DeadBro vs Skylight: which fits your Rails app?
Skylight turns many Rails requests into an aggregate endpoint trace and ranks where performance work may matter most. DeadBro lets you inspect a captured request and includes errors and uptime. Compare the investigation workflow and plan limits before choosing for your app.
DeadBro vs Skylight: the details
Compare the unit of analysis first: an individual occurrence or an endpoint-wide pattern. Then weigh Skylight’s histogram and Agony ranking against DeadBro’s request detail and broader monitoring.
Swipe sideways to read the full table.
| What to compare | DeadBro | Skylight |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of investigation | Open an individual captured request with its own SQL and phase breakdown | Explore an endpoint event sequence aggregated from many requests Source ↗ |
| Choosing what to fix | Endpoint P50/P99 trend and request-level N+1 flags | Agony ranking combines endpoint popularity and slowness; histogram isolates slow responses Source ↗ |
| Time and allocations | Request-level CPU, GC, and allocation detail where captured | Switch the aggregate event sequence between time and allocation views Source ↗ |
| Free volume | 50,000 tracked requests/month | 100,000 traces/month Source ↗ |
| Billing | Tracked requests; fixed plan allowances | Monthly traces across apps; tier adjusts with usage Source ↗ |
| Performance retention | 7 days on Free; up to 60 on Pro | 45 days, plus limited historical trends Source ↗ |
| Rails performance | Endpoint and request detail, SQL, N+1 signals | Endpoint analysis, deploys, and background jobs Source ↗ |
| Error tracking | Included on Free | Recommends a dedicated error-tracking tool Source ↗ |
| Deploy tracking | Starter and above | Included in performance reporting Source ↗ |
DeadBro figures are from its current plan matrix. Vendor details link to their own pricing or documentation and may change.
A trace can mean different things
In a September 2026 side-by-side review, DeadBro showed the timing of one captured request. Skylight merged many requests into an endpoint event sequence, then let the reviewer select a slower slice of its latency histogram. That is useful for finding patterns; an individual request is better for inspecting one occurrence.
This observation comes from one app reviewed in September 2026 with five monitoring agents installed at once. It describes the investigation workflow, not a benchmark of speed or agent overhead.
What DeadBro includes
- Rails request performance, error tracking, and N+1 detection on the Free plan, with 50,000 tracked requests per month and 7 days of retention.
- Deploy tracking and deeper request drill-down on Starter; Slack alerts and linked application logs on Growth.
- Optional plan-only EXPLAIN for slow SELECT queries on Pro and Enterprise, after a local opt-in. The agent does not run EXPLAIN ANALYZE.
- System monitoring on Enterprise. See the full plan limits and feature matrix.
Which is a better fit?
Choose DeadBro if…
You want to move from a slow endpoint to a specific request, while keeping errors and uptime in the same account.
Choose Skylight if…
You prefer aggregated endpoint traces, latency histograms, and Agony ranking to prioritize performance work.
Make the decision with a short trial
Connect one Rails app, generate normal traffic, and compare what each dashboard reveals about a slow request and a real error. Then review retention and usage limits for the plan you would actually buy.