Uptime Kuma vs UptimeRobot
Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial
Uptime Kuma
Free, self-hosted uptime monitor with status pages and dozens of notification channels.
UptimeRobot
Simple, inexpensive website and API uptime monitoring with a long-standing free plan.
The short answer
Uptime Kuma suits homelab users and small teams who want free, unlimited uptime checks on their own server; UptimeRobot suits people who want a hosted service that checks from outside their network with no maintenance. The biggest difference is where checks run: Uptime Kuma runs on your machine, UptimeRobot runs as a cloud service.
Uptime Kuma or UptimeRobot: our take
Both do the same core job: check websites, APIs and services, alert you when something goes down, and publish status pages. Uptime Kuma is open source under the MIT licence and usually installs with a single Docker command. It supports HTTP and keyword checks, JSON responses, TCP ports, ping, DNS, Docker containers, game servers and push heartbeats, with intervals as short as 20 seconds, alerts to more than 90 notification services, and multiple status pages on custom domains. UptimeRobot is a hosted service with web, iOS and Android apps, covering websites, APIs, ports, keywords, SSL certificates, domain expiry and cron heartbeats, with alerts by email, Slack, Discord, Telegram, SMS and webhooks.
Self-hosting changes what the results mean. Uptime Kuma checks from wherever you run it, so it can't tell whether a site is down for everyone or just unreachable from your server, and if that server goes down, so does your monitoring. UptimeRobot checks from outside your infrastructure and needs nothing to maintain.
Cost is the other trade-off. Uptime Kuma is free with no monitor limits; you only pay for the machine it runs on. UptimeRobot's free plan includes 50 monitors with a 5-minute check interval, intended for hobby and non-profit use. Paid plans shorten the interval to under a minute and add team seats and custom-domain status pages, with Solo from $108/year and Team at $360/year. Neither offers on-call scheduling or deep incident management.
Choose Uptime Kuma for a homelab, internal services, or when you want short intervals and many monitors at no cost and can keep a server running. Choose UptimeRobot for commercial sites that need an outside view and no upkeep. Some people run both, with UptimeRobot watching the server that hosts Uptime Kuma.
Which should you pick?
Choose Uptime Kuma if…
- Homelab users and small teams who want free uptime checks and status pages on their own server
- You want open-source software
- You need to host it on your own servers
- You need Self-hosted, which UptimeRobot doesn't list
- Free with no monitor limits
Choose UptimeRobot if…
- Freelancers and small teams who want cheap, reliable uptime alerts and a status page
- You need iOS and Android, which Uptime Kuma doesn't list
- Free plan with 50 monitors
- Very quick to set up
About each app
What is Uptime Kuma?
Uptime Kuma is a popular open-source uptime monitor you run yourself, usually with a single Docker command. It checks HTTP endpoints, keywords and JSON responses, TCP ports, ping, DNS records, Docker containers, game servers and push heartbeats, with intervals as short as twenty seconds. Alerts can go to more than ninety services including Telegram, Discord, Slack, email, Gotify and Pushover, and you can publish multiple status pages mapped to your own domains. The web interface is clean and reactive and supports two-factor login. Because it runs on your own machine, the main caveat is that monitoring from one location can't tell you whether a site is down for everyone or only reachable from your server, and you are responsible for keeping the monitor itself up. It is free under the MIT licence and runs anywhere Docker or Node.js does, including home servers and Raspberry Pis.
What is UptimeRobot?
UptimeRobot is one of the most widely used uptime checkers, mainly because its free plan has been generous for years. It pings websites, APIs, ports and servers, watches for keywords on pages, checks SSL certificates and domain expiry, and receives heartbeats from cron jobs, then alerts you by email, Slack, Discord, Telegram, SMS or webhooks when something goes down. Public status pages are included. The free plan checks every five minutes and is meant for hobby and non-profit use; paid plans shorten the interval to under a minute, add more monitor types, team seats and custom-domain status pages. It does not try to be an observability platform, so there are no logs, traces or on-call rotations beyond basic notification rules. It runs in the browser with iOS and Android apps.
Side by side
| Attribute | Uptime Kuma | UptimeRobot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Open source | Free plan + paid |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Self-hosted, Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Best for | Homelab users and small teams who want free uptime checks and status pages on their own server | Freelancers and small teams who want cheap, reliable uptime alerts and a status page |
| Status | Active | Active |
Uptime Kuma vs UptimeRobot pricing
Platforms
| Platform | Uptime Kuma | UptimeRobot |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Self-hosted |
Uptime Kuma facts
4 of 4 verified- Notification services
- 90+
- Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “90+ notification services”
- Shortest interval
- 20 seconds
- Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “20-second intervals”
- Status pages
- Multiple, custom domains
- Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Multiple status pages Map status pages to specific domains”
UptimeRobot facts
4 of 4 verified- Free plan
- 50 monitors
- Checked Oct 25, 2026uptimerobot.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Free $ 0 /month Good for hobby and non-profit projects. No credit card required! Register now 50 monitors 5 min.”
- Free check interval
- 5 minutes
- Checked Oct 25, 2026uptimerobot.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Free includes 5-minute intervals and basic status pages.”
- Solo plan
- From $108/year
- Checked Oct 25, 2026uptimerobot.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Free $ 0 Register now Solo Starts at $ 108 /y”
- Team plan
- $360/year
- Checked Oct 25, 2026uptimerobot.com(opens source in a new tab)
- “Free $ 0 Register now Solo Starts at $ 108 /y Subscribe now Team $ 360 /y”
Pros and cons of Uptime Kuma
- Free with no monitor limits
- Huge list of notification integrations
- One-command Docker install
- Checks come from a single location
- You have to monitor and maintain the monitor itself
- No built-in on-call scheduling
Pros and cons of UptimeRobot
- Free plan with 50 monitors
- Very quick to set up
- Low prices on paid tiers
- Free plan only checks every five minutes and is for non-commercial use
- No on-call scheduling or incident management depth
- Status page design options are basic
Other apps to consider
Uptime Kuma vs UptimeRobot: common questions
Is Uptime Kuma better than UptimeRobot?
Uptime Kuma suits homelab users and small teams who want free, unlimited uptime checks on their own server; UptimeRobot suits people who want a hosted service that checks from outside their network with no maintenance. The biggest difference is where checks run: Uptime Kuma runs on your machine, UptimeRobot runs as a cloud service.
Is Uptime Kuma free?
Yes. Uptime Kuma is free, open-source software you can host yourself.
Is UptimeRobot free?
UptimeRobot has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.
Is Uptime Kuma or UptimeRobot open source?
Uptime Kuma is open source; UptimeRobot is not.
Which platforms do Uptime Kuma and UptimeRobot support?
Uptime Kuma: Self-hosted and Web. UptimeRobot: Web, iOS and Android.