Browser

New Relic Browser is a real-user monitoring (RUM) capability within the New Relic observability platform, designed for engineering teams that need to understand how actual visitors experience their web applications. It captures page-load timing, JavaScript error rates, and user interaction patterns, then correlates that data with backend traces from the same platform. The tool is best suited for organizations already using New Relic for APM or infrastructure monitoring, as it shares the same data ingestion pipeline and alerting rules. It competes directly with Datadog RUM and Dynatrace Real User Monitoring, but positions itself as simpler to set up — the browser agent can be deployed via a one-line JavaScript snippet or through integrations with frameworks like React, Angular, and Next.js.

The browser agent collects metrics including First Paint, First Contentful Paint, Largest Contentful Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift, all reported in real time with sub-second granularity. It also captures session traces that show every AJAX call, DOM interaction, and console error across a user's visit. Teams can filter data by geography, device type, browser version, or custom attributes to isolate performance problems for specific user segments. The platform ingests up to 100 GB of data per month on the free tier, which is enough for small-to-mid-size applications. Distributed tracing links front-end page loads to back-end transaction traces, so an engineer can see that a slow API call caused a slow page render without switching tools.

New Relic Browser's primary competitor is Datadog RUM, which offers similar page-load metrics and session replay but with a different pricing model — Datadog charges per million sessions, while New Relic charges per GB of ingested data. Datadog provides stronger out-of-the-box security monitoring features like Cloud SIEM, whereas New Relic's security capabilities are more limited and require additional configuration. New Relic's free tier (100 GB/month) is more generous than Datadog's free tier (1 million log events/month), but Datadog's Pro plan starts at $15 per host per month for infrastructure monitoring, while New Relic's Standard edition limits you to 5 full platform users. Both tools support OpenTelemetry, but New Relic has invested more heavily in native OTel ingestion as a primary data path.

The honest trade-off: New Relic Browser is easier to get started with and offers a more generous free tier, but its advanced features — such as session replay with AI-driven friction detection and custom dashboards — are still in preview or require the Pro edition. Users who need granular role-based access control or enterprise-grade security monitoring may find Datadog more mature. Additionally, the browser agent has an end-of-life policy for older versions, meaning teams must stay current with agent updates or risk losing compatibility. For organizations already invested in the New Relic ecosystem, Browser is a natural extension; for greenfield deployments, the choice depends on whether you prioritize ease of setup (New Relic) or breadth of security features (Datadog).

Free tier includes 100 GB of data ingest per month. Standard edition (paid) limits to 5 full platform users. Pro edition offers unlimited users with a 2-hour critical support SLA. Enterprise edition includes priority ticket routing and a 1-hour critical support SLA.