PingRobot / Compare / Uptime Kuma
PingRobot vs Uptime Kuma
Uptime Kuma is free, open-source and very capable — if you have a server to run it on and time to keep it updated. PingRobot is hosted: nothing to install, patch or back up, checks run from Cloudflare's network instead of your own machine, and failures are confirmed from a second region before you're alerted.
Uptime Kuma features were checked on 16 October 2026 in its official GitHub repository (README and license). Uptime Kuma has no pricing page; the software is free. PingRobot prices are in US dollars before tax.
Cost and running it
| PingRobot Free | Uptime Kuma | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Sign up and add a URL | Install with Docker, or Node.js 20.4+ with Git and pm2 |
| Server needed | No | Yes, one you pay for and maintain |
| Updates, backups, uptime of the monitor itself | Handled for you | Your job |
| Where checks run from | Cloudflare's network, failures re-checked from a second region | The one server you install it on |
| Email alerts | Built in | You configure an SMTP server |
| Software price | $0 for 10 monitors | $0 (MIT license) |
| Monitors | 10 | No plan limit |
| Fastest interval | 5 minutes | 20 seconds |
| Monitor types | HTTP(S), API (JSON rules), keyword, DNS, TCP port, heartbeat | HTTP(S), keyword, JSON query, TCP, ping, DNS, WebSocket, push, Docker, game servers |
| Notifications | Email, signed webhooks | 90+ services, including Telegram, Discord, Slack and Pushover |
| Status pages | 1, on yourname.pingrobot.io, with announcements and status, uptime and SLA badges | Multiple, mapped to your own domains |
The software is free either way. The real comparison is the server, your time, and where the checks come from: a monitor running on the same box or network as your site can go down with it, and then nobody is told.
PingRobot Pro vs running Uptime Kuma
| PingRobot Pro | Uptime Kuma, self-hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $9/month, or $90/year ($7.50/month) | Free software, plus whatever your server costs |
| Your time | None for maintenance | Installing, updating, backing up and monitoring the monitor |
| Monitors and interval | 50, every minute | As many as your server handles, down to 20 seconds |
| SSL certificate expiry reminders | Yes, plus host name, intermediate and issuer-change alerts | Certificate info |
| History | 1 year | Kept on your server |
Where PingRobot is ahead
- Nothing to run: no server, Docker, reverse proxy, SMTP, updates or backups.
- Independent of your infrastructure: checks come from Cloudflare's network, not from a box that can fail with your site, and every failure is re-checked from a second region before an alert goes out.
- Certificate and domain warnings: SSL expiry reminders, host name mismatch, missing intermediate and issuer-change alerts, and domain expiry reminders from RDAP (SSL certificate monitoring).
- Signed webhooks you can verify (webhook docs), and SLA targets with a monthly SLA email.
- Room to grow: Business is $29 a month ($290 a year) for 250 monitors checked every 30 seconds, 100 status pages, 2 years of history and 10 team members as admins or viewers, still with nothing to host.
- Automation: a documented REST API with an OpenAPI 3.1 document, and a remote MCP server for Claude, Cursor and VS Code, on every plan.
Where Uptime Kuma is ahead
- Free and open source, with no monitor limit and full control over your data.
- More monitor types and faster checks: ping, WebSocket, Docker and game servers, down to 20 seconds, including services on your private network.
- 90+ notification services and multiple status pages on your own domains without a paid plan.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Uptime Kuma if you already run a server you trust, enjoy self-hosting, and want ping, Docker or internal-network monitoring at no software cost.
Choose PingRobot if you'd rather not run and babysit a monitoring server, and want your public sites, APIs, DNS records, certificates, domains and cron jobs watched from outside your own infrastructure. It also works well as the outside check on an Uptime Kuma box.
Start monitoring free — 10 monitors, no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Is Uptime Kuma really free?
Yes. Uptime Kuma is open-source software under the MIT license, with no plans or limits to buy. You pay for and look after the server it runs on, and you set up email (SMTP) or another notification service yourself.
Why use a hosted monitor instead of Uptime Kuma?
A monitor should not fail together with the thing it watches. If Uptime Kuma runs on the same server, network or provider as your site, an outage can take both down and no alert goes out. A hosted service like PingRobot runs elsewhere and re-checks failures from a second region.
What does Uptime Kuma have that PingRobot doesn't?
Ping, WebSocket, Docker container and game server monitors, 20-second intervals, more than 90 notification services including Telegram, Discord, Slack, Gotify and Pushover, multiple status pages on your own domains without a paid plan, and full control over your data.
Can I use both?
Yes, and it is a sensible setup. Keep Uptime Kuma for internal services on your network and use PingRobot's Free plan to watch your public sites, and the Uptime Kuma server itself, from outside.