What you get by switching
| Watcher | Flare | NightOwl |
|---|---|---|
| Exceptions | Yes (polished) | Yes |
| Request traces | No | Yes |
| Query patterns + p95 | No | Yes |
| Queue jobs | No | Yes |
| Scheduled tasks | No | Yes |
| Cache hit/miss | No | Yes |
| Outgoing HTTP | No | Yes |
| Data storage | Flare cloud | Your PostgreSQL |
Migration steps
Install NightOwl
composer require nightowl/agent, then php artisan nightowl:install. Flare SDK remains untouched.
Point at PostgreSQL
Run the installer with your Postgres credentials. Schema is created automatically.
Parallel run (1 week)
Both SDKs active. Validate exception coverage matches Flare. Explore the new watchers — queries, queue jobs, schedules.
Reconfigure alert channels
Recreate Slack/Discord/Email webhooks in NightOwl. Disable Flare alerts to avoid duplicate pages.
Remove Flare SDK
composer remove spatie/laravel-flare, delete config/flare.php, remove FLARE_KEY env var.
Cancel Flare subscription
After a week running solo on NightOwl. Keep Flare read-only if you want historical access; otherwise cancel.
Code removal
composer remove spatie/laravel-flare
rm config/flare.php
# .env — remove:
# FLARE_KEY=...
# If you registered Flare in the exception handler, remove:
# - App\Exceptions\Handler @ register() Flare-specific reporters
php artisan config:clearThe cost case
Flare is $9/mo Hobby (single user, single project, 10K errors), $29/mo Standard, $69/mo Growth, or $279/mo Premium. If exception tracking is your only monitoring need and you're a tiny app, Flare Hobby is cheaper — but you're missing performance monitoring. Teams running Flare Standard + a separate APM (Scout $99, Inspector $39, etc.) typically pay $60-130/mo total. NightOwl from $5/mo replaces both.
AFTER MIGRATION
One tool for errors + performance + queues
Exception grouping, query patterns, queue failure rates, scheduled task history — all in one dashboard. Data in your PostgreSQL. From $5/month flat.