Head-to-head · Kubernetes Monitoring
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring vs Splunk Observability Cloud
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring leads on 1 check, Splunk Observability Cloud on 0, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Highest scoreNew Relic Kubernetes Monitoring · 8.8/10
- Lowest starting priceNew Relic Kubernetes Monitoring · $10/user/mo
- Free planboth
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring scores higher on our rubric for kubernetes monitoring: 8.8 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #7.
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring is cheaper to start at $10/mo against $15/mo.
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring is the better fit for teams wanting Kubernetes telemetry with a free entry tier. Splunk Observability Cloud is the better fit for teams needing broad observability with a free tier.
- New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring fits best
Teams wanting Kubernetes telemetry with a free entry tier
- Splunk Observability Cloud fits best
Teams needing broad observability with a free tier
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Side by side
| Feature | New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring 8.8/10 Visit ↗ | Splunk Observability Cloud 8.5/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 8.8 | 8.5 |
| Ranking | #4 in Kubernetes Monitoring | #7 in Kubernetes Monitoring |
| Best for | Teams wanting Kubernetes telemetry with a free entry tier | Teams needing broad observability with a free tier |
| Pricing model | Free plan + paid | Free plan + paid |
| Starting price | $10/user/mo (best) | $15/mo |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud, Self-hosted | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Integrations | 780+ integrations | 6 integrations |
| Features New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring 0/4 · Splunk Observability Cloud 0/4 | ||
| Control-plane monitoring | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Kubernetes logs | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Distributed tracing | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Managed Kubernetes support | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Specs | ||
| Alerting channels | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Data retention | Not checked yet | 416 days |
| Our review | ||
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| Our verdict | New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring brings cluster, workload, container, and application telemetry into New Relic’s observability platform. It is aimed at engineering, DevOps, and platform teams operating Kubernetes environments, including… Read the review → |
Splunk Observability Cloud is a cloud-based observability platform for engineering, operations, and development teams. It brings infrastructure, applications, services, user interfaces, metrics, traces, and logs into one environment, with… Read the review → |
Strengths and trade-offs
New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring — where it wins
- Correlates Kubernetes metrics, events, logs, and traces
- Free plan includes 100 GB of monthly data ingest
- Ingests Prometheus and OpenTelemetry telemetry
Where it doesn't
- Standard limits full platform access to five users
- Standard and Pro charge per user, with data ingest overages
- Kubernetes Monitoring is part of a broader observability platform
Splunk Observability Cloud — where it wins
- Free Edition covers up to 15 hosts with full feature parity
- Combines infrastructure, application, database, log, trace, and user monitoring
- Supports OpenTelemetry plus AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Splunk integrations
Where it doesn't
- Kubernetes-specific capabilities are not a stated focus
- Paid plans use annual billing and per-host pricing
- SaaS delivery excludes customer-managed deployment
- New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring8.8/10 · Free plan
Kubernetes telemetry spans metrics, events, logs, and traces, with a free entry tier.
Visit New RelicFull verdict → - Splunk Observability Cloud8.5/10 · Free plan
Broad observability coverage with a useful free tier, but limited Kubernetes-specific emphasis.
Visit SplunkFull verdict →
More comparisons
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- Datadog Kubernetes Monitoring vs Splunk Observability Cloud
- Prometheus vs New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring
- Prometheus vs Splunk Observability Cloud
- AppDynamics Kubernetes Monitoring vs New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring
- AppDynamics Kubernetes Monitoring vs Splunk Observability Cloud
- New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring vs Dynatrace Infrastructure Observability
- New Relic Kubernetes Monitoring vs Amazon CloudWatch Container Insights
All kubernetes monitoring comparisons → · Full ranking →
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update