--- title: Better Stack Uptime canonical: https://saasranked.com/software/better-stack-uptime/ category: Uptime Monitoring Software points: 81 rank: 2 of 10 facts_checked: 2026-10-09 --- # Better Stack Uptime Uptime monitoring with 30-second checks, on-call alerts and status pages, sold per responder licence. 81 points out of 100. #2 of 10 uptime monitoring services. Vendor: Better Stack. Website: https://betterstack.com/ - One Responder licence costs $29 a month billed yearly and includes 10 monitors and 10 heartbeats [1]. - Checks run as often as every 30 seconds on paid plans; the free plan checks every 3 minutes [1][2]. - Every extra 50 monitors cost $21 a month billed yearly [1]. - The free plan has 10 monitors and heartbeats, 1 status page, and Slack and email alerts [1]. - Better Stack says it is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant [10]. Verdict: Better Stack Uptime suits small teams that want fast checks, on-call scheduling and phone and SMS alerts in one product [1]. One licence includes unlimited phone and SMS alerts, Slack and Teams alerts, and one status page [1]. The catch: each person who needs Uptime access needs a paid licence, and more status pages and monitors cost extra [1]. Best for: Small engineering teams that want monitoring, on-call and incident alerts in one tool. ## Points | Criterion | Line | Value | Points | Note | |---|---|---|---|---| | Monitoring | Fastest check on the entry plan | 30 | 10/10 | Paid plans check as often as every 30 seconds; the free plan every 3 minutes [1][2]. | | Monitoring | Check types | Ping, TCP port, DNS, Keyword or response check | 8/8 | Ping, TCP/UDP port, DNS and keyword monitors are listed with no plan limit [1][3]. | | Monitoring | Check locations | 4 | 1/5 | Probe IPs are listed for 4 regions: Asia, Australia, Europe and the US; no city count is given [6]. | | Monitoring | SSL certificate expiry alerts | Yes | 5/5 | SSL certificate expiry alerts are built into monitors and need a paid plan [5]. | | Monitoring | Cron job (heartbeat) monitoring | Yes | 8/8 | 10 heartbeats are included; they monitor cron jobs and scheduled tasks [1][3]. | | Monitoring | Multi-step or browser checks | Yes | 5/5 | Playwright browser monitors run sign-in style flows; billed at $1 per 100 minutes, not labelled beta [1][4]. | | Alerts and status page | Alert channels | SMS, Phone call, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Webhook, PagerDuty | 12/12 | Phone, SMS, Slack, Teams and webhooks are listed under Uptime; PagerDuty is on the integrations page [1][7]. | | Alerts and status page | Public status page | Yes | 6/6 | One public status page is included [1]. | | Alerts and status page | Status page on your own domain | Yes | 3/3 | A status page can use your own domain through a CNAME record [8]. | | Alerts and status page | On-call schedules or escalation | Yes | 4/4 | On-call scheduling and escalation policies are built in [1][12]. | | Team and trust | SAML single sign-on | Yes | 5/5 | Okta SAML sign-in is documented; Okta and Azure SSO cost $5 per user a month [1][9]. | | Team and trust | SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 | Yes | 4/4 | The security page says Better Stack is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant [10]. | | Team and trust | Written uptime guarantee | Not published | 0/3 | Not published on the vendor's terms page [11]. | | Team and trust | Public API | Yes | 3/3 | A documented REST API manages monitors and is listed under Uptime [1][13]. | | Team and trust | Three or more team members | No | 0/3 | Unlimited team members get telemetry only; Uptime access needs a $29 Responder licence each [1]. | | Free plan and price | Monitors on the free plan | 10 | 4/6 | The free plan includes 10 monitors and heartbeats [1]. | | Free plan and price | Entry plan price | $29/mo | 2/6 | One Responder licence, $29 a month billed yearly, includes 10 monitors [1]. | | Free plan and price | Price with 50 monitors | $50/mo | 1/4 | Responder $29 plus one 50-monitor pack $21, billed yearly: 60 monitors, 30-second checks [1][2]. | ## Plans | Plan | Price | Per month (USD) | |---|---|---| | Free | Free [1][2] | $0 | | Responder | $29/month, billed yearly [1] | $29 | | Extra 50 monitors | $21/month, billed yearly [1] | $21 | The $29 yearly price is per Responder licence; $34 if billed monthly [1]. Add-ons for monitors, heartbeats, status pages and browser-check minutes are priced separately [1]. ## Strengths - Paid plans check every 30 seconds [1][2]. - Ping, TCP/UDP port, DNS, keyword, API, heartbeat and Playwright browser monitors are all documented [3]. - Phone, SMS, Slack, Teams, webhook and PagerDuty alerts are all listed [1][7]. - On-call scheduling and escalation rules are built in [1][12]. - SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and Okta SAML sign-in are listed [9][10]. ## Limits - Each person with Uptime access needs a $29 Responder licence; free team members get telemetry only [1]. - Okta and Azure sign-in cost $5 per user a month extra [1]. - Browser (Playwright) checks are billed at $1 per 100 minutes [1]. - A second public status page costs $12 a month billed yearly [1]. - The terms give no uptime percentage for the service itself [11]. ## Vendor claims (not scored) - Better Stack says it runs regular penetration tests through third-party testers [10]. ## Sources 1. [Pricing](https://betterstack.com/pricing), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 2. [Check frequency](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/check-frequency/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 3. [Uptime monitor (monitor types)](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/uptime-monitor/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 4. [Playwright monitor](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/playwright-monitor/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 5. [SSL certificate monitor](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/ssl-certificate-monitor/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 6. [Frequently asked questions](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/frequently-asked-questions/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 7. [Integrations](https://betterstack.com/integrations), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 8. [Custom domain for status pages](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/custom-subdomain/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 9. [Okta SAML setup instructions](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/okta-sso/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 10. [Security](https://betterstack.com/security), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 11. [Terms of service](https://betterstack.com/terms), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 12. [Escalation policies](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/escalation-policies/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09 13. [Create a monitor (Uptime API)](https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/api/create-a-new-monitor/), Better Stack, accessed 2026-10-09