[1,183 words, 6 minute read time]
Free uptime monitoring is perfect for side projects, early-stage sites, and teams that just need a basic “is it down?” signal. But free is fine until uptime becomes revenue—then you’ll want faster checks, better alerting, multi-region confirmation, and incident workflows.
Below are the best free uptime monitoring options by use case, what free plans usually limit, and the exact “upgrade triggers” to decide when to move up.
If you’re building a full monitoring strategy (not just picking a tool), start with the complete guide.
What free plans typically limit (and why it matters)
Most free website monitoring tiers restrict some combination of:
1) Check frequency (interval)
Free plans often cap you at 5 minutes (sometimes more), which affects detection speed. For example, UptimeRobot’s free plan checks every 5 minutes. (UptimeRobot Help Center)
Worst-case detection delay ≈ your interval (5-minute checks → worst-case ~5 minutes). If you’re choosing between 1-minute vs 5-minute monitoring, see check frequency.
2) Number of monitors / sites
Some free plans are generous (dozens of monitors), while others allow only one or a handful.
3) Alert channels + integrations
Email is usually included. SMS/phone escalation, on-call, advanced routing, and richer integrations may be restricted or paid.
4) Regions / global checks
Multi-location monitoring often requires a paid tier, or it’s limited in free tiers. This matters because regional outages are real (CDN edge issues, DNS resolvers, routing).
5) Collaboration + reporting
Free tiers often limit team seats, audit history, longer retention, SLA reporting, and stakeholder-friendly dashboards.
Bottom line: free tools can be excellent—just make sure their limits match your risk profile.
Quick picks by use case (“pick this if…”)
Best free uptime monitoring for a single site (simple + reliable)
UptimeRobot (Free) — a great default for beginners and busy pros
- Free plan supports up to 50 monitors, with 5-minute checks. (UptimeRobot)
- Strong baseline monitor types (HTTP, ping, port) and keyword checks are highlighted in their feature/pricing pages. (UptimeRobot)
When it’s ideal: one site or a few sites, you want something you’ll actually set up and keep.
Best free for a small team that wants a status page included
Better Stack (Free) — monitoring + a status page mindset
- Free includes 10 monitors and 3-minute checks, plus a status page. (BetterStack)
When it’s ideal: small teams that want a more ops-oriented workflow without going full enterprise.
Best free for multi-site monitoring on a budget (with integrations)
StatusCake (Free) — good multi-site starter
- Free plan includes 10 uptime monitors and 5-minute test intervals (plus alerts through integrations). (StatusCake)
When it’s ideal: you’ve got multiple sites but want a simple, structured dashboard.
Best free for 1-minute checks (where speed matters)
Two options commonly used:
- Freshping (Free) — advertised as monitoring 50 URLs every 60 seconds with status pages and multiple locations/integrations (details vary by where you view the plan info). (Freshworks)
- HetrixTools (Free) — advertises 15 uptime monitors checked every 1 minute. (hetrixtools.com)
When it’s ideal: you want faster detection without paying—just keep an eye on plan constraints and operational fit. (HetrixTools notes a requirement to keep accounts active by logging in periodically.) (HetrixTools)
Best “free” if you’re technical and want full control (self-hosted)
Uptime Kuma (Self-hosted, open source)
- Open-source/self-hosted, supports many monitor types and very frequent intervals (their GitHub lists ~20-second intervals and lots of notification options). (GitHub)
When it’s ideal: you’re comfortable running a service (Docker/VPS) and prefer ownership over SaaS limits.
Best “free” if you want a GitHub-powered status page + checks
Upptime (Open source via GitHub Actions)
- Runs checks via GitHub Actions and publishes a status page via GitHub Pages; the docs describe how it works. (GitHub)
- The project site notes checks every 5 minutes. (upptime.js.org)
When it’s ideal: dev teams already living in GitHub who want a lightweight, version-controlled approach.
