# Axiom MCP Server vs New Relic MCP Server

> Axiom scores 68.2 (B) to New Relic's 61 (C) for observability logs. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-new-relic
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-new-relic.md (~4,200 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

Axiom MCP Server scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against New Relic MCP Server's 61 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. New Relic MCP Server leads on transparency & trust. Both do observability logs.

- Axiom MCP Server: grade B, 68.2/100, rank #269 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axiom.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/axiom.json
- New Relic MCP Server: grade C, 61/100, rank #567 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/new-relic.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/new-relic.json
- Best observability and incident tools for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/observability/index.md
- All 49 observability comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/observability/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Axiom MCP Server (B)

Good for: Agents that investigate logs, traces and metrics with APL and need a budget cap, and agents that must bootstrap their own observability without a person.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 72 against 60
- Schema & documentation, 62 against 51
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 30

Watch for: The server is closed source and tool input schemas are only visible through an authenticated session

### New Relic MCP Server (C)

Good for: Agents investigating incidents, errors, deployments and performance in an existing New Relic account, where reads are enough.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 70

Watch for: Tool input schemas are visible only through an authenticated session; the docs give one-line descriptions and no parameters


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: Axiom MCP Server +30

- Axiom MCP Server (60): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). The pricing page states the platform fee, the free allowances, add-on prices and that usage carries volume discounts, with a calculator rather than a printed per-unit rate (20). The Personal plan is free with no card (20). `POST /v2/orgs/provision` needs no authentication and returns a working token, so an agent can start without a person, though a person must claim the organisation within 24 hours for it to persist (20). 0 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 60.
- New Relic MCP Server (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). The pricing page is public for the free tier and data ingest ($0.40 per GB beyond 100 GB), but MCP tools are metered as compute units with no per-call rate, and user and edition prices are quoted on request (10). The free tier includes MCP, 100 GB a month and one full platform user with no card (20). A person signs up in a browser and completes the OAuth flow (0). 0 + 10 + 20 + 0 = 30.

### Reliability: Axiom MCP Server +12

- Axiom MCP Server (72): Scored as a hosted MCP server. status.axiom.co is an incident.io page with six US and six EU components (API, ingest, querying, alerting, endpoints, app) and uptime per component for August to November 2026, with no MCP component (20). feed.rss holds nine incidents in the 90 days to 3 November 2026, among them elevated query errors in the US from 18:05 to 19:15 UTC on 14 October with missed monitor runs, a metrics ingestion and query disruption on 15 October, elevated query errors after a deployment on 21 October, metrics query error rates on 25 October, query errors and monitor delays on 27 October, metrics ingest on 30 October, EU monitor alerting degraded on 7 October, and console authentication through GitHub degraded on 12 August. US querying shows 99.90 per cent uptime. One incident over an hour on the query path and several shorter ones, so one major (10). Rate limits are published as headers (X-RateLimit-Scope, -Limit, -Remaining, -Reset) and plan limits on the limits page, but the per-minute numbers aren't printed (12). 429 with a message and reset headers, query cost caps that answer 429 with the reset time, and provisioning 429 with backoff guidance; no idempotency keys for the write tools (10). A published SLA of 99.9 per cent monthly uptime for Axiom Cloud with 10 and 25 per cent credits (10). Not marked beta; registry version 1.0.0 (10). 20 + 10 + 12 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 72.
- New Relic MCP Server (60): Scored as a hosted MCP server. status.newrelic.com is an Atlassian Statuspage with 115 components across the US, EU and JP regions and no MCP component (20). history.rss holds seven incidents in the 90 days to 3 November 2026, among them delayed queries and alerts in the US for 49 minutes on 2 November, synthetics ping delays the same day, the JP entity platform unavailable for 67 minutes on 28 October, delayed US data and alerts from 19:24 to 22:04 UTC on 25 September, intermittent UI errors for two and a half hours the same night, a Salesforce support outage on 16 September and a 10-minute EU metric issue. Two regional incidents over an hour on the query and alert paths the server depends on, so one major (10). Published numbers, 2,000 tool calls an hour per user on the MCP server and 25 concurrent NerdGraph requests per user (15). NerdGraph answers 429 on concurrency with guidance to batch or pool, but no Retry-After is documented and nothing covers retries of MCP calls; the tools are reads, so idempotency doesn't arise (8). The pricing page lists support response SLAs, and the paid terms promise commercially reasonable efforts, so no availability SLA (0). Public preview on 4 November 2025, available to all accounts on 3 November 2026 with preview tools marked separately, but no dated GA notice was found (7). 20 + 10 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 7 = 60.

