Website monitoring services offer peace of mind. They guard the website against attacks and problems such as hacks, broken HTTP connections, and unauthorized changes. These tools keep an eye on not just the homepage but all other pages as well. You receive immediate alerts in case of any suspicious activity.
There are several things one must consider when picking a website monitor service. These include features, prices, ease of use, etc. Let’s have a look at some of the best paid and free options out there.
If you do not know much about website monitoring or if you haven’t used it before, then we suggest you first start with a free tool. While free software may not be as powerful as paid tools, they can still do the trick. Let’s have a look at some of the best free options.
Uptime Robot is among the best free monitoring services out there. You can also opt for a paid version ($54/year), but the first one is quite powerful.
Introduced in 2010, it is among the oldest yet most powerful services. The free version covers a total of 50 monitors. This cloud-based platform is mainly designed as an uptime monitoring tool as it is focused on keeping the site up and running. The tool sends instant reports via email if the website goes down.
It offers 5-minute monitoring intervals and 2 months of logs. However, you can opt for the premium version for more powerful features including 80 SMS credits, 1-minute intervals, and 12 months of logs.
While Uptime Robot works excellent, it does have a minor downside. It doesn’t have many international servers with the headquarter located in Texas. Plus, it also does not offer manual alert testing and page speed insights.
This free-to-use tool has a paid version as well that costs $70/month. Moreover, the company also offers a 15-day trial period of the paid version to help you understand what the premium feature has to offer.
The paid version offers more locations, multiple monitoring servers, and other such options. However, the free version is not too bad either. It publishes regular reports with valuable data and can be quite useful for website owners.
It covers network performance, uptime issues, and server performance. Moreover, it also allows users to create their website metrics and measurements to track in real-time. You also get to enjoy 2 monitoring locations, 24 hours of logs, and 30-minute monitoring intervals with the free version. It’s available in English and German and is quite easy to use.
With 3 monitors and 30-minute intervals, Montastic is a great free tool for users. However, it may not be suitable for big websites as it’s said to be designed for small sites.
The tool updates users on downtime, page errors, and multiple user logins. Reports are mailed to the user, and the tool is also very easy to use. Moreover, the platform also has apps on all major operating systems including Android and iOS. This makes it easy to keep an eye on the website on the go. The premium version is available for only $29/month and offers 5-minute intervals with 200 monitors.
While free monitoring tools are great, they do have some drawbacks. You may either choose to upgrade it or try something different. Let’s have a look at some of the best-paid website monitoring services. They’re known for incredible features, great support, and excellent interface.
Pingdom is considered an expensive option by many, but you can start for as low as $14.95/mo. Annual packages are more affordable than monthly packages that start for as low as $11.95/mo.
All the packages – except for the Enterprise package – come with trial versions so that you can use the service before you make a purchase. All the packages offer unlimited data retention with 1-minute check interval. Uptime checks, however, start at 10 and go up to 250.
The service is designed for professionals and has servers all around the world. It monitors website uptime and works 24/7. It’s also highly reliable and does not send wrong downtime reports as there are multiple servers pinging the site.
Its support (email and phone) is also excellent. The agents respond very quickly are always available to help you figure out issues. It can handle 250 website checks/month and can also help increase website speed. With 30-minute check intervals and 2 weeks of data retention, it’s quite a powerful tool.
Site24x7 is among the cheapest paid monitoring services. It starts as low as $9 and goes up to $89/month. You can start with a 30-day trial before purchasing a package. Some of its defining features include the ability to monitor issues with the network connection, server responsiveness, website downtime, server CPU usage, website loading, overall performance, firewall performance, disc performance, internet performance, and memory performance.
It gives the power to run reports whenever required with data up to one year. Moreover, the service also offers instant alerts in the form of text messages or emails informing you in case something goes wrong with the site. The package includes messaging cost as well. Anyway, the SMS credits are limited (starting at 20).
The basic package offers 5 monitors and 1-minute monitoring intervals. The premium version takes it up a notch by providing 50 monitors, unlimited logs, 1-minute monitoring intervals, and multi-user access. It allows users to monitor apps in real-time and the ability to download reports to share with professionals and service providers. The system is very elementary to use, especially since it offers mobile access, making it possible to use the tool from anywhere.
Uptrends has won several awards from known magazines for its great features. You can start for as low as $11.67/mo if you opt for a year. The professional edition is available for $163.37/month. It’s a highly comprehensive tool that’s suitable for large websites as it covers almost all aspect of a website. We suggest you start with a trial to know more about what it has to offer.
A lot of its features are unique and cannot be found on other platforms. It can also monitor SaaS tools to ensure performance, security, and stability. In addition to this, the service can also keep an eye on API frameworks, mobile sites, and mobile apps. Additionally, you can enjoy customized reporting capabilities as well.
Host-Tracker is all about alerting and tracking. Launched in 2007, it is among the oldest and most reliable services today and is used by names like Microsoft, Panasonic and Colgate.
It offers over 80 monitoring locations with international supports. You can start with a free plan to understand how the system works. But the paid version offers more features including shorter intervals and more URLs to monitor.
The alerts work in real-time and are send via email, SMS, voice and even Skype. Moreover, checks can be performed for up to 1-minute. Monitoring period can be every 1/5/15/30/60 minutes based on the package.
Name | Price | Monitors | Intervals | History | SMS | Rating |
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1. Uptime Robot | Free | 50 | 5 min | 2 month | No |
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2. Pingdom | $11.95/mo | 10 | 1 min | Unlimited | 50 |
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3. Site24x7 | $9/mo | 10 | 1 min | 1 year | 50 |
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4. Uptrends | $11.67/mo | 10 | 1 min | 1 year | 60 |
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5. Host-Tracker | $9.92/mo | 10 | 5 min | 1 year | 100 |
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6. Monitor.us | Free | 2 | 30 min | 1 day | No |
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7. Montastic | Free | 3 | 30 min | No | No |
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Website monitoring is a process that involves testing and verifying if a website and all its pages are working properly or not. It mainly checks the website from the perspective of end-users to ensure they can interact with the website or web app as expected. The technique is generally used by businesses to guarantee website performance, functionality, and uptime.
Website uptime is the time that the website or web app is up and running, i.e.: available to users. Most businesses intend to provide 100% uptime, but due to circumstances, it may not be possible. Hence companies typically guarantee a 99.9% uptime. A website may go down due to many reasons. Controlling these can help keep the site up and running.
Website monitoring is required to ensure a website stays up. This is very important from a business point of view. Nobody trusts a website that keeps going down.
Imagine the impact if a potential user lands on your site with the intention to buy but finds it down. The person will most probably go to your competitor, resulting in not only you losing a potential client but your image as well.
This can result in poor goodwill as well. It is hard to take a business seriously if it cannot be up and running – especially if it is an online business. Site monitoring can help control the problem by allowing businesses to know when a site is down. So they can solve problems quickly and easily.
No, it is not mandatory, but it is important because it helps in a lot of ways. It’s more of an investment since it can help you sort out issues and guarantee more uptime.
This depends on your requirements. If you have a small business, then a free tool would be enough, but if it’s a big business, then we suggest that you go for a paid tool.
Not really. Most tools are self-explanatory and easy to use. Anyone with a bit of experience in handling sites can understand reports and set up monitoring services.
We suggest you go for a yearly package as it helps you save money. However, if it’s your first time or if you’re not sure of using the service in the long-run then a monthly package may be more suitable.
Most paid tools have several packages such as standard and premium. The right one largely depends on your needs and budget. If you have a big company then going for the Enterprise edition may be the right option. Discuss your requirements with the provider for more details.
These were some of the best website monitoring services out there. You may choose a paid version or a free version depending on your needs and budget. Free services may lack some features but can be quite useful for small sites. However, we suggest that you pick a tool keeping your requirements in mind. Since most options offer a trial period, it’s better than you sign up for one before you purchase the full version so that you know what you’re taking on.