Comparison · checked 2 November 2026
Better Stack vs Pingdom
Better Stack has a free plan (10 monitors and heartbeats) and checks as often as every 30 seconds on paid add-ons; Pingdom has a free trial and plans that bundle uptime checks, transaction checks and SMS. Better Stack includes unlimited phone and SMS alerts with a responder license.
Which one suits you
Choose Better Stack if
- You want to start free
- You want unlimited phone call alerts for on-call
- You want status pages with custom domains
Choose Pingdom if
- You want SMS included in a fixed bundle
- You want transaction checks from SolarWinds
- You prefer a check network of 100+ servers
Better Stack vs Pingdom, side by side
Free plans, prices, check intervals and features, each from the provider’s own pages and linked to its source. Uptimecheck is in the last column as a third option.
| Compared | Better Stack | Pingdom | Uptimecheck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: 10 monitors and heartbeats, 1 status page, Slack and email alerts source for Better Stack | No, a free trial source for Pingdom | Yes: 5 monitors every 5 minutes, 1 status page; commercial use allowed more for Uptimecheck |
| Cheapest paid plan | Built from add-ons: a responder license from $29 a month billed yearly ($34 monthly), 50 more monitors $21 a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) source for Better Stack | 16 a month, or 14.33 a month billed yearly, for 10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check and 50 SMS (currency by region; we saw euros) source for Pingdom | Start: €9 a month billed yearly, or €12 monthly, excl. VAT more for Uptimecheck |
| Shortest check interval | Up to 30 seconds source for Better Stack | Not stated | 1 minute on every paid plan more for Uptimecheck |
| Check locations | Asia, Australia, Europe and the US source for Better Stack | 100+ servers worldwide source for Pingdom | 3: Stockholm, London and New York more for Uptimecheck |
| Failures confirmed from another location | Not stated | Yes source for Pingdom | Yes, before any incident opens more for Uptimecheck |
| Status pages | 1 on Free; more and custom domains as add-ons source for Better Stack | Public status pages on every plan source for Pingdom | Every plan (1 on Free), with subscribers; no custom domain more for Uptimecheck |
| SMS alerts | Unlimited with a responder license, not on Free source for Better Stack | An SMS quota per plan (50 on the smallest) source for Pingdom | Paid plans: 50 or 200 credits a month on Professional and Business, packs on any paid plan more for Uptimecheck |
| Phone call alerts | Unlimited with a responder license, not on Free source for Better Stack | Not stated | No |
| Cron job and heartbeat monitoring | Yes source for Better Stack | Not stated | Yes, with start and finish pings and exit codes more for Uptimecheck |
| SSL and domain expiry | Yes source for Better Stack | Not stated | Yes, both more for Uptimecheck |
| Multi-step and browser checks | Yes, Playwright checks, billed per minute source for Better Stack | Yes, transaction checks source for Pingdom | Yes, multi-step flows, also in a real browser (paid plans) more for Uptimecheck |
| Public API | Yes source for Better Stack | Yes source for Pingdom | REST API and MCP server on Professional and Business more for Uptimecheck |
| Company and data location | Not stated | Part of SolarWinds source for Pingdom | Digitona AB, Sweden; app and data in Stockholm more for Uptimecheck |
Competitor facts are taken from each provider’s own website and were checked on 2 November 2026. “Not stated” means we couldn’t find it on their site, not that it’s missing. Plans change: check the source before you decide.
A third option: Uptimecheck
We make Uptimecheck, so take this part as ours. It checks websites, APIs, ports and ping targets every minute on paid plans from Stockholm, London and New York, confirms every failure from another location, and shows the evidence on each incident: the failing response, a screenshot or a traceroute.
Status pages, cron jobs, SSL and domain expiry and on-call schedules are included on every plan, not sold as add-ons. The free plan has 5 monitors with no end date, paid plans start at €9 a month billed yearly, and the app and data are hosted in Stockholm. See pricing or how to switch.
14-day free trial · Then free on 5 monitors · No credit card
Questions
Do Better Stack and Pingdom have a free plan?
Better Stack: Yes: 10 monitors and heartbeats, 1 status page, Slack and email alerts. Pingdom: No, a free trial.
Which is cheaper, Better Stack or Pingdom?
Better Stack: Built from add-ons: a responder license from $29 a month billed yearly ($34 monthly), 50 more monitors $21 a month billed yearly ($25 monthly). Pingdom: 16 a month, or 14.33 a month billed yearly, for 10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check and 50 SMS (currency by region; we saw euros). Prices are as each provider shows them, so currencies and VAT can differ.
Which checks more often, Better Stack or Pingdom?
Better Stack: Up to 30 seconds. Pingdom: not stated on its website.
Do Better Stack and Pingdom include status pages?
Better Stack: 1 on Free; more and custom domains as add-ons. Pingdom: Public status pages on every plan.
Is there an alternative to Better Stack and Pingdom?
Uptimecheck is one, made in Sweden. Free plan: 5 monitors every 5 minutes, 1 status page; commercial use allowed. Paid: Start: €9 a month billed yearly, or €12 monthly, excl. VAT, with checks every minute from Stockholm, London and New York, every failure confirmed from another location, status pages, cron jobs and alerts in Slack, Teams, email or push. It imports monitors from UptimeRobot, Better Stack, Pingdom and StatusCake.
Where do these facts come from?
From each provider’s own website, checked on 2 November 2026, with every fact linked to its source in the table. Uptimecheck makes one of the products compared here, so check the sources before you decide.
Downtime is obsolete.
Set up your first monitor in under a minute, or look around the live demo first.
14-day free trial · Then free on 5 monitors · No credit card