Uptime Kuma vs Pulse
These two do not really compete. Pulse tells you a Proxmox node, a backup job or a Docker workload is unhealthy. Uptime Kuma tells you your site is down from the outside, and tells your users. Here is where each one fits.
Uptime Kuma vs Pulse: The Verdict
Pulse and Uptime Kuma do different jobs. Pulse watches infrastructure from the inside: Proxmox VE/PBS/PMG, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS and vSphere. Uptime Kuma watches services from the outside: HTTP, TCP and ping checks plus public status pages. Pulse Community is free (Relay $39/yr, Pro $79/yr). Most homelabbers run both, and host Uptime Kuma off-site so it still alerts when home internet dies.
Last updated: 2026-07-30Quick Comparison
| Feature | Pulse | Uptime Kuma |
|---|---|---|
| What It Watches | Proxmox VE/PBS/PMG, Docker/Podman, Kubernetes, TrueNAS, vSphere | Any HTTP, TCP, ping, DNS or keyword endpoint |
| Monitoring Direction | Inside-out (reads your infrastructure APIs) | Outside-in (probes your public endpoints) |
| HTTP / Uptime Checks | Not a documented feature | Core feature (intervals down to 20s) |
| Public Status Pages | Not a documented feature | Unlimited, with custom branding |
| Starting Price | Community free; Relay $39/yr; Pro $79/yr | $3/mo on InstaPods (software is free) |
| Metric History | 7 days free, 14 days Relay, 90 days Pro | Unlimited (bounded by your disk) |
| VM and Backup Job Visibility | Yes (native Proxmox API integration) | No |
| AI-Assisted Remediation | Yes (Patrol, Pro tier) | No |
| Survives Your Own Outage | No (runs inside the network it watches) | Yes, when hosted off-site |
| Notification Channels | Email, webhooks, mobile push (Relay) | 90+ channels |
| Source Code | MIT license (paid tiers add features) | MIT license (open source) |
What Pulse Does Not Cover
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
No HTTP or Endpoint Checks
Pulse watches the systems you own from the inside. It does not document HTTP, TCP or keyword checks against a public URL, so it cannot tell you your site stopped returning 200. That is the job Uptime Kuma exists to do.
No Public Status Page
Pulse has no documented status page feature, so there is nothing to point your users or teammates at during an incident. Uptime Kuma ships unlimited branded status pages.
It Runs Inside the Network It Watches
This is the real blind spot, and it is not a criticism of Pulse. If your home connection drops or the Proxmox host itself dies, Pulse goes down with the thing it was supposed to warn you about. You need something outside that blast radius.
History Is Tier-Gated
Community keeps 7 days of metric history. Relay ($39/yr or $4.99/mo) raises that to 14 days and adds remote access and mobile push. Pro ($79/yr or $8.99/mo) gives 90 days plus Patrol investigations, RBAC and audit logging.
Why Run Uptime Kuma Alongside Pulse
What you get when you pick this stack.
It Watches From Outside Your Network
Hosted on InstaPods, Uptime Kuma is not sitting on your home connection. When your ISP drops or your Proxmox box locks up, it is the thing that still sends the alert. Pulse cannot do that from inside.
Status Pages Your Users Can Read
Unlimited status pages with custom branding, grouped monitors and incident history. Point users at a URL instead of fielding "is it down for you too" messages.
90+ Notification Channels
Slack, Discord, Telegram, Gotify, Pushover, PagerDuty, webhooks and dozens more. Route uptime alerts wherever you already read them.
Unlimited Monitors for $3/mo
No monitor caps, no per-seat pricing, no history limits. Instant launch on a real Linux server with a custom domain and SSH access included.
Real Cost Comparison
Watching 3 Proxmox nodes plus 12 public endpoints, and telling users when something breaks.
- Pulse Community: free (covers the 3 Proxmox nodes)
- 12 public endpoints: no HTTP checks available
- Public status page: not a Pulse feature
- Goes dark with your network during an outage
- Keep Pulse Community for the Proxmox side: free
- InstaPods Launch plan: $3/mo (Uptime Kuma)
- Uptime Kuma: free and open source (MIT)
- 12 endpoints, unlimited monitors, status page included
- Runs off-site, so it survives your own outage
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pulse a replacement for Uptime Kuma?
No, and the reverse is also true. Pulse is an infrastructure monitor: it reads Proxmox VE/PBS/PMG, Docker/Podman, Kubernetes, TrueNAS and vSphere and tells you a node, VM or backup job is unhealthy. Uptime Kuma is an endpoint monitor: it probes your URLs and ports from the outside and publishes a status page. They answer different questions, so most people who run one eventually want the other.
Does Pulse do HTTP or uptime checks?
Not as a documented feature. Pulse's README and docs describe infrastructure monitoring for Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS and vSphere, with alerts, AI Patrol findings and verified fixes. HTTP, TCP, ping and keyword checks against public URLs, plus public status pages, are not listed. If you need to know your site is reachable from outside, that is Uptime Kuma.
Is Pulse still free?
Core monitoring is still free and Pulse is still MIT-licensed, but it is no longer free-only. As of July 2026 the self-hosted tiers are Community (free, 7-day metric history, bring your own LLM), Relay at $39/yr or $4.99/mo (14-day history, remote access via Relay, Pulse Mobile pairing and push notifications), and Pro at $79/yr or $8.99/mo (90-day history, Patrol issue investigation and safe fixes, RBAC and audit logging). There are also MSP plans starting at $149/mo.
Should I run both Pulse and Uptime Kuma?
For most homelabs, yes. Pulse gives you depth on the infrastructure you own: which node is hot, which backup job failed, which VM is thrashing. Uptime Kuma gives you the outside view your users actually experience, plus a status page. Pulse Community is free and Uptime Kuma is $3/mo on InstaPods, so running both costs $3/mo.
Where should I host Uptime Kuma if I already run Pulse at home?
Somewhere outside your own network. A monitor that lives on the same connection as the things it watches cannot tell you that connection died. Running Uptime Kuma on InstaPods for $3/mo puts it off-site on a real Linux server, so a home internet drop or a dead Proxmox host still triggers an alert. That is the single biggest reason to not self-host your uptime monitor next to everything else.
What is Pulse?
Pulse (github.com/rcourtman/Pulse) is an MIT-licensed monitoring tool for Proxmox VE/PBS/PMG, Docker/Podman, Kubernetes, TrueNAS and vSphere. It adds smart alerts and AI "Patrol" runs that look for silent failures and propose verified fixes. Community is free with 7-day history; Relay ($39/yr) adds remote access and mobile push, and Pro ($79/yr) adds 90-day history and Patrol investigations.
Add Uptime Kuma in 30 Seconds
Keep Pulse for your infrastructure. Deploy Uptime Kuma on InstaPods for $3/mo, off your home network, so something can still tell you when everything else is down.
Deploy Uptime Kuma