9 Best Elixir Monitoring Tools in 2026: APM, Error Tracking, and LiveView Support Compared

Elixir applications built on the BEAM VM demand monitoring tools that understand concurrency, fault tolerance, and the unique behavior of GenServers, Phoenix channels, and LiveView processes. Most generic APM tools treat Elixir like any other web framework, missing process-level memory bloat, message queue backlogs, and BEAM-specific telemetry that matters in production.

According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, Elixir consistently ranks among the most loved languages, with adoption growing in fintech, real time systems, and high concurrency platforms. Yet monitoring options remain fragmented between tools built for Ruby or Node.js that bolt on Elixir support and platforms designed natively for the BEAM.

This guide compares 9 Elixir monitoring tools across native BEAM support, LiveView instrumentation, Ecto N+1 detection, pricing transparency, and deployment model. Each tool is assessed on what it captures beyond basic HTTP metrics and where it falls short for Elixir workloads at scale.

Quick Comparison: 9 Elixir Monitoring Tools at a Glance

Tool	Best For	Pricing	Free Plan	BEAM-Native?
AppSignal	Elixir teams wanting all-in-one BEAM monitoring	$49/mo for 5M requests	30-day trial	✓ Yes
Scout APM	Phoenix + LiveView tracing with code-level visibility	$49/mo for 100 transactions/min	14-day trial	✓ Yes
Honeybadger	Error tracking + uptime for Elixir production apps	$39/mo for 10K errors	15-day trial	✓ Yes
CubeAPM	Self-hosted APM with unlimited retention for Elixir	$0.15/GB usage-based	Demo available	✓ OTel-native
New Relic	Broad observability with Elixir agent support	$0.30/GB beyond free tier	100 GB/mo free	Partial
Datadog	Multi-cloud monitoring with Elixir APM add-on	$31/host/mo + $42/host APM	14-day trial	Partial
Sentry	Error monitoring with Elixir SDK and release tracking	$29/mo for 50K errors	5K errors/mo free	Partial
Prometheus + Grafana	Self-hosted metrics for teams on Kubernetes	Free OSS	✓ Yes	DIY setup
Elastic APM	Self-hosted or cloud APM for ELK stack users	Free OSS or $99/mo cloud	✓ Yes	Partial

Pricing based on smallest paid tier as of early 2026. Verify current rates at each vendor’s pricing page.

What Makes Elixir Monitoring Different from Generic APM

Elixir applications behave differently from typical web apps in three structural ways that most APM tools miss.

Process-level concurrency creates invisible bottlenecks. A single Phoenix request can spawn dozens of BEAM processes. If one GenServer accumulates a message queue backlog or leaks memory, generic APM shows rising latency but cannot point to the specific process causing it. Elixir monitoring tools need process-level visibility into mailbox depth, heap size, and reductions per process.

LiveView introduces stateful, long-lived WebSocket connections. Traditional APM treats each HTTP request as atomic. LiveView maintains server-side state for every connected user. Monitoring must track mount time, handle_event latency, and memory per LiveView process, not just request duration. Tools built for stateless frameworks often cannot surface LiveView-specific performance issues.

Ecto query patterns require N+1 detection at the ORM level. N+1 queries in Elixir happen inside preload calls or enum iterations over associations. Tools that only instrument SQL at the database driver level see multiple queries but cannot tie them back to the Ecto context or controller action that triggered the pattern. Elixir-native tools integrate with Ecto telemetry to flag N+1s with the exact code location.

Generic observability platforms like infrastructure monitoring tools cover host-level CPU and memory but miss the BEAM instrumentation that makes Elixir debugging tractable in production.

1. AppSignal

AppSignal is an all-in-one APM built natively for Elixir and Phoenix with first-class support for LiveView, Ecto, and the BEAM. It combines error tracking, performance monitoring, host metrics, and log management in a single interface designed for Elixir-first teams.

Key Features:

• Native Elixir and Phoenix instrumentation with automatic LiveView tracing
• Ecto N+1 query detection with code-level visibility into preload calls
• Host metrics, anomaly detection, and custom dashboards included in all plans
• Error tracking with full context correlation to traces and logs
• Uptime monitoring and alerting with integrations for Slack, PagerDuty, and webhooks

Pricing: Starts at $49/mo for 5 million requests. All features included in every plan. 30-day free trial available.

