New Relic's startup offer: no dollar figure published. 5 full-platform users + "generous" monthly data ingest, free, plus engineering support. New Relic explicitly says it is "a program, not a pile of credits.".
No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.
Stage fit: Pre-seed. Difficulty: moderate.
New Relic at a glance
- Max value
- No dollar figure published. 5 full-platform users + "generous" monthly data ingest, free, plus engineering support. New Relic explicitly says it is "a program, not a pile of credits."
- Stage fit
- Pre-seed
- Takes equity
- No
- Who files it
- You (no code needed)
- Geography
- Not stated by New Relic.
- Referral needed
- No
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Review time
- Not published
- Credits expire
- No program end date or benefit duration is published.
What New Relic actually gives you
- New Relic for Startups (single tier)5 full-platform users and "generous data ingest per month," free (no GB figure published); every New Relic AI feature (AI monitoring, SRE Agent, full AI toolset); a New Relic engineer alongside you on launch day; quarterly architecture reviews with principal engineers; ongoing office hours with Forward Deployed Engineers; peer "war room" sessions with other founders; onboarding, monthly office hours and paired technical sessionsVetted startups at Series A or earlier, framed by New Relic as early-stage companies building on AI (LLMs, agents, AI-generated code)
- Baseline if you are not admitted: New Relic standard free tier100 GB data ingest per month + 1 full-platform user, perpetual, no credit card. Direct pricing page (Standard plan): $10 for the first paid full-platform user, $99 for each additional (up to 5), and ingest past 100 GB at $0.40/GB. On the AWS Marketplace PAYG listing: extra full-platform users list at $99/user/month (max 5) and ingest past 100 GB at $0.03 per 100 MB ($0.30/GB)Anyone; no application. Not part of the startup program, listed here so founders know the fallback
Who qualifies
You likely qualify if
- Your company has raised a Series A or earlier (pre-seed, seed, or Series A). New Relic's wording (DevRel blog, June 23, 2026): "Open to qualified Series A and earlier startups." Note that the newrelic.com/startups page itself lists no criteria; the rules come from the press release and blog.
- You are an early-stage company building on AI: your product uses LLMs, agents, or AI-generated code. The June 2026 press release positions the program for "early-stage companies building on AI."
- You can pass New Relic's vetting. The press release says the program is "available to vetted, early-stage startups"; New Relic's team reviews every registration before confirming a place.
- You apply either directly at newrelic.com/startups or through a VC or accelerator referral. Both routes are accepted (blog: "through a VC or accelerator referral or directly"); a referral is not mandatory.
You won't qualify if
- Startups at Series B or later. The program is explicitly limited to Series A and earlier.
- Companies not building with AI. New Relic has not published a hard rule, but every official description frames the program around AI-native startups; a non-AI startup should expect lower odds and can still use the standard free tier (100 GB + 1 user).
- Applicants who do not pass New Relic's vetting. Registration is a registration of interest, not automatic access.
- Unknown: New Relic has not published rules on existing paid customers, company age, headcount, or country for the 2026 program. The previous (2022) version excluded current New Relic customers and companies with 100+ employees or older than 10 years; those limits are not restated on the current pages.
Geography. Not stated by New Relic. The program is published on the US, EU (DE/FR/ES/PT), Japan, and Korea sites, and New Relic hosts data in US, EU, and Japan regions that a customer can choose regardless of location, so it appears global; the prior 2022 program was described as open to teams "across the world." Confirm with New Relic if you are outside those regions.
How to apply to New Relic for Startups
- 01Go to https://newrelic.com/startups (the New Relic for Startups page) or straight to the form at https://newrelic.com/solutions/industry/startups/apply.
- 02If your VC or accelerator is a New Relic startup partner, ask them to refer you. New Relic says admission is "through a VC or accelerator referral or directly," so a referral is optional but likely helps vetting.
- 03Fill in the New Relic for Startups registration form with your company details and submit. The page treats this as registering interest, not instant access.
- 04Wait for New Relic to contact you. The confirmation reads: "Our team will reach out shortly, to process your application, and to confirm your place and next steps." No review SLA is published.
- 05Once admitted, complete onboarding and paired technical sessions with New Relic engineers, then use monthly office hours, launch-day support, and quarterly architecture reviews.
- 06As you grow past Series A, expect to move to a paid plan. New Relic promises "a clear path into a standard New Relic relationship as they grow" and that the program "scales with the company: one stack from seed to exit."
