The Ruby monitoring tool built for Ruby teams
Looking at Ruby monitoring tools? Scout is the one made specifically for Rails and Ruby. Automatic N+1 detection, memory bloat at the transaction level, and pricing that doesn't require a procurement meeting.
Built for scrappy Rails teams. Need help? Talk to a Scout developer. No escalation tiers or AI agents to get between you and an answer.
Built for Ruby
Most Ruby monitoring tools weren't built for Ruby
Generic APM platforms have a Ruby agent bolted on. Scout was built for Ruby from day one. That's why N+1 detection just works, why ActiveRecord queries get the depth they deserve, and why Sidekiq isn't an afterthought. ActiveRecord, ActionView, ActionController, Redis, ElasticSearch, Mongoid, Sidekiq, Resque, DelayedJob, GoodJob, Solid Queue: all instrumented automatically, the day you install.
Query Analysis
N+1 detection that actually works on real Rails apps
Most APMs require you to manually flag queries you want monitored. Scout watches every ActiveRecord query in every Rails request, Sinatra route, and background job, and surfaces N+1 patterns automatically with code locations, query counts, and time impact. Zero configuration. This is the feature most Scout customers cite as the reason they switched.
Memory Insights
Memory bloat detection no other Ruby tool does well
Generic APMs show you 'memory is up' from host metrics. Scout shows you which Rails controller action, which Sidekiq job, which line of code is responsible for the growth. We built this because Ruby memory bloat is its own special hell and nobody else was solving it properly. Requires Ruby 2.1+.
AI Native
Query your Ruby app from Claude Code, Cursor, or the CLI
Scout's MCP server connects directly to Claude Code, Cursor, and other AI assistants. Ask 'what's slowest right now?' or 'show me my N+1 queries from this week' and get answers from real production data. There's also a CLI via Homebrew and a public API.
Real People
Real humans, not escalation tiers
Everyone on the team sees support requests. Depending on what you need, you'll hear from product, support, success, or engineering. That way the person who can help you, helps you.
Get Started in Minutes
Add Scout to Your Ruby App
Three minutes from install to first trace. Try it on a real app.
Add to your Gemfile:
gem 'scout_apm'Run:
bundle installDownload your customized config file, placing it at config/scout_apm.yml.
Deploy.
FAQ
Ruby Monitoring FAQ
What are the best Ruby monitoring tools?
The main options for Ruby APM are Scout, New Relic, Datadog, AppSignal, and Skylight. Scout is purpose-built for Ruby and Rails, with automatic N+1 detection, memory bloat at the transaction level, and pricing starting at $19/month. New Relic and Datadog are general-purpose APMs with Ruby support: powerful but expensive and complex to configure. AppSignal and Skylight are Ruby-focused like Scout but with different feature emphases. The best fit depends on your team size and budget. For most Rails teams under 50 engineers, Scout is the sweet spot.
How is Scout different from New Relic for Ruby?
Scout was built for Ruby teams from day one. Automatic N+1 detection, memory bloat at the transaction level, and a pricing model that doesn't punish you for having traffic. New Relic is a powerful general-purpose APM that works with many languages, but it's heavier, more expensive, and Ruby is one of many priorities. If your team primarily ships Ruby and Rails, Scout will give you faster wins for less money.
How does Scout compare to Datadog APM?
Datadog is a full observability platform. APM is one piece of a much bigger product. It's powerful if you're running large infrastructure across multiple services and languages, but it's expensive (often hundreds to thousands per month) and the Ruby experience isn't its primary focus. Scout is laser-focused on Ruby and Rails apps, costs $19/month to start, and gives you N+1 detection and memory bloat analysis that Datadog doesn't surface as cleanly for Ruby.
Is Scout actually cheaper?
Yes, materially. Plans start free, the cheapest paid tier is $19/month with 1 GB of logs and 5,000 errors included. New Relic and Datadog typically cost $50 to $200+/month for comparable monitoring of a small-to-medium Rails app, with logs, errors, and APM often billed separately. We also offer custom plans if our standard tiers don't fit.
Who runs support? Is it real engineers or a chatbot?
Real people, every time. Every request comes into a queue the whole company sees, so depending on your question you might hear from product, support, success, or engineering. No bot triage, no tier-1 router. Email support@scoutapm.com and you'll usually hear back within a few hours. We also have a Discord (discord.gg/keGzRHD3pv) where the team and other Scout users hang out.
Is Scout a fit for small teams?
Yes, that's our sweet spot. Scout is built for scrappy Rails teams who need real APM without enterprise pricing or complexity. If you're 1 to 50 engineers shipping a Ruby/Rails product, you're exactly who we built this for. Bigger teams use Scout too, but we don't pretend you need an 'enterprise tier' to get the features that matter.
Will Scout work with my legacy Rails app?
Yes. Scout supports Rails 2.2+ and Ruby 2.1+. That covers basically every Rails app still in production. The agent is conservative about overhead and won't fight your existing stack.
Can I try Scout before paying?
Yes. 14 days of unlimited APM with no credit card required. After 14 days you'll move to the free tier, which keeps your account active with lower limits. Upgrade to a paid plan ($19/month) when you're ready.
How long does setup take?
Three minutes for most Rails apps. Add `gem 'scout_apm'` to your Gemfile, bundle install, drop in a config file, deploy. ActiveRecord, ActionController, Redis, Sidekiq, and HTTP clients are auto-instrumented with no extra setup.
Does Scout work with my AI coding tools?
Yes. Scout has hosted and local MCP servers with 17 tools covering apps, endpoints, traces, errors, N+1 insights, background jobs, and usage data. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, and any MCP-enabled assistant. There's also a Go CLI via Homebrew with TOON output for LLM consumption, and a public API.