Highlight.io
Open-source fullstack monitoring: session replay, error tracking, logging and tracing in one self-hostable platform.
🔗 Visit Highlight.io
Description
When a user reports "the app broke" but can't say what they clicked, developers usually have to guess. Highlight.io records a video-like replay of what the user actually did — clicks, network requests, console errors — and links it directly to the backend error and logs that happened at the same moment, so the whole story is in one place instead of scattered across four different tools. Highlight.io is an open-source, fullstack monitoring platform combining session replay, error monitoring, logging and distributed tracing. It records browser sessions with console and network activity, correlates them with backend errors via OpenTelemetry, and stores everything in a ClickHouse-backed datastore with customizable dashboards and alerts. It supports modern frontend and backend frameworks (React, Next.js, Angular, Vue, Node, Rails) and can be self-hosted via Docker or run as a managed cloud service. Pricing runs from a free tier (500 sessions/month) through Pay-as-you-go at $50/month, Business at $800/month, up to Enterprise and self-hosted-Enterprise tiers with custom pricing.
💬 Our review
The short version: Highlight.io is what you'd get if session-replay tools (LogRocket, FullStory) and error/observability tools (Sentry, Datadog) had a baby that's also open-source and self-hostable — genuinely useful if you want both in one place instead of paying two vendors.
The real value is the correlation: a session replay linked directly to the backend error and trace that happened at the same timestamp removes the manual work of cross-referencing a frontend bug report with backend logs. Apache 2.0 licensing and Docker self-hosting give it a credible open-source story (9.3k GitHub stars), which pure session-replay SaaS tools like LogRocket or FullStory don't offer at all. The honest trade-off: it's a broader, more general tool than specialists in either category — a team that only needs polished session replay may find dedicated tools like FullStory more refined, and a team that only needs backend tracing may prefer SigNoz or Honeycomb's deeper APM feature set. For teams that want frontend and backend observability under one open-source roof, Highlight.io is a strong, cost-effective pick; teams with narrower needs may be better served by a specialist.
💰 Pricing
📊 Global score
🤖 AI-enriched data
Pros
Session replay linked directly to backend errors and traces
Apache 2.0 open-source, self-hostable via Docker
Covers frontend and backend in one platform, not just one layer
Cons
Less polished session replay than pure-play specialists like FullStory
Shallower APM feature depth than dedicated tools like SigNoz or Honeycomb
🔄 Alternatives to Highlight.io
See all alternatives to Highlight.io →❓ Frequently asked questions
- Can Highlight.io replace both my error tracker and session replay tool?
- Yes — that's its core pitch: session replay, error monitoring, logging and tracing are unified in one platform instead of stitched together from separate vendors.
- Is Highlight.io really open source?
- Yes, the core platform is Apache 2.0 licensed and self-hostable via Docker, with an Enterprise self-hosted tier for teams needing commercial support.
- What frameworks does it support?
- Modern frontend and backend frameworks including React, Next.js, Angular, Vue, Node.js and Rails, via OpenTelemetry-based SDKs.
- Is it worth the money compared to alternatives?
- The free 500-session tier and $50/month entry plan undercut most session-replay SaaS tools, and you get backend error/log correlation included — something LogRocket and FullStory don't offer. Once you need the $800/month Business tier, compare carefully against a self-hosted SigNoz + a lighter session-replay tool.
- Which monitoring tool should you pick for your case?
- Want frontend + backend correlation in one open-source tool: Highlight.io. Want the most polished session replay alone: FullStory or LogRocket. Want deep backend APM/tracing alone: SigNoz or Honeycomb. Want the broadest all-in-one enterprise platform: Datadog.