Review time: Not published. After you register, New Relic says "Our team will reach out shortly, to process your application, and to confirm your place and next steps.". Apply at newrelic.com/solutions/industry/startups/apply.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Relaunched June 23, 2026. The previous New Relic for Startups (expanded October 2022) was a credits-and-discounts program distributed mainly through partners such as Carta, Zendesk, VCs, and accelerators, open to seed-to-pre-Series-B companies under 10 years old with fewer than 100 employees that were not current New Relic customers. The 2026 version narrows eligibility to Series A and earlier, is explicitly aimed at startups building with AI, fixes the benefit at 5 full-platform users plus monthly ingest, adds all AI features (AI monitoring, SRE Agent), and replaces "a pile of credits" with human support: launch-day engineer, quarterly architecture reviews, Forward Deployed Engineer office hours, and founder war rooms. Direct application is now accepted alongside VC/accelerator referral. Caveat: New Relic's startups/become-a-partner page still tells VCs and accelerators they can offer New Relic startup credits to portfolio companies, so a legacy partner-credit route may still exist; its terms are not published. No further changes found between the June 2026 relaunch and October 2026.
New Relic credits and your AWS bill
This perk does not reduce your AWS bill: New Relic is an observability layer that monitors AWS workloads (EKS, Lambda, CloudWatch, ADOT) and is sold on AWS Marketplace, but per the AWS Activate terms, AWS Marketplace is an Eligible Service for Activate credits solely for Bedrock third-party model spend, so you cannot pay for New Relic with Activate credits. The value is that an AWS Activate startup gets enterprise monitoring of its credit-funded AWS stack for free instead of spending Activate credits on CloudWatch dashboards or paying New Relic list price via Marketplace. A 2023 New Relic blog also mentions a New Relic exclusive offer in the AWS Activate console; I could not confirm it is still live or what it contains, so check the console's Exclusive Offers tab.
New Relic startup credits, answered
How much does New Relic give startups?
New Relic's startup offer: no dollar figure published. 5 full-platform users + "generous" monthly data ingest, free, plus engineering support. New Relic explicitly says it is "a program, not a pile of credits.". There are 2 tiers: New Relic for Startups (single tier): 5 full-platform users and "generous data ingest per month," free (no GB figure published); Baseline if you are not admitted: New Relic standard free tier: 100 GB data ingest per month + 1 full-platform user, perpetual, no credit card.
Does New Relic take equity?
No. New Relic for Startups is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.
Who qualifies for New Relic for Startups?
Stage fit: Pre-seed, seed, and Series A. Best fit for a small AI-native engineering team (up to 5 engineers needing full-platform seats) that is about to ship a production launch and wants vendor engineers in the room. You usually qualify if: your company has raised a Series A or earlier (pre-seed, seed, or Series A). New Relic's wording (DevRel blog, June 23, 2026): "Open to qualified Series A and earlier startups." Note that the newrelic.com/startups page itself lists no criteria; the rules come from the press release and blog.; you are an early-stage company building on AI: your product uses LLMs, agents, or AI-generated code. The June 2026 press release positions the program for "early-stage companies building on AI."; you can pass New Relic's vetting. The press release says the program is "available to vetted, early-stage startups"; New Relic's team reviews every registration before confirming a place. You will not qualify if: startups at Series B or later. The program is explicitly limited to Series A and earlier.; companies not building with AI. New Relic has not published a hard rule, but every official description frames the program around AI-native startups; a non-AI startup should expect lower odds and can still use the standard free tier (100 GB + 1 user).
How long does New Relic take to approve credits?
Not published. After you register, New Relic says "Our team will reach out shortly, to process your application, and to confirm your place and next steps.". Difficulty: moderate, a real application and usually some back and forth.
When do New Relic credits expire?
No program end date or benefit duration is published. New Relic says the program "scales with the company: one stack from seed to exit" and offers "a clear path into a standard New Relic relationship as they grow," which implies benefits taper into a paid contract once you pass Series A.
Can I combine New Relic credits with AWS credits?
This perk does not reduce your AWS bill: New Relic is an observability layer that monitors AWS workloads (EKS, Lambda, CloudWatch, ADOT) and is sold on AWS Marketplace, but per the AWS Activate terms, AWS Marketplace is an Eligible Service for Activate credits solely for Bedrock third-party model spend, so you cannot pay for New Relic with Activate credits. The value is that an AWS Activate startup gets enterprise monitoring of its credit-funded AWS stack for free instead of spending Activate credits on CloudWatch dashboards or paying New Relic list price via Marketplace. On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The New Relic application you submit yourself.
