Quick answer
UptimeRobot - UptimeRobot wins for most builders because its free tier covers far more monitors and longer retention, while OnlineOrNot wins only if you need better status pages and team collaboration on a smaller monitoring setup.
How the free tiers compare
These are both uptime tools, but they optimize for different starting points. OnlineOrNot’s free tier is narrower and more curated: 3 monitors, 3-minute checks, 1,000 browser check runs, 1 status page, 2 team members, and direct Slack/Discord/email alerts. It is useful if you want a small, usable monitoring stack with collaboration baked in. UptimeRobot’s free tier is broader on raw coverage: up to 50 monitors, 5-minute intervals, 3 months of retention, API access, basic status pages, and up to 5 integrations. It gives you much more room to monitor many endpoints before paying, but it is thinner on team access and status-page polish. Once paid, OnlineOrNot stays simple and cheap at $15/month, while UptimeRobot adds clearer team and enterprise steps starting at $8/month and $34/month.
OnlineOrNot vs UptimeRobot free tier, side by side
| OnlineOrNot FTV 56 | UptimeRobot FTV 53 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free monitors UptimeRobot gives much more free monitor capacity. | 3 uptime monitors | Up to 50 monitors |
| Monitoring interval OnlineOrNot checks more frequently on free. | 3-minute interval | 5-minute interval |
| Browser / synthetic checks Only OnlineOrNot includes browser check quotas in the provided data. | 1,000 browser check runs/month | Not listed |
| Status pages UptimeRobot does not provide a numeric free status-page quota here. | 1 included | Basic status pages |
| Team access UptimeRobot free tier excludes dashboard access seats. | 2 team members included | No login seats included |
| Integrations The products frame integrations differently, so this is not a like-for-like quota. | Slack and Discord alerts included | Up to 5 integrations |
| Data retention UptimeRobot keeps free history much longer. | 14 days | 3 months |
| API access UptimeRobot includes API access on the free tier. | Not listed | Included |
After you outgrow the free tier
OnlineOrNot’s first paid tier is Pro at $15/month, with a flat monthly model and a simple jump from 3 monitors to 10, plus faster checks and more browser runs. UptimeRobot starts cheaper at Solo for $8/month, also flat-priced, then moves to Team at $34/month and Enterprise at $64/month. The main cost divergence is that UptimeRobot scales more clearly by plan size and collaboration needs, while OnlineOrNot keeps pricing simpler but with fewer step-up options. For a small team, UptimeRobot is cheaper at entry; for a tiny setup that values status pages and browser checks, OnlineOrNot’s paid tier may fit better.
When to pick each one
Pick OnlineOrNot when…
- You only need a small number of monitors and want a status page included from day one.
- You care about browser check runs and synthetic checks, not just basic endpoint monitoring.
- Your team needs 2 members on the free tier without paying for seats.
- You want built-in Slack and Discord alerting on the free plan without extra setup.
Pick UptimeRobot when…
- You need to monitor a larger set of endpoints on the free tier, up to 50 monitors.
- You want longer free retention, with 3 months of historical data instead of 14 days.
- You prefer API access for managing monitors and account settings on the free plan.
- You need more integration slots on the free tier, up to 5 integrations included.
Bottom line
For the most common builder use case, UptimeRobot is the better free-tier pick because it lets you monitor far more services before you pay, and it keeps 3 months of history plus API access on the free plan. Choose OnlineOrNot if your priority is a smaller monitoring setup with included browser checks, a status page, and basic team collaboration. If you expect to grow beyond a handful of checks, UptimeRobot is the easier free-tier starting point.
Read the full listings: OnlineOrNot 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.