Pros:

• Built specifically for Elixir with deep BEAM-level visibility
• LiveView mount, handle_event, and handle_params automatically instrumented
• Strong developer experience with fast UI and minimal configuration
• Responsive support from engineers who understand the Elixir ecosystem

Cons:

• SaaS only, no self-hosted option for teams with data residency requirements
• Pricing scales with request volume, which can increase costs during traffic spikes
• Limited integrations outside the Elixir and Phoenix ecosystem compared to broader APM platforms

Best for: Elixir-first teams that want production-ready APM without custom instrumentation or multi-tool sprawl.

2. Scout APM

Scout APM provides Elixir and Phoenix monitoring with automatic instrumentation for LiveView, Ecto, Oban, and HTTP clients like Finch and Tesla. Its Elixir agent 2.0 unifies error tracking, log management, and distributed tracing in one view.

Key Features:

• Native LiveView instrumentation covering mount, handle_event, and handle_params with timing per phase
• Ecto N+1 detection showing query patterns with exact code locations
• Oban background job monitoring with per-job timing and queue metrics
• Errors, logs, and traces correlated in a single unified interface
• Auto-instrumentation for Finch, Req, Tesla HTTP clients without manual spans

Pricing: Starts at $49/mo for 100 transactions per minute. 14-day free trial. Usage-based pricing after base tier.

Pros:

• Zero manual instrumentation required for Phoenix, LiveView, Ecto, and Oban
• Full telemetry-driven error capture with no code changes to controllers or LiveViews
• Fast support from developers who maintain the Elixir agent directly
• Log context automatically enriched with trace correlation

Cons:

• SaaS only, no on-premises deployment option
• Pricing increases with transaction volume, which can surprise teams during seasonal traffic spikes
• Fewer integrations outside Elixir compared to broader observability platforms

Best for: Phoenix teams running LiveView and Oban who want automatic instrumentation with zero config overhead.

3. Honeybadger

Honeybadger focuses on error tracking, uptime monitoring, and alerting for Elixir applications. It captures exceptions with full context, integrates with Phoenix telemetry, and supports custom error grouping and release tracking.

Key Features:

• Native Elixir error tracking with stack traces and contextual metadata
• Uptime monitoring for HTTP endpoints and background job queues
• Custom error grouping and intelligent noise reduction
• Alerts via email, Slack, PagerDuty, and webhooks
• Release tracking to correlate errors with specific deployments

Pricing: Starts at $39/mo for 10,000 errors and 20 uptime checks. 15-day free trial available.

Pros:

• Simple setup with minimal configuration required for Phoenix apps
• Strong focus on developer workflow with clear error context and grouping
• Uptime monitoring included without needing a separate service
• Responsive support team familiar with Elixir production issues

Cons:

• No APM or distributed tracing, only error and uptime monitoring
• Limited infrastructure metrics compared to full-stack observability tools
• SaaS only, no self-hosted option

Best for: Small to midsize Elixir teams that prioritize error tracking and uptime over full APM depth.

4. CubeAPM

CubeAPM is a self-hosted, OpenTelemetry-native APM platform that runs inside your cloud or on-premises infrastructure. It provides full-stack observability for Elixir applications including APM, logs, infrastructure metrics, and error tracking with unlimited retention and no data egress.

Key Features:

• OpenTelemetry-native with support for Elixir telemetry and BEAM instrumentation
• Self-hosted deployment in your VPC or data center for full data control
• Unified APM, logs, traces, and infrastructure metrics in one platform
• Unlimited retention with predictable $0.15/GB pricing, no per-user or per-host fees
• Distributed tracing across Elixir services with high cardinality search

Pricing: $0.15/GB usage-based pricing with unlimited users and retention. No free tier, demo available.

Pros:

• Complete data sovereignty with no telemetry leaving your infrastructure
• Predictable flat-rate pricing without per-seat or per-host billing surprises
• Works with OpenTelemetry collectors and existing Elixir telemetry pipelines
• Scales to handle high-throughput Elixir systems with fast indexed search

Cons:

• Requires BYOC or on-premises deployment, your team manages the infrastructure
• Smaller integration ecosystem compared to established SaaS APM platforms
• Less Elixir-specific instrumentation out of the box compared to AppSignal or Scout

Best for: Elixir teams with data residency requirements, cost-sensitive workloads, or infrastructure already optimized for self-hosted observability.