### Schema & documentation: Axiom MCP Server +11

- Axiom MCP Server (62): The server is closed source (axiomhq/mcp isn't public) and tools/list needs a session, so the input schemas couldn't be read; partial credit for a contract that exists (10). llms.txt on axiom.co and a Markdown twin of every docs page (10). The tools reference gives each tool a purpose, an example request and a Read or Write label, says to use `queryMetrics` for metrics datasets instead of `queryDataset`, and the 29 October 2026 changelog adds session instructions on finding dataset and field names first (15). No parameters, types or enums are published for the tools (4). An example per tool, the REST docs' error shapes and the 429 bodies; no MCP error list (8). A dated changelog with MCP entries and a protocol version stated (2026-07-28 alongside the session transport), and a registry version (15). 10 + 10 + 15 + 4 + 8 + 15 = 62.
- New Relic MCP Server (51): Tool input schemas are only visible through an authenticated session; the tool reference names 40 tools with one-line descriptions, so partial credit for a contract that exists but isn't public (10). docs.newrelic.com publishes llms.txt, updated 3 November 2026, and a Markdown twin of every page (10). Each tool's line says what it does, tags say which group it belongs to, and the reference says which tools need OAuth and which are preview; nothing says when not to use a tool (12). No parameters, types or enums are published; the setup examples show only the `include-tags` header (4). Example natural-language queries per group, a troubleshooting page for OAuth, API key, permission and connection errors, and no error code list (7). A dated what's-new feed and a 0.1.0 registry version, but no MCP changelog or server version in the docs (8). 10 + 10 + 12 + 4 + 7 + 8 = 51.

### Transparency & trust: New Relic MCP Server +11

- Axiom MCP Server (70): Closed service with clear terms naming Axiom, Inc. (15). A privacy policy with retention by data category, a DPA that names the sub-processor page and US or EU processing, and per-plan retention on the pricing page; the sub-processor list itself renders through a script and the terms carry no date (20). The changelog has a deprecation category and the docs mark the legacy query endpoint, but no notice period is written down (10). US and EU edge deployments are documented and the DPA says data may be processed in either, with the sub-processor list unread (12). 15 + 20 + 10 + 12 = 57.
- New Relic MCP Server (81): Closed service with clear dated terms (paid 8 November 2022, unpaid 21 October 2021) naming New Relic, Inc. (15). A privacy notice of 14 September 2026, a data retention page with per-namespace periods, a security policy, and the MCP docs' statement that gap-analysis responses aren't stored; the master cloud agreement and the trust centre couldn't be read (22). End-of-life notices with dates (REST API keys, 2025) and a pre-release policy that says preview services can change or end (16). US, EU and JP regions are documented for the server and the platform, but no sub-processor list was found on a readable page (10). 15 + 22 + 16 + 10 = 63.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Axiom MCP Server | New Relic MCP Server | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 72 | 60 | Axiom MCP Server +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 51 | Axiom MCP Server +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 59 | Axiom MCP Server +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 72 | 76 | New Relic MCP Server +4 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 30 | Axiom MCP Server +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 80 | Axiom MCP Server +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 81 | New Relic MCP Server +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **68.2 · B** | **61 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Axiom MCP Server | New Relic MCP Server |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Axiom, Inc. | New Relic, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.axiom.co/mcp` | `https://mcp.newrelic.com/mcp/` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy) | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 31 | 40 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `co.axiom/mcp` | `com.newrelic/mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-28 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2022-11-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-09-14 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |

## Verdicts

**Axiom MCP Server.** An agent can start without a person, provisioning a temporary organisation with one unauthenticated call, and then query with OAuth sessions capped by dollar cost limits under a 99.9 per cent SLA. Tool schemas aren't public, the server is closed source, and the docs call it read-only while listing delete tools.

**New Relic MCP Server.** OAuth with a read scope, 5-minute access tokens, role-bound calls and a queryable audit trail make this a safe read surface over an account's data, and the free tier includes it. 40 tools need tag filtering, the schemas aren't public, there is no per-call price, and no dated GA notice was found.

## Before you call either

### Axiom MCP Server

1. With no organisation, call `POST https://api.axiom.co/v2/orgs/provision` once, store the returned token and surface the `claimUrl` to the person; both are shown once and the organisation is deleted after 24 hours unclaimed
2. Call `listDatasets` and `getDatasetFields` before `queryDataset`; metrics datasets take `queryMetrics` with MPL, not APL
3. Treat a 429 as a rate limit or a query-cost cap; read `X-RateLimit-Reset` or the limit message for when the window resets, and don't resend sooner
4. Prefer OAuth; if a token header is the only option, expect the PAT to carry the person's full rights and ask them to set a query cost limit on their role first
5. `deleteDashboard`, `deleteMonitor` and `deleteNotifier` are live writes with no confirmation step; list first and confirm with the person before deleting

### New Relic MCP Server

1. Connect with OAuth; an `api-key` header reaches only the core tools and the docs say the API key route works only where stated
2. Send `include-tags` with the groups the task needs (for example `discovery,data-access`) to keep the tool list under 30
3. Call `list_available_new_relic_accounts` first and pass the account id to every query; `convert_time_period_to_epoch_ms` turns phrases such as last 30 minutes into the epoch bounds the other tools take
4. Stay under 2,000 tool calls an hour per user and 25 concurrent NerdGraph requests; a 429 clears as in-flight requests finish
5. Ask the organisation administrator to turn on the Preview Tools, API Keys, Atlassian or AWS toggles in feature control manager before relying on those tools; they are off by default

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Axiom MCP Server or New Relic MCP Server?

Axiom MCP Server scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against New Relic MCP Server's 61 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. New Relic MCP Server leads on transparency & trust.

### Do Axiom MCP Server and New Relic MCP Server need an API key?

Both use an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Axiom MCP Server and New Relic MCP Server without installing anything?

Yes. Axiom MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.axiom.co/mcp and New Relic MCP Server at https://mcp.newrelic.com/mcp/.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-new-relic.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-new-relic.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "axiom", "b": "new-relic"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare axiom new-relic`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/axiom.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/new-relic.json

## Other comparisons with Axiom MCP Server or New Relic MCP Server

- [Axiom MCP Server vs incident.io API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-incident-io.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-pagerduty-mcp.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Rootly MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-rootly-mcp.md)
- [Causely MCP server vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/causely-vs-new-relic.md)
- [incident.io API vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/incident-io-vs-new-relic.md)
- [New Relic MCP Server vs PagerDuty MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/new-relic-vs-pagerduty-mcp.md)
- [New Relic MCP Server vs Rootly MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/new-relic-vs-rootly-mcp.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Better Stack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-better-stack.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Causely MCP server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-causely.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Datadog MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-datadog-mcp.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Grafana MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-grafana-mcp-server.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Honeycomb MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-honeycomb-mcp.md)
- [Better Stack vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/better-stack-vs-new-relic.md)
- [Datadog MCP Server vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datadog-mcp-vs-new-relic.md)
- [Grafana MCP Server vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grafana-mcp-server-vs-new-relic.md)
- [Axiom MCP Server vs Sentry MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axiom-vs-sentry-mcp.md)
- [New Relic MCP Server vs Sentry MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/new-relic-vs-sentry-mcp.md)
- [Honeycomb MCP vs New Relic MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/honeycomb-mcp-vs-new-relic.md)

---

Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp