Stack
Better Stack
A combined uptime monitoring, incident alerting, public status page, and log storage tool in one dashboard.
What it actually does
Better Stack pings your URLs on a schedule, alerts you when they stop responding, and hosts a public status page so users can see incident history. It also bundles on-call scheduling and incident management, covering the basics of being paged when the site goes down.
The free plan gives 10 uptime monitors at 3-minute checks plus a status page and 3 GB/mo of logs retained 3 days. The fastest 30-second checks and longer log retention require paid plans, and monitors above 10 require a paid plan.
It leans toward the availability and incident side rather than deep log analytics; its free log retention is short and log bundles carry regional price multipliers.
Better Stack vs its main rivals
The tools people actually weigh against Better Stack: UptimeRobot, Pingdom, StatusCake, Datadog Synthetics. Same criteria for every column, including where Better Stack loses.
| Better Stack |  UptimeRobot |  Pingdom | SStatusCake |  Datadog Synthetics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing & access | |||||
| Free tier | Yes10 monitors | Yes50 monitors | NoTrial only | Yes10 monitors | NoTrial only |
| Starting price | ~$29/mo | ~$9/mo | $15/mo | ~$25/mo | $5/10k tests |
Scaling & limits | |||||
| Free monitors | 10 | 50 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Fastest free interval | 3 min | 5 min | N/A | 5 min | N/A |
| Fastest paid interval | 30 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 30 sec | 30 sec |
Coverage | |||||
| Status page | YesFree | Yes1 free | YesPaid | Yes1 free | NoNo |
| On-call / incident mgmt | YesYes | NoNo | NoNo | NoNo | YesAdd-on |
| Scripted browser checks | YesPlaywright (paid) | NoNo | YesYes | NoNo | YesYes |
| Log storage | Yes3 GB free | NoNo | NoNo | NoNo | YesPaid |
Developer & API | |||||
| REST API | Free | Free | Paid | Free | Paid |
Team & enterprise | |||||
| SSO / SAML | YesPaid | YesPaid | YesYes | YesPaid | YesYes |
- Free 3-minute checks are faster than UptimeRobot's free 5-minute interval
- Free status page and incident management are included, so one tool covers on-call basics
- 10 free monitors cover a typical solo setup of site, API, and cron heartbeats, and the free tier bundles 3 GB of logs too
- UptimeRobot gives 50 free monitors versus Better Stack's 10, so Better Stack is the weaker free choice if you just need many simple pings
- Going beyond the 10 free monitors requires the paid Uptime plan (~$29/mo), so the 11th monitor is a real step up, not a few cents
- Free log retention is only 3 days, and scripted browser checks are a paid feature, not free
Pay less for it
5 ways found10 monitors at 3-minute checks plus a status page and 3 GB/mo logs at $0
Annual billing discounts apply on the uptime and logs plans
Logs bundle pricing varies by data region, so pick a cheaper region before buying
The paid Uptime plan starts ~$29/mo, so consolidating checks to stay within the free 10 avoids that jump for one extra monitor
UptimeRobot — 50 free monitors versus Better Stack's 10, if all you need is simple HTTP uptime pings and email alerts without the status page and log bundle
StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Better Stack and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.
Is it the right tool for you
- You want fast free uptime checks plus a public status page in one tool
- You want on-call and incident management alongside monitoring
- You want a single dashboard for uptime, logs, and status
- You just need many simple uptime pings for free across side projects → use UptimeRobot
- Your failure mode is a broken multi-step flow, not a down server → use Checkly
Track what Better Stack and the rest of your stack cost
StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.
Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.