Top 5 Real User Monitoring Tools

Updated on Sep 18, 2025

Quick Summary

• PageSpeed Plus and New Relic top the list
• Datadog is solid but expensive

Web performance is more important than ever. Users expect sites to load instantly, respond quickly, and remain visually stable across devices. Traditional synthetic testing only gives you benchmarks and it fails to capture the unpredictable nature of real-world browsing. That’s where Real User Monitoring (RUM) tools come in with observability into what is actually happening for people looking at your website.

Contents

• Top 5 Real User Monitoring Tools
• 1. PageSpeed Plus
• 2. New Relic
• 3. Datadog
• 4. Raygun
• 5. Pingdom
• How to Choose the Right Tool
• Conclusion

Top 5 Real User Monitoring Tools

Once you understand what real user monitoring is, you'll know that Google has made user experience a central ranking factor. Metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) directly influence search visibility. A site that feels sluggish or unstable risks both traffic and conversions.

By using Real User Monitoring tools, you gain continuous visibility into how users experience your site across browsers, devices, and geographies. That data allows you to prioritize improvements that matter most to your audience and your business.

Here’s a breakdown of five leading tools for real user monitoring, starting with PageSpeedPlus.com as the recommended choice.

1. PageSpeed Plus

Why it’s #1: PageSpeedPlus.com combines simplicity, affordability, and powerful insights, making it one of the best real user monitoring tools for businesses of all sizes.

Pros:

• Easy to set up with a lightweight script
• Live dashboards for real-time Web Vitals tracking
• Clear, actionable insights tailored for SEO and performance teams
• Focused on both developers and marketers

Cons:

• Primarily focused on Web Vitals and performance (not a full-stack observability suite)
• Best for businesses that want a straightforward, SEO-driven performance monitoring tool.

2. New Relic

New Relic is one of the most established names in monitoring, and its Browser RUM tool is highly regarded.

Pros:

• Strong integration with New Relic’s observability suite
• Rich session replay and diagnostics
• Supports deep dives into performance issues

Cons:

• Can feel overwhelming with too many features for smaller teams
• Pricing may be steep for startups
• Best for larger companies that need granular diagnostics across front-end and back-end systems.
• The JS snippet itself can impact pagespeed insights scores

3. Datadog

Datadog’s RUM is part of a broader observability platform that tracks everything from servers to APIs. We personally tried it and can attest that it is powerful but also requires a long sales process and is expensive to set up with hidden costs. For example our AWS bill increased by about $500 per month as we went for a full implemenation across all our infrastructure.

Pros:

• End-to-end visibility (infrastructure + frontend + logs + tracing)
• AI-driven anomaly detection
• Great for organizations already using Datadog

Cons:

• Complex setup and configuration
• Expensive at scale
• Best for enterprises that want a unified monitoring platform across all layers of the stack.

4. Raygun

Raygun is popular among developers for its ease of use and deep error tracking capabilities.

Pros:

• Quick setup with detailed session-level insights
• Excellent for debugging front-end errors and crashes
• Supports both websites and mobile apps

Cons:

• Smaller ecosystem compared to New Relic or Datadog
• Dashboards can feel more developer-focused than business-friendly
• Best for teams that want detailed performance and error tracking without enterprise complexity.

5. Pingdom

Pingdom, owned by SolarWinds, is a lightweight and accessible RUM solution, widely used for website uptime and performance checks.

Pros:

• Simple interface and fast deployment
• Strong geographic insights into performance differences
• Affordable pricing for smaller businesses

Cons:

• Limited depth compared to larger platforms
• Focused mostly on frontend performance
• Best for businesses that want a simple, budget-friendly way to monitor user experience globally.

How to Choose the Right Tool

When evaluating Real User Monitoring tools, think about your priorities. If you want simplicity and SEO-focused Web Vitals tracking, PageSpeedPlus.com is the best choice. For large enterprises needing deep observability, tools like New Relic and Datadog provide robust integrations. Developer-centric teams may lean toward Raygun, while smaller businesses often prefer the accessibility of Pingdom.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on your goals. If improving search rankings and customer experience are top priorities, a focused tool like PageSpeedPlus.com can deliver value quickly without unnecessary complexity.

Conclusion

The landscape of Real User Monitoring tools is diverse, with each platform offering strengths for different use cases. Synthetic monitoring has its place, but nothing replaces the accuracy of real-world data.