Why Uptime Monitoring Matters
Every minute of downtime costs money and erodes user trust. Whether you're running a SaaS product, an e-commerce store, or an internal API, knowing the moment something goes down is critical. Uptime monitoring tools check your endpoints at regular intervals and alert you when something breaks.
But not every team has the budget for enterprise monitoring. That's why free tiers matter — they let you get started without a credit card and scale when you're ready.
What to Look For
Before comparing tools, here's what matters most in an uptime monitor:
- Check frequency — How often does it ping your endpoints? 30 seconds vs. 5 minutes is a big difference.
- Alert channels — Email is baseline. Slack, SMS, and webhooks are table stakes in 2026.
- Status pages — Can you share uptime with your users without a separate tool?
- Incident management — Does it help you manage the response, or just fire an alert?
- Monitor limits — How many endpoints can you monitor on the free plan?
The Top Free Tools
1. Encompass
Encompass is a modern monitoring platform built for teams that need uptime monitoring, incident management, and status pages in one place.
Free tier highlights:
- 5 monitors with 30-second check intervals
- Integrated incident management and on-call scheduling
- Public and private status pages included
- Slack, Discord, email, and webhook integrations
- No credit card required
Best for: Teams that want monitoring, incidents, and status pages without stitching together three different tools.
2. UptimeRobot
One of the most well-known free monitoring tools. UptimeRobot has been around for over a decade.
Free tier highlights:
- 50 monitors with 5-minute intervals
- Email alerts
- Basic status pages
Trade-offs: 5-minute intervals mean you could be down for minutes before you know. No built-in incident management.
3. BetterStack (formerly Better Uptime)
BetterStack combines monitoring with incident management and status pages, similar to Encompass.
Free tier highlights:
- 10 monitors with 3-minute intervals
- Incident timeline
- Status pages
Trade-offs: Some advanced features (like on-call schedules) are locked behind paid plans.
4. Pingdom (Solarwinds)
An enterprise-grade tool with a limited free trial rather than a permanent free tier.
Trade-offs: No true free plan — just a 14-day trial. Primarily aimed at larger organizations.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Encompass | UptimeRobot | BetterStack | Pingdom | |---------|-----------|-------------|-------------|---------| | Free monitors | 5 | 50 | 10 | Trial only | | Check interval | 30s | 5 min | 3 min | 1 min | | Status pages | Yes | Basic | Yes | Yes | | Incident management | Yes | No | Yes | No | | On-call scheduling | Yes | No | Paid | Paid |
Our Take
If you just need to know when something is down, UptimeRobot's generous 50-monitor free tier is hard to beat — as long as 5-minute intervals are acceptable.
If you want faster checks and an integrated workflow for actually responding to incidents, Encompass and BetterStack are the stronger choices. Encompass stands out by including on-call scheduling and 30-second intervals on the free plan.
The best tool is the one you'll actually set up and use. All of these offer free tiers or trials — pick one and start monitoring today.