Comparison
Tailwise vs Blackfire.
These tools answer different questions. Blackfire profiles your PHP code and tells you where it's slow. Tailwise watches your server logs and tells you when something broke. If you run a busy PHP site, you may well want both.
| Tailwise | Blackfire | |
|---|---|---|
| The question it answers | "When did something break?" | "Where is my code spending time?" |
| How it works | External cron reads log files, sends new lines to Tailwise, regex flags errors | PHP extension + Probe instrument requests, send profile traces |
| What it catches | PHP fatals, nginx/PHP-FPM errors, MySQL errors, anything in logs | Performance traces, slow queries, memory hotspots, CPU usage |
| Setup | One bash command (no code changes) | Install Probe + extension, configure environment |
| Notifies you proactively | Yes: email when something breaks | Mostly on demand (you trigger profiles); some build-time tests |
| Free tier | 14-day trial | Free Hack Edition (limited) |
| Paid entry | $89 / year, 3 sites | ~$348/year Profiler, ~$1,188/year Premium, ~$3,468/year Enterprise |
When to pick which
B
Use Blackfire if
- Your site feels slow and you need to know which function is the bottleneck.
- You want to spot performance regressions before they ship.
- You're optimizing a busy WooCommerce store, Symfony app, or Laravel API.
- You care about CPU/memory traces and continuous profiling.
T
Use Tailwise if
- You want to be told when a real error shows up: database, PHP fatal, 500s.
- You don't want to read logs yourself; you want an email when one matters.
- You want it on every site you run, not just the one you're profiling this week.
- You'd like a flat $89/year for 3 sites instead of monthly per-app billing.
Honestly? They're complementary.
Blackfire and Tailwise solve different problems. If your code is slow but not crashing, Tailwise will be quiet and Blackfire will be your friend. If your code crashes but is otherwise fast, Tailwise will email you and Blackfire won't help.
For a busy site that runs hot in both directions, running both is the move. They don't compete: one watches for failures, the other watches for slowness.
Get on the early-access list
Tailwise is rolling out. Drop your email and I'll let you in when access opens.