Middleware

Freemium#21 of 53 in Kubernetes MonitoringApplication Performance MonitoringObservability PlatformsReal User Monitoring+3 more

Middleware: A low-cost option for correlating Kubernetes telemetry with application performance. Ranked #21 of 53 in Kubernetes Monitoring by our editors (7.1/10); pricing: Free plan · 14-day trial; best for low-cost correlated application observability.

7.1/10★★★★☆Editor score

Visit Middleware

Middleware7.1 Visit Middleware

At a glance

• Editor score
  7.1 / 10
• Pricing
  Free plan · 14-day trial
• Best for
  Low-cost correlated application observability
• Free plan
  Yes
• Paid from
  $0.30/GB usage-based
• Founded
  2022 · San Francisco, California
• Facts checked
  23 Sep 2026

• Where it wins

  • Free plan includes up to 100GB of data and unlimited users
  • Correlates traces, logs, metrics, and frontend sessions
  • Supports Kubernetes, OpenTelemetry, service maps, and profiling

• Where it doesn't

  • Kubernetes monitoring is less specialized than application observability
  • Usage-based costs can vary with telemetry volume
  • BYOC pricing is custom rather than published

Our verdict on Middleware

Middleware is a full-stack observability platform for engineering, DevOps, and SRE teams. It combines application performance monitoring with infrastructure visibility, distributed tracing, service health metrics, dependency maps, profiling, error detection, and root-cause analysis. Kubernetes teams can connect cluster and application telemetry while following requests across frontend and backend services. Browser and mobile real-user monitoring extends visibility beyond the cluster, making Middleware a fit for teams that want correlated application observability rather than a Kubernetes-only monitoring tool.

The pricing structure starts with Free Forever at $0 per month, including up to 100GB of data, up to 1,000 RUM sessions, unlimited users, and 14-day retention. Pay As You Go charges $0.30 per GB of metrics, logs, and traces, with usage-based pricing, default 30-day retention, SSO, and security features. Middleware also lists a BYOC plan with custom pricing, bring-your-own-cloud deployment, custom data retention, and 24x7 support. A 14-day free trial is also available. This model suits teams that want to begin without a seat-based subscription and scale around telemetry usage.

Its strongest fit is correlated troubleshooting: interactive service maps, trace-log-metric correlation, trace-based alerts, continuous application and database-query profiling, and application error analysis bring multiple signals into one workflow. Integrations include Amazon Web Services, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Vercel, Kubernetes, Docker, Prometheus, Datadog, Grafana, Slack, PagerDuty, Jira, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. OpenTelemetry ingestion and collector support help connect existing instrumentation. Choose Middleware when application context, frontend visibility, and flexible deployment matter alongside Kubernetes monitoring. Teams seeking a narrowly Kubernetes-specific product may prefer a more focused alternative.

Your product? Our editors can test Middleware in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

Middleware pricing

All 3 Middleware plans and prices →

Middleware fact sheet

Middleware integrations

Middleware lists 450+ integrations on its own site — the 6 named here are the ones its pages call out.

• AWS
• Google Cloud
• Microsoft Azure
• Prometheus
• Slack
• Microsoft Teams

Alternatives to Middleware

• Datadog Kubernetes MonitoringA broad Kubernetes observability platform for teams managing complex cloud-native environments.9.3
• PrometheusA strong open-source choice for Kubernetes metrics, with PromQL and flexible collection.9.1
• AppDynamics Kubernetes MonitoringA broad Kubernetes and OpenShift monitoring suite for enterprise operations teams.8.9

See all Middleware alternatives →

Featured on iTechGuides

Middleware is listed in our Kubernetes Monitoring directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/middleware/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/middleware.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update