Better Uptime (now Better Stack) is a powerful platform built for larger teams with incident management and log aggregation. UptimeKarma is the simpler, more affordable alternative with built-in security scanning for individuals and small teams.
| Feature | UptimeKarma | Better Stack (Better Uptime) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free (5 monitors) | $24/month (10 monitors) |
| Uptime Monitoring | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SSL Certificate Monitoring | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Status Pages | ✓ Beautiful status pages | ✓ Beautiful status pages |
| Security Scanning | ✓ Built-in (API keys, headers, DNS, email) | Not included |
| Incident Management | Basic alerting | ✓ Full incident management |
| On-Call Scheduling | Not included | ✓ Built-in on-call |
| Log Management | Not included | ✓ Integrated log management |
| Multi-Channel Alerts | ✓ Email, Slack, Discord, Webhooks | ✓ Email, Slack, SMS, Phone calls |
| Setup Complexity | Simple (30 seconds) | More configuration needed |
| Target Audience | Individuals, small teams, startups | Larger teams, enterprises |
| Free Tier | ✓ Yes (5 monitors) | Limited free trial only |
| Exposed API Key Detection | ✓ Yes | Not included |
| Security Headers Analysis | ✓ Yes | Not included |
| Email Deliverability Checks | ✓ SPF, DKIM, DMARC | Not included |
10 monitors (vs Better Stack Starter)
Save $288/yr
$0/mo vs $24/mo
25 monitors comparison
Save $516/yr
$9/mo vs $52/mo
100 monitors comparison
Save $1,428/yr
$29/mo vs $148/mo
UptimeKarma scans your websites for accidentally exposed API keys, tokens, and credentials. Better Stack does not offer this feature.
Get a full security headers report including HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, and more. Know exactly where your site security stands.
Validate SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to ensure your emails reach inboxes. A unique feature not found in Better Stack.
Monitor up to 5 websites completely free, forever. Better Stack only offers a limited free trial before requiring payment.
Add a monitor in 30 seconds. No complex configuration, no lengthy onboarding. Just enter your URL and start monitoring.
Get uptime monitoring and security scanning in one tool. No need to pay for separate security auditing services.
Yes. Better Uptime rebranded to Better Stack in 2023 to reflect their expanded product suite that now includes uptime monitoring, incident management, on-call scheduling, and log management. The uptime monitoring product is still the same core offering.
UptimeKarma focuses specifically on uptime monitoring and security scanning for individuals and small teams. Better Stack is an enterprise observability platform with incident management, on-call scheduling, and log management. We keep costs low by focusing on what small teams actually need rather than building enterprise features most users never use.
No. Better Stack focuses on uptime monitoring, incident management, and log aggregation. UptimeKarma is unique in combining uptime monitoring with built-in security scanning that detects exposed API keys, analyzes security headers, checks DNS configuration, and validates email deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
UptimeKarma provides alerting via email, Slack, Discord, and webhooks when your monitors detect issues. However, if you need full incident management with escalation policies, on-call rotation, and post-mortems, Better Stack is the better choice for those specific features. Many teams use UptimeKarma for monitoring and a separate tool for incident management if needed.
Yes. Both UptimeKarma and Better Stack offer beautiful, customizable status pages. You can share real-time uptime data with your users and customers through a public status page on both platforms.
UptimeKarma is built for you. Start with the free plan (5 monitors, no credit card needed), get security scanning included, and upgrade only when you need more monitors. Better Stack's pricing starts at $24/month which is hard to justify for personal projects or small side businesses.
Absolutely. Simply sign up for UptimeKarma, add your monitor URLs, and you'll be up and running in minutes. We recommend running both platforms in parallel for a few days to verify everything works before switching completely.
Start monitoring in 30 seconds. No credit card required. Built-in security scanning included.
Get Started FreeFree plan includes 5 monitors with security scanning. Upgrade anytime.