Quick answer
Checkly - Checkly wins for builders who need code-first browser/API testing in the free tier, while UptimeRobot is the better free pick for straightforward uptime monitoring with more monitor headroom.
How the free tiers compare
These free tiers are aimed at different jobs. Checkly is a monitoring and testing tool that gives you a small but real slice of its paid product: uptime checks, API checks, browser or Playwright runs, alerting, status pages, and code-first setup. That makes it better if your checks are part of a dev workflow, not just a health page. UptimeRobot is narrower but simpler: it gives you more monitors on the free plan, longer historical retention in the paid ladder, and a cleaner path if your main task is watching endpoints, ports, pings, DNS, SSL, or keywords. Checkly’s free tier is stronger on test automation depth. UptimeRobot’s free tier is stronger on breadth of basic monitoring and monitor count. The paid paths stay flat-priced at the low end, then diverge when Checkly moves deeper into testing and UptimeRobot moves toward seat-heavy team monitoring.
Checkly vs UptimeRobot free tier, side by side
| ChecklyFTV 58 | UptimeRobotFTV 53 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free monitorsUptimeRobot gives much more headroom for basic checks. | 10 uptime monitors | Up to 50 monitors |
| Check frequencyCheckly checks more often on free, while UptimeRobot allows more monitors. | Uptime checks every 2 minutes | 5-minute monitoring intervals |
| Browser / Playwright runsThis is one of Checkly’s main free-tier advantages. | Up to 1,000 per month | Not included |
| API check runsUptimeRobot supports API monitoring. | Up to 10,000 per month | API monitoring included |
| Public locations | 6 public locations | Multi-location monitoring |
| AlertingUptimeRobot’s free tier does not include notify seats. | Email, Slack, and webhook alerting | Up to 5 integrations |
| Status pagesUptimeRobot free status pages are more limited. | Up to 20 status page services, 250 subscribers, 1 custom dashboard | Basic status pages |
| Data retentionUptimeRobot explicitly lists retention on the free plan. | Not stated | 3 months |
After you outgrow the free tier
Both products start with flat-priced paid tiers, so the near-term cost is easy to predict. Checkly’s first paid plan is Starter at $24/month, then Team at $64/month, with Enterprise on a custom quote. UptimeRobot starts lower at Solo for $8/month, then Team at $34/month, then Enterprise at $64/month. So UptimeRobot is cheaper for basic monitoring teams, while Checkly costs more but adds browser and API test capacity and a more code-first workflow.
When to pick each one
Pick Checkly when…
- You want browser or Playwright checks as part of a free plan, not just uptime pings.
- You need API checks with a code-first workflow using CLI, TypeScript, Terraform, Pulumi, or REST API.
- You want a free status page and alerting that fit a developer-centric monitoring setup.
- You only need a small number of uptime monitors and care more about test depth than monitor count.
Pick UptimeRobot when…
- You want the most free monitors for basic website and endpoint uptime tracking.
- You need monitor types like ping, port, DNS, SSL, domain expiration, or keyword checks on the free tier.
- You want a simple monitoring setup without browser test runs or code-first workflow overhead.
- You expect to stay in basic uptime monitoring and want a lower-cost entry point to paid plans.
Bottom line
For most builders choosing a free tier, UptimeRobot is the safer default if the job is basic uptime monitoring and you want the most monitors for free at the lowest paid entry price. Checkly is the better free tier when monitoring is really testing, especially if you need browser or Playwright checks and want to keep the workflow in code. If your team is small and mostly watching endpoints, UptimeRobot wins. If your checks are part of CI or release validation, Checkly is the stronger fit.
Read the full listings: Checkly and UptimeRobot. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.