Splunk vs New Relic: Which Observability Platform is Right for You?

Compare Splunk and New Relic for application monitoring, log management, and observability. See pricing, features, and which platform fits your infrastructure needs.

Updated 2026-09 · 2026

Splunk

Enterprise log analytics and security information platform

$150/GB/month

Strengths

+Powerful search processing language (SPL) for complex queries
+Excellent for security operations and SIEM use cases
+Deep log analysis and forensics capabilities

Weaknesses

-Very expensive at scale, especially for high data volumes
-Steep learning curve for SPL and advanced features
-Complex pricing model based on data ingestion

Best for

Large enterprises with security-focused needs, compliance requirements, and complex log analysis use cases

New Relic

Full-stack observability platform for modern applications

$99/user/month

Strengths

+User-friendly interface with intuitive dashboards
+Excellent APM with distributed tracing
+Strong real-user monitoring and browser insights

Weaknesses

-User-based pricing can get expensive for large teams
-Less powerful for pure log analysis compared to Splunk
-Limited customization for advanced security use cases

Best for

Development teams needing APM and observability for cloud-native applications with a focus on performance monitoring

Feature Comparison

Feature	Splunk	New Relic
Free Tier	No free tier available	100GB/month data ingest, 1 full user
Application Performance Monitoring	Available via APM add-on, limited native support	Best-in-class APM with distributed tracing
Log Management	Industry-leading log search and analysis	Good log management, less powerful than Splunk
Infrastructure Monitoring	Strong with Infrastructure Monitoring add-on	Comprehensive infrastructure monitoring included
Security & SIEM	Enterprise-grade SIEM capabilities	Basic security monitoring, not SIEM-focused
Real User Monitoring	Available but not core strength	Excellent browser and mobile RUM
Custom Dashboards	Highly customizable with extensive options	Modern, user-friendly dashboards
Alerting	Powerful alerting with complex conditions	Intelligent alerting with ML-based anomaly detection
Query Language	SPL - very powerful but complex	NRQL - simpler, SQL-like syntax
Data Retention	Configurable, typically 30-90 days default	8 days default, up to 13 months with retention
Kubernetes Support	Good with add-ons	Excellent native Kubernetes monitoring
On-Premise Deployment	Full on-premise support	Cloud-only (SaaS)

The Verdict

Choose Splunk if you need enterprise-grade security operations, SIEM capabilities, or deep log forensics and have the budget for it. Choose New Relic if you're focused on application performance monitoring, want a more modern observability platform, or need a generous free tier to get started. For most development teams, New Relic offers better value and ease of use, while Splunk remains the gold standard for security and compliance-heavy environments.

How to switch from Splunk to New Relic

Full Splunk export guide →

1Export historical data you need to keep from Splunk using the search export feature (Settings > Searches, Reports, and Alerts, or the /services/search/jobs/export REST endpoint) as CSV or JSON files.
2Set up a New Relic account and install the relevant APM agents, infrastructure agent, and log forwarding integrations for your stack instead of trying to import raw Splunk exports directly.
3Run both platforms in parallel for 2-4 weeks by forwarding live logs and metrics to New Relic while Splunk keeps running, so you can validate data completeness and alert accuracy.
4Rebuild critical Splunk dashboards and saved searches as New Relic dashboards using NRQL, prioritizing the ones your team checks daily first.
5Recreate alerting rules and any SIEM/compliance workflows in New Relic's alerting system, noting that advanced SIEM use cases may need a dedicated security tool alongside New Relic.
6Once dashboards, alerts, and integrations are verified in New Relic, cut over the team's access, decommission unused Splunk licenses, and archive or retain old Splunk data per your compliance requirements.

Splunk vs New Relic: common questions

How do I export data from Splunk before switching to New Relic?+

Use Splunk's search export feature to pull indexed data out as CSV, JSON, or raw events via the 'Export' button on search results, or script it with the REST API and the /services/search/jobs/export endpoint for large volumes. For ongoing dual-running during migration, you can also forward raw logs to both platforms using a universal forwarder or syslog splitter instead of a one-time export.

What do I lose if I move from Splunk to New Relic?+

You lose SPL's advanced search and correlation power, native SIEM/compliance features, and on-premise deployment options, since New Relic is cloud-only. You'll also likely see shorter default data retention (8 days vs Splunk's 30-90) unless you pay for extended retention.

Is New Relic's free tier enough for a small team?+

For a small team with modest log/metric volume, the 100GB/month free ingest and 1 full platform user is often enough to run APM, infrastructure, and basic alerting without paying anything. If you have more than a couple of engineers needing full access or exceed 100GB, you'll need additional full users ($99/month each) or data ingest beyond the free allowance.

Will my existing integrations still work after switching?+

Most common integrations (AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, common languages via APM agents) have direct equivalents in New Relic's integration catalog, so they can be recreated rather than migrated. Custom Splunk add-ons, saved searches, and SPL-based dashboards won't transfer automatically and need to be rebuilt using NRQL and New Relic's dashboard builder.

Is New Relic actually cheaper than Splunk long-term?+

For teams with moderate data volumes and a focus on APM rather than massive log ingestion, New Relic's per-user plus pay-as-you-go ingest model is typically much cheaper than Splunk's per-GB pricing, which scales aggressively with data volume. If your primary use case is high-volume log analysis or SIEM at enterprise scale, Splunk's cost advantage can flip depending on negotiated enterprise rates.