5. New Relic

New Relic offers broad observability with an Elixir agent that instruments Phoenix, Ecto, and Plug. It provides distributed tracing, error tracking, and infrastructure monitoring as part of a unified full-stack platform.

Key Features:

• Elixir agent with Phoenix and Ecto instrumentation
• Distributed tracing across Elixir services and polyglot microservices
• Infrastructure monitoring for hosts, containers, and Kubernetes
• Custom dashboards and alerting with NRQL query language
• Integrations with 400+ technologies for multi-stack visibility

Pricing: $0.30/GB after 100 GB free tier monthly. User-based pricing also available. Free tier includes 1 full platform user.

Pros:

• Strong integration ecosystem for teams running polyglot stacks
• Unified platform for logs, traces, metrics, and infrastructure
• Generous free tier for small teams or development environments
• AI-assisted anomaly detection and root cause analysis

Cons:

• Elixir instrumentation less mature than AppSignal or Scout
• Pricing compounds quickly beyond the free tier with unpredictable ingestion costs
• Proprietary NRQL query language creates vendor lock-in
• SaaS only, no self-hosted option for regulated industries

Best for: Teams running Elixir alongside other languages who want unified observability across the entire stack.

6. Datadog

Datadog is a multi-cloud monitoring platform with an Elixir APM add-on that instruments Phoenix and Ecto. It provides distributed tracing, infrastructure metrics, and log management with 700+ integrations.

Key Features:

• Elixir APM with Phoenix and Ecto instrumentation
• Infrastructure monitoring for VMs, containers, and Kubernetes
• Log management with full-text search and correlation to traces
• Service maps showing dependencies across microservices
• Alerting, anomaly detection, and custom dashboards

Pricing: $31/host/mo for infrastructure monitoring, $42/host/mo for APM. 14-day free trial. Additional costs for logs, RUM, and synthetics.

Pros:

• Broad integration support for cloud providers and third-party services
• Unified platform for infrastructure, APM, logs, and security monitoring
• Strong Kubernetes and container monitoring capabilities
• AI-powered anomaly detection and forecasting

Cons:

• Per-host pricing compounds quickly in dynamic Kubernetes environments
• Elixir-specific features less mature than BEAM-native tools
• Billing complexity with separate charges for infrastructure, APM, logs, and RUM
• SaaS only, no self-hosted deployment

Best for: Enterprise teams running Elixir in multi-cloud environments who need broad integrations and unified monitoring.

7. Sentry

Sentry focuses on error tracking and performance monitoring with an Elixir SDK that captures exceptions, performance issues, and release health. It integrates with Phoenix and Plug for automatic error capture.

Key Features:

• Elixir SDK with Phoenix and Plug integration for automatic error capture
• Stack traces with source code context and breadcrumb trails
• Release tracking to correlate errors with deployments
• Performance monitoring for HTTP transactions and database queries
• Issue grouping, assignment, and workflow integrations with Jira and GitHub

Pricing: $29/mo for 50,000 errors. Free tier includes 5,000 errors per month.

Pros:

• Simple setup with minimal configuration for Phoenix apps
• Strong developer workflow integrations with issue trackers and CI/CD tools
• Generous free tier for small projects and development environments
• Clear error context with breadcrumbs and user impact data

Cons:

• Limited APM depth compared to full observability platforms
• No infrastructure monitoring or log management
• Performance monitoring requires separate instrumentation beyond error tracking
• SaaS only, no self-hosted option

Best for: Elixir teams that prioritize error tracking and release health over full-stack APM.

8. Prometheus + Grafana

Prometheus and Grafana provide self-hosted metrics and dashboarding for Elixir applications. Telemetry-based libraries like telemetry_metrics_prometheus export BEAM metrics to Prometheus for scraping.

Key Features:

• Self-hosted metrics collection with Prometheus scraping Elixir telemetry
• Grafana dashboards for visualizing BEAM metrics, Phoenix requests, and Ecto queries
• Full data control with no external dependencies or SaaS costs
• PromQL for flexible metric queries and alerting rules
• Large ecosystem of exporters and integrations for polyglot stacks

Pricing: Free open source software. Infrastructure costs only.

Pros:

• Complete data sovereignty with all telemetry stored in your infrastructure
• No per-user, per-host, or ingestion-based pricing
• Flexible and powerful for teams with Prometheus expertise
• Works well for Docker monitoring tools and Kubernetes environments

Cons:

• Requires manual setup and maintenance of Prometheus, Grafana, and exporters
• No built-in distributed tracing or error tracking without additional tools
• DIY dashboard creation and alert configuration
• Operational overhead increases as telemetry volume grows

Best for: Elixir teams with Kubernetes or on-premises infrastructure who want full control and no SaaS dependency.

