Synthetics

New Relic Synthetics is a synthetic monitoring module within the New Relic observability platform that simulates user journeys on web applications across devices, browsers, and operating systems. It is designed for DevOps teams, SREs, and QA engineers who need to proactively catch performance and functionality issues before they impact real users. The tool supports testing from thousands of public and private locations worldwide, including AWS regions and on-premises private minions, and integrates directly into CI/CD pipelines to catch regressions during builds. With over 50 capabilities in one platform—including logs, metrics, traces, and AI-driven root cause analysis—Synthetics is best suited for teams already invested in the New Relic ecosystem who want a unified view of both synthetic and real-user data.

Synthetics offers three monitor types: simple ping monitors (always free), scripted API tests using Node.js, and browser scripts that run in a next-gen runtime based on Puppeteer. Device emulation lets you test on specific mobile devices, browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari), and OS versions. The platform automatically correlates synthetic check failures with underlying infrastructure, services, and third-party dependencies via entity maps. Alerts can trigger auto-generated tickets and AI-driven root cause analysis, and the tool supports scheduled routine checks for post-production uptime and functionality validation. Data ingest beyond the free 100 GB/month costs $0.40/GB for the Standard and Pro editions, and synthetic checks above free allowances are billed at $0.005 per check.

New Relic Synthetics competes directly with Checkly, which markets itself as a modern, developer-focused alternative built on open-source technologies like Playwright and Puppeteer. Checkly emphasizes no vendor lock-in, native CI/CD integration, and a simpler pricing model without data ingest fees. New Relic positions Synthetics as part of a full-stack observability suite that includes APM, infrastructure monitoring, logs, and digital experience monitoring (DEM). Gartner named New Relic a Leader in the 2025 Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Monitoring, citing its breadth of capabilities. However, Checkly appeals to teams that want a lightweight, code-first tool without the overhead of a large platform.

The honest trade-offs: Alert noise is a common complaint—users report that default alerting rules require significant tuning to avoid false positives, especially in large environments with many monitors. Dashboards can feel cluttered when managing hundreds of checks across multiple services, and the UI sometimes struggles with information density. Costs can spike unpredictably if data ingest or synthetic check volumes grow rapidly, as pricing is usage-based with overage charges. The free tier is generous (100 GB data, 500–10M free checks/month depending on edition), but teams must carefully monitor usage to avoid bill shock. Finally, while Synthetics integrates deeply with New Relic, it does not easily export data to other observability backends, creating some vendor lock-in.

Free tier includes 100 GB data ingest/month and 500–10M free checks/month depending on edition (Free, Standard, Pro, Enterprise). Paid tiers start at $0.40/GB for data overage and $0.005 per synthetic check beyond free allowances. Standard edition limited to 5 full platform users; Pro and Enterprise offer unlimited users with commitment options.