Looking for a hosted Uptime Kuma alternative?
Uptime Kuma is the gold standard for self-hosted uptime monitoring — open source, feature-packed, with 90+ notification integrations. SitePulse is the hosted equivalent for indie devs who'd rather not run a VPS. Here's how they actually compare in 2026.
TL;DR
- Pick Uptime Kuma if you enjoy self-hosting, already have a VPS, want full data ownership, or need 90+ notification channels and many monitor types (TCP, DNS, Docker, etc.).
- Pick SitePulseif you want zero ops — a hosted monitor on independent infrastructure that catches outages a self-hosted tool can't.
- The one thing self-hosting can't fix: if Uptime Kuma runs on your infra and your infra goes down, the monitor is also down — and you won't get alerts.
Total cost comparison
SitePulse
- Free — 5 monitors · 5-min$0
- Pro — 25 monitors · 1-min · 90-day history$9 / mo
- Business — 150 monitors · 1-min · 1-yr history$29 / mo
Hosted. Total cost is what you see — no infra to provision.
Uptime Kuma (self-hosted)
- Software — Open source, MIT licensed$0
- VPS — Hetzner / DigitalOcean / Linode$5-15 / mo
- Your time — Updates, TLS, backups, monitoring the monitor~1 hr / mo
Software is free; total cost-of-ownership is the VPS plus your hours.
Side-by-side
Hosting model
Software cost
Hidden / infra cost
Free plan monitors
Check interval
Setup time
Public status page
Email alerts
Slack / Discord / 90+ integrations
Probes from independent infra
Maintenance burden
Data ownership
Best for
Uptime Kuma details based on the open-source project as of early 2026. See the project README for the latest features.
When Uptime Kuma is the right call
- You already run a VPS or homelab and self-hosting is fun.
- You need monitor types beyond HTTP — TCP, DNS, Docker containers, ping, Steam servers, etc.
- Full data ownership is non-negotiable (compliance, privacy, preference).
- You need 90+ notification channels (Telegram, Gotify, ntfy, Pushover, the works).
- You're monitoring something on the public internet from a separate VPS — not the same infra as the thing being monitored.
When SitePulse is the right call
- You want a monitor that runs on independent infra — so it still alerts you if your hosting goes down.
- You don't want to babysit a VPS, renew TLS, or run Docker upgrades.
- A 60-second setup and a hosted status page out of the box matter to you.
- You're happy with HTTP/HTTPS monitoring and don't need the exotic monitor types.
- Your time is worth more than $9/mo.
Try SitePulse free
5 monitors, 5-minute checks, email alerts, public status page — free forever. No credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I pay for SitePulse when Uptime Kuma is free?+
Two main reasons. First, Uptime Kuma isn't really free once you count the VPS cost ($5-15/mo) and your maintenance time (Docker upgrades, TLS renewals, DB backups). For one or two monitors, the $9 SitePulse Pro is often cheaper than running your own VPS. Second — and this is the big one — Uptime Kuma running on your own server can't tell you when your server is down. SitePulse runs on independent infrastructure, so it catches outages that a self-hosted monitor would miss.
Can SitePulse do everything Uptime Kuma does?+
Not yet. Uptime Kuma has 90+ notification integrations (Telegram, Discord, Slack, Gotify, ntfy, you name it), supports many more monitor types (TCP, ping, DNS, Docker container, Steam server, etc.), and gives you full data ownership. SitePulse focuses narrowly on HTTP/HTTPS uptime + a status page. Webhooks are coming, but if you need the full integration breadth or non-HTTP monitor types, Uptime Kuma is more capable today.
What's the catch with self-hosting Uptime Kuma?+
Three catches. (1) The probe runs on your infrastructure — if your VPS goes down or your network has issues, your monitor goes down too, and you won't get alerts. (2) Maintenance is on you — Docker image updates, TLS cert renewal, DB backups, monitoring the monitor. (3) If you're hosting Uptime Kuma on the same provider as your app and that provider has an outage, both go down together. SitePulse is on separate infrastructure, which is the whole point of monitoring.
How long does Uptime Kuma take to set up?+
Realistically 30-60 minutes if you're comfortable with Docker, plus ongoing maintenance. You'll need: a VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode), Docker installed, a reverse proxy (Caddy/Nginx) with TLS, a domain or subdomain, SMTP credentials for email alerts, and a backup strategy. SitePulse takes 60 seconds: sign up, paste URL, done.
Does SitePulse have a free plan?+
Yes. 5 monitors, 5-minute check interval, email alerts, and a public status page — all free, forever, no credit card. For most side projects this is enough. Upgrade to Pro ($9/mo) when you need 1-minute checks or more than 5 monitors.
Where do you run the checks from?+
Tokyo (ap-northeast-1) — independent infrastructure, separate from any of your hosting. Multi-region voting is on the roadmap to suppress single-network false positives. The key point: SitePulse probes never run on the same infrastructure as the thing being monitored, which is what makes external monitoring meaningful.