9. Elastic APM

Elastic APM is part of the Elastic Stack (formerly ELK) and provides APM, logs, and infrastructure monitoring in a unified platform. The Elixir APM agent instruments Phoenix, Ecto, and Plug.

Key Features:

• Elixir APM agent with Phoenix and Ecto instrumentation
• Unified platform for APM, logs, and infrastructure metrics
• Distributed tracing across microservices with service maps
• Self-hosted or Elastic Cloud deployment options
• Machine learning for anomaly detection and alerting

Pricing: Free open source or Elastic Cloud starting at $99/mo for standard plan. Self-hosted infrastructure costs vary.

Pros:

• Self-hosted option for teams with data residency requirements
• Unified platform for logs, APM, and infrastructure monitoring
• Strong search and analytics capabilities with Elasticsearch
• Flexible deployment in cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments

Cons:

• Complex setup and maintenance for self-hosted deployments
• Elixir agent less mature than BEAM-native tools like AppSignal
• Performance can degrade at scale without tuning and resource allocation
• Elastic Cloud pricing can be unpredictable as data volume grows

Best for: Teams already using the Elastic Stack for logs who want to add APM without introducing a new vendor.

How to Choose the Right Elixir Monitoring Tool

Selecting the right monitoring tool depends on five key dimensions: deployment model, BEAM-specific instrumentation depth, cost predictability, team size, and existing infrastructure.

If you need self-hosted deployment for compliance or data residency: CubeAPM, Prometheus + Grafana, or Elastic APM are the only options in this list that keep telemetry inside your infrastructure. SaaS tools like AppSignal and Scout require data to leave your cloud.

If you want zero-config instrumentation for LiveView and Ecto: AppSignal and Scout are purpose-built for Elixir and Phoenix with automatic LiveView tracing and Ecto N+1 detection. Generic APM tools require custom instrumentation to achieve the same depth.

If pricing predictability matters more than feature breadth: CubeAPM offers flat $0.15/GB pricing with no per-user or per-host fees. AppSignal and Scout charge per request volume, which can increase during traffic spikes. Datadog and New Relic compound costs across hosts, ingestion, and feature add-ons.

If you are a small team prioritizing fast setup over customization: AppSignal, Scout, or Honeybadger provide the fastest time to value with minimal configuration. Prometheus + Grafana and Elastic APM require significant DIY effort.

If you run Elixir alongside other languages in a polyglot stack: Datadog and New Relic provide the broadest integration ecosystems for unified monitoring across multiple runtimes. BEAM-native tools focus depth on Elixir but have fewer integrations outside that ecosystem.

Teams with high-concurrency workloads or real time systems should prioritize tools that surface BEAM process-level metrics. Generic APM platforms often treat Elixir like Ruby or Node.js, missing the signals that matter for debugging GenServer bottlenecks or LiveView memory leaks.

This estimate models a mid-sized Elixir deployment. Actual costs vary based on request volume, retention period, and feature usage. Verify with each vendor before committing.

Monitoring tools like MongoDB monitoring platforms or security monitoring tools solve similar instrumentation challenges in their respective domains.

Conclusion

Elixir monitoring tools range from BEAM-native platforms like AppSignal and Scout that understand LiveView and GenServer behavior, to self-hosted options like CubeAPM and Prometheus + Grafana that keep telemetry inside your infrastructure. The right choice depends on whether you prioritize deployment model, cost predictability, or depth of Elixir-specific instrumentation.

For teams running LiveView in production, tools with automatic Phoenix telemetry integration eliminate the need for manual spans and custom metrics. For teams with data residency requirements or cost-sensitive workloads, self-hosted platforms avoid SaaS egress fees and unpredictable per-host billing.

Start by auditing what your current setup misses. If you cannot trace a slow LiveView mount to a specific GenServer or identify which Ecto query triggered an N+1, your monitoring tool is not surfacing the signals that matter for Elixir applications at scale.

Disclaimer: The information in this article reflects the latest details available at the time of publication and may change as technologies and products evolve. Features, pricing, and plan limits can change over time. Always verify the latest information directly with the vendor before making purchasing or deployment decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions