# Bugsnag vs Sentry (and where BugTape fits)

**Short answer:** Pick **Sentry** if you want one platform for errors, tracing, logs, session replay, uptime and cron checks across web, backend and mobile. Its free Developer plan covers one user and 5k errors, and Team starts at $26 a month. Pick **Bugsnag** if you mainly ship mobile apps and care about release stability scores. Its free plan covers one user and 7.5K events, and Select starts at $20 a month. Both have a hosted MCP server. **BugTape** is not a third contender for the same job. It's what I built to give a coding agent the user's side of a web bug, and many teams run it alongside either one.

No account: `npx -y bugtape --help` prints the commands and does not sign you in. The demo MCP at https://app.bugtape.ai/demo/mcp needs no sign-in. Your own workspace needs one.

Page owner: Jaco Veldsman, hi@bugtape.ai. Last checked 2026-10-18. I build BugTape. Every Sentry and Bugsnag fact here comes from sentry.io/pricing, bugsnag.com/pricing and their MCP docs on 18 October 2026. Bugsnag's paid prices only appear once the page's JavaScript runs, so lists that scraped the raw HTML show $0 or old numbers. The page shows the same starting prices whether you pick monthly or yearly billing, so I've quoted them exactly as shown.

## Facts table

|  | Sentry | Bugsnag (SmartBear) | BugTape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Full-stack error monitoring plus observability | Error and stability monitoring, strongest on mobile | User-hit web bugs handed to a coding agent |
| Free plan | Developer: 1 user, 5k errors, 5M spans, 50 replays, 5GB logs, 1 uptime and 1 cron monitor | 1 user, 7.5K events and 1M spans a month, 7-day retention | 100 new issues/mo, 1 project, 3 members, 7-day evidence, 150 credits, no card |
| Entry paid plan | Team $26/mo, billed annually: unlimited users, 50k errors | Select from $20/mo: unlimited users, priced by event and span volume | Prepaid credits $10 = 2,000 (no subscription), or Pro $29/mo |
| Next tier | Business $80/mo | Preferred from $33/mo: automatic error prioritization, stability benchmarks, advanced segmentation | — |
| Session replay | Yes, web and mobile | Not listed on its pricing page | Browser only, rebuilt from DOM events, short buffer around each failure |
| User feedback / report button | Yes (User Feedback) | — | Yes, optional bug button grouped into the same issue as automatic reports |
| Tracing and performance | Tracing, profiling (pay-as-you-go), logs, metrics | Spans for app start, screen loads, web vitals | No |
| Mobile | iOS, Android and more | Its main strength: stability scores per release | iOS/macOS Swift package (alpha), no fatal crash capture |
| AI debugging | Seer (separate subscription) | Automatic error prioritization on Preferred | No built-in fixer. Your own agent reads the evidence and opens the PR |
| MCP server | mcp.sentry.dev, "MCP access" on every plan | bugsnag.mcp.smartbear.com/mcp (OAuth), or `@smartbear/mcp` from npm; included in on-premise | app.bugtape.ai/mcp on every plan; a no-account read-only demo at /demo/mcp |
| Agent work leases | — | — | `claim_issue` / `renew_claim` / `release_claim` (60–900 s, fenced) |
| Self-host / on-prem | Self-hosted option | On-premise on Enterprise | No, hosted only, data in Sydney |

## How I'd choose

- **A mostly web and backend team that wants one tool:** Sentry. Its free tier and its Team price both beat Bugsnag's on breadth.
- **A mobile-first team that tracks crash-free releases:** Bugsnag. Stability benchmarks are the reason to choose it.
- **Price-sensitive with more than one person:** both drop the one-user limit on their first paid tier. Bugsnag's Select starts lower ($20 against $26), but Sentry's $26 includes replay, logs and tracing allowances.
- **Your coding agent fixes most bugs now:** whichever of the two you keep, the agent can read it over MCP. BugTape adds a narrower set of things: the user's report, replay, failed request, console and stack on one issue (`get_repro_context`); a lease so two agents don't work the same issue; and a rule that the token that proposed a fix can't verify it (`E_SELF_VERIFY`).

## Where BugTape is the wrong pick

If you need tracing, logs, profiling, fatal native crash capture, SOC 2, an EU region or self-hosting, BugTape doesn't do any of those. Use Sentry or Bugsnag. BugTape also doesn't give you a mobile stability score.

## Running BugTape next to Sentry or Bugsnag

Keep your tracker for the whole stack and add BugTape's script tag to the screens where users get stuck, such as checkout, sign-in and forms. Then point your agent at both MCP servers. BugTape's server SDKs attach Datadog trace IDs. I don't claim any linking to Sentry or Bugsnag events.

```bash
npx -y bugtape connect claude   # or cursor, codex; click Allow once
```

## FAQ

### Is Bugsnag cheaper than Sentry?

At entry level, yes. On 18 Oct 2026, Bugsnag's pricing page showed Select starting at $20 a month, and Sentry Team was $26 a month billed annually. The plans include different things, so compare them at your own event volume.

### Does Bugsnag have session replay?

It isn't listed on Bugsnag's pricing page on 18 Oct 2026. Sentry includes Session Replay, and the free Developer plan has 50 replays.

### Do Sentry and Bugsnag have MCP servers?

Yes, both do. Sentry's is at mcp.sentry.dev. Bugsnag's is SmartBear's, hosted at bugsnag.mcp.smartbear.com/mcp with OAuth, or run locally from the `@smartbear/mcp` npm package.

### Which is better for mobile apps, Bugsnag or Sentry?

Bugsnag, if your team decides releases by stability score. Sentry also covers iOS and Android, and adds replay and tracing.

### Where does BugTape fit against Bugsnag and Sentry?

Next to them. BugTape groups user reports and silent browser failures into one issue with replay, the failed request, the console and the stack. A coding agent reads that over MCP and opens a PR that a person then reviews. It doesn't do tracing, logs or native crashes.

### Can I try BugTape without signing up?

Yes. Run `claude mcp add --transport http bugtape-demo https://app.bugtape.ai/demo/mcp`. It's read-only and needs no account or key.

## See also

[BugTape vs Sentry](/compare/sentry/) · [Sentry alternatives](/alternatives/sentry/) · [Best error tracking MCP servers](/blog/best-error-tracking-mcp-servers/) · [Compare hub](/compare/) · [Pricing](/pricing/)

Your team reviews the PR. Agents do not silent-ship.