Hushbug vs Sentry
Sentry monitors production errors with SDK integration. Hushbug catches bugs during development with zero setup. They solve different problems — here is when to use each.
Short answer: Use both. Sentry monitors production. Hushbug monitors development. They do not overlap.
What Sentry does
Sentry is production error monitoring. You install an SDK in your app, configure a DSN, set up source maps, and deploy. After that, every unhandled exception from real users gets captured with a stack trace, breadcrumbs (what the user did before the crash), affected user count, and release attribution. Sentry groups duplicate errors, alerts you through Slack or email, and tells you which deploy broke things.
Over 100,000 organizations use Sentry. The free Developer plan gives you 5,000 errors per month. The Team plan starts at $26/month (billed annually) and adds GitHub/Jira integrations and their AI debugging agent (Seer). If your app is in production and users are hitting it, you need something like Sentry. Or Datadog, LogRocket, Bugsnag. Pick one.
What Hushbug does
Hushbug is a Chrome extension that watches your browser while you develop. It catches console errors, failed network requests, layout shifts, accessibility violations, and security issues. All of this happens before your code reaches production.
Setup is the main difference. Sentry needs SDK integration per project: install the package, configure the DSN, wrap your app in an error boundary, upload source maps. For a Next.js app, that is 30-60 minutes of configuration. For a simple static site, it might not be worth the effort.
Hushbug needs you to install a Chrome extension. No code changes. No per-project setup. It works on localhost, staging, production, and any site you visit, including third-party sites you do not own.
Hushbug also catches things Sentry ignores: layout shifts that make buttons jump, accessibility violations like missing alt text, mixed content warnings, slow API responses. Sentry is focused on errors and transactions. Hushbug watches the full surface area of browser-side quality during development.
Data storage is also different. Sentry sends everything to their cloud. Hushbug stores everything in chrome.storage.local. Nothing leaves your browser. If you work on client projects under NDA or handle sensitive data in development, that matters.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Sentry | Hushbug |
|---|---|---|
| Production error monitoring | Yes | No |
| Development-time monitoring | Not designed for it | Yes |
| SDK integration required | Yes (per project) | No |
| Setup time | 30-60 min per project | 30 seconds |
| Works on sites you don't own | No | Yes |
| Console error detection | Instrumented apps only | All pages |
| Network failure detection | Instrumented requests | All fetch/XHR |
| Performance monitoring | Yes (transactions, spans) | CLS, slow resources |
| Accessibility checks | No | Yes |
| Security checks | No | Yes |
| Release tracking | Yes | No |
| User impact count | Yes | No |
| Alerting (Slack, email) | Yes | Badge only |
| Data storage | Sentry cloud | Local browser storage |
| Free tier | 5,000 errors/month, 1 user | 2 detectors, unlimited use |
| Paid tier | From $26/month | $7/month (all detectors) |
Verdict
These are not competing tools. Sentry tells you what broke in production after users hit the bug. Hushbug tells you what is broken in development before you ship it. Use Sentry for production monitoring. Use Hushbug to catch problems before they get to production. Together, you cover both sides of the deployment boundary.
If you are a solo developer deciding which to set up first: start with Hushbug. It takes 30 seconds and catches problems while you code. Add Sentry when your app has real users and you need production visibility.