Uptime Kuma vs UptimeRobot
UptimeRobot's free tier gives you 50 monitors at 5-minute intervals. Pro starts at $7/mo for 1-minute checks. Uptime Kuma offers unlimited monitors with 20-second intervals for $3/mo on InstaPods.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | UptimeRobot | Uptime Kuma |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free (50 monitors), $7/mo Pro | $3/mo total (self-hosted on InstaPods) |
| Free Monitors | 50 (5-min interval) | Unlimited (self-hosted) |
| Check Interval | 5 min (Free), 1 min (Pro) | Down to 20 seconds |
| Monitor Types | HTTP, Keyword, Ping, Port | HTTP, TCP, DNS, Ping, Docker, MQTT, gRPC, and more |
| Status Pages | 1 (Free), custom domain (Pro) | Unlimited with custom domains |
| Response Time Charts | Basic (Free), advanced (Pro) | Detailed charts with history |
| SSL Monitoring | Pro only | Included |
| Notification Channels | Email, SMS, Slack, webhook | 90+ channels |
| Maintenance Windows | Pro only | Included |
| Source Code | Closed source | Open source (MIT license) |
Where UptimeRobot Gets Expensive
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
5-Minute Intervals on Free
Free monitors check every 5 minutes. Your site could be down for 4 minutes before you even know. Pro's 1-minute checks require $7/mo.
Limited Monitor Types
UptimeRobot supports HTTP, keyword, ping, and port checks. No Docker monitoring, no DNS checks, no gRPC, no MQTT. For modern infrastructure, that's not enough.
SSL Monitoring Is Pro Only
Monitoring SSL certificate expiry - something every website needs - requires a paid plan. Uptime Kuma includes it for free.
Ads on Free Status Pages
Free tier status pages show UptimeRobot branding and ads. Clean, branded status pages require the Pro plan.
Why Self-Host with Uptime Kuma?
What you get when you pick this stack.
20-Second Check Intervals
Detect downtime faster than UptimeRobot Pro's 1-minute minimum. Configurable down to 20-second intervals at no extra cost.
More Monitor Types
Beyond HTTP and ping, monitor Docker containers, DNS records, game servers, MQTT brokers, gRPC services, and more.
Clean Status Pages
No ads, no third-party branding. Your status pages look professional from day one.
Better UI
Uptime Kuma's dashboard is modern, responsive, and clean. UptimeRobot's interface hasn't changed much in years.
Real Cost Comparison
Monitoring 60 endpoints with 1-minute checks, SSL monitoring, and a branded status page.
- UptimeRobot Pro: $7/mo (50 monitors)
- Extra monitors: additional cost
- 1-minute check intervals: Pro required
- SSL monitoring: Pro required
- InstaPods Launch plan: $3/mo
- Uptime Kuma: free (open source)
- Unlimited monitors with 20s intervals
- SSL monitoring + status pages included
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not just use UptimeRobot's free plan?
UptimeRobot's free tier is decent for basic monitoring, but 5-minute intervals mean slow detection, and you miss features like SSL monitoring, maintenance windows, and clean status pages. For $3/mo on InstaPods, Uptime Kuma gives you everything UptimeRobot Pro offers and more.
Does UptimeRobot have better uptime than self-hosted?
UptimeRobot monitors from multiple locations, which is an advantage for detecting regional outages. Uptime Kuma monitors from your single server. For most teams, single-location monitoring is sufficient - you'll still catch downtime within 20 seconds.
Can I migrate from UptimeRobot to Uptime Kuma?
There's no automatic import, but re-creating monitors in Uptime Kuma is quick. Add the URL, set the interval, configure notifications - each monitor takes about 30 seconds to set up.
Is Uptime Kuma's UI really better?
Uptime Kuma has a clean, modern, reactive UI built with Vue.js. Real-time updates, smooth animations, and a responsive layout. UptimeRobot's dashboard works fine but feels dated in comparison.
Replace UptimeRobot in 30 Seconds
Deploy Uptime Kuma on InstaPods and stop paying for features that should be free.
Deploy Uptime Kuma