Bugsnag

ALMOST

A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.

Error monitoring with release tracking: exceptions grouped into issues, tied to the deploy that introduced them, with a stability score per release.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Build error capture. Take grouping seriously.

STACK
- Postgres, one endpoint, a small dashboard

CAPTURE
- A wrapper around your error handler posting message, stack, release, environment and user id
- Client-side too, with the source map uploaded at build and applied on the server

GROUPING, THE ONLY HARD PART
- The fingerprint is the top N frames of the stack that belong to your own code, with library frames dropped
- Normalise line numbers away; a one-line shift must not create a new issue
- Store the fingerprint with the issue so it can be recomputed and merged later

RATE AND NOISE
- Cap events per fingerprint per minute and count the rest, rather than storing every duplicate

RELEASES
- Every event carries a release; an issue records the first release it appeared in
- Stability is sessions without an error divided by sessions, per release

Include the schema, the fingerprint function and the stability query.

What you lose

Error grouping that keeps one issue together across stack-trace changes, which is subtler than hashing a message
Source map handling so a minified trace reads like your source
A stability score per release, which is how a team decides whether to roll back

If you would rather not build

Your logging platform, if grouping does not matter

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

GlitchTip

Error tracking that speaks the Sentry protocol, much lighter to host.

GlitchTip/glitchtipfree · open source

Sentry

The full product, self-hostable but heavy.

getsentry/sentryfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

56/100

Verdict kinda at 56. Capture is an afternoon; grouping that does not explode into thousands of issues after a refactor is the weekend.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day

0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug

— views— prompt copies none yet— votes none yet

Questions about Bugsnag

answered from the record above

Is Bugsnag free?

No — the plan we track is $35 a month. From around $35/month billed monthly for a small team, priced on error volume.

Can you replace Bugsnag by building your own?

ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 56 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Bugsnag cost?

$35 a month on Standard — $420 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Bugsnag?

Error grouping that keeps one issue together across stack-trace changes, which is subtler than hashing a message; Source map handling so a minified trace reads like your source; A stability score per release, which is how a team decides whether to roll back. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Bugsnag?

Yes: GlitchTip, Sentry. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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