Upwatch and UptimeRobot solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $39, the other is a subscription at $8/mo run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| Upwatch | UptimeRobot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 once | UptimeRobot $8/mo ($96/yr) · Pingdom $10+/mo |
| Monitors | Unlimited | 50 on UptimeRobot's paid tier |
| Check interval | 30s | 60s (paid) |
| Public status page | Included, branded | Limited / upsell |
| Keyword checks | Included | Paid tier |
| Your data | Your SQLite file on your box | Their cloud |
| Multi-client agency use | One VPS monitors everything | Per-account limits / pricing |
What Upwatch does well
- HTTP(S) monitors — URL, interval from 30s to 15m, expected status code, optional keyword match.
- In-process checker loop — No cron, no workers, no Redis — one Node process does everything.
- SQLite storage — Check history with automatic 90-day retention pruning. One file to back up.
- Per-monitor detail — Uptime % for 24h / 7d / 30d, response-time sparkline, full incident log.
What UptimeRobot still does better
There's a real reason UptimeRobot costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on UptimeRobot's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $8/mo for a job your own hardware can do, Upwatch pays for itself and then some: pays for itself vs UptimeRobot in under 5 months — then it's free forever.
Try Upwatch — $39, once
HTTP checks, incident log, alerts and a branded 90-day status page — on your own box.