Comparison table (free tiers at a glance)
| Tool | Best for | Free monitor/site limit | Typical free interval | Status page | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UptimeRobot | Best all-around starter | 50 monitors (UptimeRobot) | 5 min (UptimeRobot Help Center) | Basic status pages (varies by plan) (UptimeRobot) | 5-min detection on free; advanced ops features may be paid |
| Better Stack | Small teams + status page workflow | 10 monitors (BetterStack) | 3 min (BetterStack) | Yes (BetterStack) | Free limits are tighter on monitor count |
| StatusCake | Multi-site starter | 10 uptime monitors (StatusCake) | 5 min (StatusCake) | (Available depending on plan/features) | Monitor count + interval constraints on free |
| Freshping | 1-min checks on free (good for side projects) | 50 URLs (Freshworks) | 1 min (Freshworks) | Yes (public status pages referenced) (BetterStack) | Plan details/packaging can be confusing—verify current limits |
| HetrixTools | 1-min checks + many alert channels | 15 monitors (hetrixtools.com) | 1 min (hetrixtools.com) | (Varies by features) | Must keep account active (periodic login) (HetrixTools) |
| Uptimia | Single-site “try it free” | 1 website (Uptimia.com) | 5 min (Uptimia.com) | Yes (product focus includes status pages in paid) | Free is very limited (1 site) (Uptimia.com) |
| Uptime Kuma | Self-hosted control | “Unlimited” (your infra) (Uptime Kuma) | ~20 sec possible (GitHub) | Multiple status pages (GitHub) | You own hosting, upgrades, uptime of the monitor itself |
| Upptime | GitHub-native monitoring | “Unlimited” endpoints (practical limits apply) (GitHub) | 5 min (upptime.js.org) | Yes (GitHub) | GitHub Actions scheduling/ops constraints; not ideal for high-frequency |
Note: Free plan details change—always confirm against the current pricing/docs for your chosen tool.
When you’ll outgrow free (upgrade triggers)
Use these as your “upgrade checklist”—the moment you check 2–3 of these boxes, paid monitoring usually pays for itself.
Upgrade checklist
- Revenue is tied to uptime (ecommerce, lead-gen ads, paid campaigns)
- You need 1-minute checks (or faster) consistently (not just occasionally)
- You need multi-location confirmation (regional outages are impacting users)
- You need SMS/phone/paging escalation and real on-call routing
- You need more than ~10–50 monitors (multiple sites, microservices, many endpoints)
- You need transaction/multi-step checks (login, checkout, onboarding)
- You need SLA reporting or stakeholder reporting (clients, procurement, leadership)
- You’re suffering alert fatigue and need smarter alert rules (grouping, dedupe, maintenance windows)
If you’re not sure whether 1-minute checks are worth it, read check frequency.
Minimal monitoring stack on a budget (works even on free)
You don’t need an expensive stack to be “grown-up” about uptime. Here’s a lean setup:
Starter monitoring stack (budget edition)
- HTTP monitor for homepage
- Keyword monitor for the page that equals success (pricing, booking, login, checkout load)
- Two alert paths
- Email (always)
- Slack/webhook (team visibility)
- A one-page runbook
- who responds
- first checks (hosting, DNS, deploys, WAF)
- how to communicate
For alert routing and reducing noise, use alerts best practices.
Common mistake: staying free without defining the “upgrade threshold”
Free tiers are best when you treat them like a phase, not a permanent strategy.
Pick one measurable upgrade threshold now, like:
- “If monthly revenue crosses $X, we move to 1-minute checks.”
- “If we run paid campaigns, we upgrade during campaign windows.”
- “If we add a second region of users, we pay for multi-location confirmation.”
- “If downtime would cost more than one month of monitoring, we upgrade.”
If you want the broader monitoring roadmap beyond tool choice, revisit the complete guide.
CTA: Start free, but set an “upgrade threshold” now
Start with a free tool—that’s smart. But don’t leave the upgrade decision to panic during an outage.
CTA: Start free, but set an “upgrade threshold” now (revenue, traffic, regions, or SLA expectations) so you know exactly when to level up.