](#fn1) | None |
| APM agents | Java/Node/Python/Ruby/Go/.NET: instrument application code [4](#fn4) | None |
| Browser + mobile + synthetic monitoring | Yes: Digital Experience Monitoring [5](#fn5) | No |
| Query language | NRQL (SQL-like for all telemetry) [3](#fn3) | None: pre-built rules |
| AIOps / applied intelligence | Yes: AI-recommended alerts, alert correlation, incident enrichment [6](#fn6) | Furnace (AI) on Pro; remediation-focused |
| Integrations | 780+ [1](#fn1) | Bare-metal focused; ~10 integration surfaces |
| SMART / IPMI / RAID / ECC | Not listed in Infrastructure Agent default metrics [2](#fn2) | Native via Crucible agent |

### The APM-first design

New Relic’s strength is application-performance monitoring. Agents for Java, Node, Python, Ruby, Go, and .NET instrument application code [4](#fn4). Traces, browser RUM, mobile, synthetic checks, and logs-in-context all integrate [5](#fn5). Infrastructure monitoring is one module among 50+ [1](#fn1).

Glassmkr does not do APM. It doesn’t instrument application code, doesn’t collect traces, doesn’t monitor browsers or mobile apps. It collects bare-metal hardware signals and routes alerts on them. If your monitoring needs span application performance and infrastructure, New Relic covers more ground.

### Bare-metal coverage

The New Relic Infrastructure Agent collects `SystemSample` (CPU, memory, disk, network), `ProcessSample`, `StorageSample` (filesystem capacity), `NetworkSample`, `ContainerSample`, and `InfrastructureEvent` [2](#fn2). The default-metrics documentation does not list SMART attributes, hardware RAID state, IPMI sensors, or ECC memory errors [2](#fn2).

Glassmkr ships native coverage for SMART (with NVMe wear bands), IPMI sensors (fan, PSU redundancy, BMC SEL), RAID state, ZFS pool health, and ECC errors.

### The pricing-model question

New Relic’s data-ingest + user pricing fits APM-heavy workloads where the telemetry is application traces (rich, variable volume). For bare-metal monitoring where the agent ships modest metric volume but many alert evaluations, the model creates uncertainty: a noisier deployment or a logs-heavy host can spike ingest unexpectedly. Glassmkr’s flat $3/node removes that variance.

## When New Relic is the right choice

### APM is the primary need.

You instrument application code. You need traces, browser RUM, mobile, synthetic, and infrastructure unified under one tool with NRQL across all of it [3](#fn3). Glassmkr doesn’t do APM.

### The team is full-stack, not just infrastructure.

If developers and SREs share the monitoring tool, New Relic’s breadth matches the audience.

### You have budget for per-user pricing.

$349/user/year on Pro is reasonable for full-stack teams but expensive for infrastructure-only fleets. Per-node is cheaper if your concern is server count, not user count.

### You need FedRAMP / HIPAA-eligible monitoring.

New Relic offers FedRAMP Moderate and HIPAA eligibility, but only on the Enterprise edition with the Data Plus data option (not the standard Original data tier) [1](#fn1). Glassmkr doesn’t currently.

## When Glassmkr is the right choice

### Monitoring is the primary need; APM is not.

If you don’t instrument application code (or your apps are off the shelf and don’t generate APM traces), you’re paying for capabilities you don’t use.

### You need bare-metal hardware-level signals.

SMART, IPMI, RAID, ECC. New Relic’s Infrastructure Agent doesn’t list these in its default metric inventory [2](#fn2).

### You want predictable pricing.

Per-node flat removes ingest-volume variance and user-count scaling.

### Your team is infrastructure-focused, not full-stack.

If only SREs / ops engineers use the tool, the user-count basis of New Relic Pro doesn’t fit. Glassmkr scales with servers, not seats.

See it on real infrastructure.

The live demo is a seeded, read-only dashboard with real alerts firing. No signup, no card.

[Browse the live demo](https://app.glassmkr.com/demo) [Start free](https://app.glassmkr.com/register)

## Migration: switching from New Relic to Glassmkr

**New Relic Hosts → Glassmkr Nodes.** Same unit.

**New Relic Alert Conditions → Glassmkr alert rules.** Conditions targeting `SystemSample` metrics map naturally; conditions on APM transactions, error rates, browser monitors, or NRQL on application-trace data have no Glassmkr equivalent.

**New Relic Workflows → Glassmkr notification channels.** Reconfigure routing once.

**New Relic APM data → not migrated.** Glassmkr doesn’t do APM. If your New Relic usage is mostly application telemetry, Glassmkr replaces only the infrastructure-monitoring portion of your bill.

**NRQL queries → not migrated.** No query language. Glassmkr’s value proposition is "pre-built rules, don’t need queries"; if your team relies on ad-hoc NRQL, that’s a real workflow change.

Realistic migration scenario: keep New Relic for APM and full-stack observability. Add Glassmkr for hardware-level bare-metal visibility, or migrate just the infrastructure-only hosts to remove user-tier and ingest pressure.

> Last verified: 2026-06-25. Sources cited inline. Glassmkr is not affiliated with New Relic. Pricing and features change frequently; verify directly with New Relic before making purchasing decisions.

1. New Relic pricing page, [newrelic.com/pricing](https://newrelic.com/pricing) (verified 2026-06-25). Includes free tier (100 GB ingest + 1 full user), Standard / Pro / Enterprise tiers, data overage ($0.40 Original or $0.60 Data Plus).
2. New Relic Infrastructure default monitoring data, [docs.newrelic.com/docs/infrastructure/manage-your-data/data-instrumentation/default-infrastructure-monitoring-data](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/infrastructure/manage-your-data/data-instrumentation/default-infrastructure-monitoring-data/) (verified 2026-06-25). SMART, IPMI, RAID, ECC not listed.
3. NRQL introduction, [docs.newrelic.com/docs/nrql/get-started/introduction-nrql-new-relics-query-language](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/nrql/get-started/introduction-nrql-new-relics-query-language/) (verified 2026-06-25).
4. New Relic APM agents (Java/Node/Python/Ruby/Go/.NET), [docs.newrelic.com/docs/logs/logs-context/get-started-logs-context](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/logs/logs-context/get-started-logs-context/) (verified 2026-06-25).
5. New Relic Platform overview (Digital Experience Monitoring: browser, mobile, synthetic), [newrelic.com/platform](https://newrelic.com/platform) (verified 2026-06-25).
6. New Relic Applied Intelligence / AIOps, [newrelic.com/platform/applied-intelligence](https://newrelic.com/platform/applied-intelligence) (verified 2026-06-25).
7. Glassmkr pricing page, [glassmkr.com/pricing](https://glassmkr.com/pricing) (verified 2026-06-25).

Compare Glassmkr and New Relic on your own servers.

3 nodes free, every rule, every notification channel, no card. Or explore the seeded live demo first.

[Browse the live demo](https://app.glassmkr.com/demo) [Start free](https://app.glassmkr.com/register)

3 nodes free. No card required.

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