Blackfire
Paris-based profiling and performance monitoring that finds slow PHP and Python code at function level
Quick Overview
| Company | Platform.sh SAS (trading as Upsun) |
|---|---|
| Category | Observability & Log Management |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| EU Presence | EU (France) |
| Data Location | The Blackfire website is hosted in Ireland on Amazon Web Services; where customer profile data is stored is not stated on the pages read |
| Open Source | No |
| Pricing | Development EUR 33.25 per month billed yearly; Production EUR 158.25 per month billed yearly or EUR 189.90 billed monthly; prices exclude taxes |
| Free Option | No free trial; a public demo at demo.blackfire.io, and a free Profiler subscription for students through the GitHub Student Developer Pack |
| Replaces | New Relic, Datadog APM |
Detailed Review
Blackfire is a profiling-led performance tool whose product pages name a PHP Profiler and a Python Profiler, performance monitoring, continuous profiling, synthetic user monitoring and CI/CD integration.
The Production plan includes profiling, performance monitoring, continuous profiling, alerting and continuous testing, with three users, one million monitoring traces, 5 GB of continuous profiling and one million front-end observability events, plus a sandbox environment. Extra traces, users and environments are priced per unit. That mix places it between a pure profiler and an application monitoring suite, closer to a developer workflow tool than to a platform for operations teams.
Blackfire is a trademark of Platform.sh SAS, trading as Upsun, a société par actions simplifiée registered at the Paris trade and companies register under number 521 496 059, with its head office at 22 rue de Palestro in Paris. Its terms name that French company as the contracting party.
The legal notice states that the website is hosted in Ireland by Amazon Web Services, and the pages read do not say where profile data is stored. The French company trades as Upsun, so a buyer signs with the same entity that runs that application platform, which keeps the contract chain short.
Development costs EUR 33.25 a month billed yearly and Production EUR 158.25 a month billed yearly, or EUR 189.90 monthly, excluding taxes. There is no free trial, only a public demo and a free student subscription.
Compared with Tideways it supports Python as well as PHP, but it has no log management or infrastructure monitoring and is a developer tool first, not a platform. For a PHP or Python team that treats performance as a code review topic, it is a sharp tool, and for anyone who needs logs, the review has to pair it with another product.
What Blackfire does well
- French company named in the terms, registered in Paris
- Function-level and continuous profiling is the core of the product
- Plain euro prices with add-ons priced per unit
- Public demo and a free subscription for students
Where Blackfire falls short
- No free trial
- No log management or infrastructure monitoring on the pages read
- Extra users cost EUR 24.92 a month each on the Production plan
- Website hosted on AWS, and the storage location of profile data is not stated
Standout feature. It finds slow code at function level and keeps performance tests in the same workflow, which a general platform does not focus on.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- French company named in the terms, registered in Paris
- Function-level and continuous profiling is the core of the product
- Plain euro prices with add-ons priced per unit
- Public demo and a free subscription for students
Cons
- No free trial
- No log management or infrastructure monitoring on the pages read
- Extra users cost EUR 24.92 a month each on the Production plan
- Website hosted on AWS, and the storage location of profile data is not stated
Alternatives to Blackfire
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Blackfire?
Blackfire is a profiling-led performance tool whose product pages name a PHP Profiler and a Python Profiler, performance monitoring, continuous profiling, synthetic user monitoring and CI/CD integration.
The Production plan includes profiling, performance monitoring, continuous profiling, alerting and continuous testing, with three users, one million monitoring traces, 5 GB of continuous profiling and one million front-end observability events, plus a sandbox environment. Extra traces, users and environments are priced per unit. That mix places it between a pure profiler and an application monitoring suite, closer to a developer workflow tool than to a platform for operations teams.
Where is Blackfire based?
Blackfire operates from Paris, France, which places it under EU (France).
What does Blackfire cost?
Development EUR 33.25 per month billed yearly; Production EUR 158.25 per month billed yearly or EUR 189.90 billed monthly; prices exclude taxes. No free trial; a public demo at demo.blackfire.io, and a free Profiler subscription for students through the GitHub Student Developer Pack.
Who is Blackfire best for?
Developer teams that want to find slow code at function level. It finds slow code at function level and keeps performance tests in the same workflow, which a general platform does not focus on.
What are the drawbacks of Blackfire?
No free trial. No log management or infrastructure monitoring on the pages read. Extra users cost EUR 24.92 a month each on the Production plan. Website hosted on AWS, and the storage location of profile data is not stated.
Is Blackfire a good alternative to New Relic?
Blackfire is built as a European alternative to New Relic: Paris-based profiling and performance monitoring that finds slow PHP and Python code at function level. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does Blackfire compare to other Observability & Log Management tools?
Blackfire is one of several European Observability & Log Management tools we cover. It is most often compared with New Relic, Datadog APM.