What is Uptrends?
Uptrends is a cloud-based monitoring platform founded in 2007, now part of the ITRS Group. It offers website, API, server, and synthetic monitoring from 368 nodes across 67 countries. While feature-rich, Uptrends uses a complex per-feature pricing model and requires a 12-month contract with a 90-day termination notice.
What is OnlineOrNot?
OnlineOrNot helps software teams monitor their websites, APIs, and cron jobs with 30-second checks from multiple global locations. When something goes wrong, you get alerted via Email, SMS, Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, or webhooks.
Every check runs from multiple locations before alerting, eliminating false positives. You get fast detection without the noise that plagues other monitoring tools.
Status pages are included on all paid plans, letting you keep customers informed during incidents. And when you need help, you email the founder directly - no ticket systems or tiered support.
Uptrends often presents three critical challenges that hold engineering teams back:
1. Locked into annual contracts
Uptrends requires a 12-month contract with a 90-day termination notice. If your needs change or you're unhappy with the service, you're stuck paying for months before you can leave. Modern SaaS should let you cancel anytime.
2. Confusing per-feature pricing
Instead of simple plans, Uptrends charges separately for each feature - uptime monitoring, synthetic monitoring, RUM, API monitoring. This à la carte model makes it hard to predict costs and means essential features like status pages become expensive add-ons.
3. Enterprise complexity for simple needs
Uptrends was built for enterprise IT departments and it shows. The interface, setup process, and configuration options reflect enterprise requirements that create unnecessary complexity for teams that just need reliable uptime monitoring.
Compare Uptrends vs OnlineOrNot
| Feature | Uptrends | OnlineOrNot |
|---|---|---|
| Check frequency | 1 minute minimum | 30 seconds on all plans |
| Pricing model | Per-feature, annual contract | $2/check/month, cancel anytime |
| Contract requirement | 12-month minimum | No contract, cancel anytime |
| False-alarm prevention | Checkpoint-based | Multi-location verification |
| Cron job monitoring | ||
| Status pages | Third-party integration required | Included on all paid plans |
| Setup time | Hours to days | Minutes |
| SSL certificate monitoring | Advanced with expiry tracking | |
| Support | Ticket-based support | Direct founder access |
How OnlineOrNot improves reliability
Built for speed
30-second checks mean you catch issues 2x faster than tools with 60-second minimums. Multi-location verification eliminates false positives while maintaining fast detection. You get instant notifications via Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, SMS, or email.
Complete monitoring in one place
Monitor websites, APIs, cron jobs, and heartbeats from one dashboard. No need to piece together multiple tools or pay for features separately. SSL certificate expiry tracking is included on every check.
Status pages included
Keep your customers informed with beautiful, customizable status pages. Hosted on your domain with your branding, included on all paid plans. Subscribers get automatic notifications when incidents are created or resolved.
Direct founder support
When you need help, you email the founder directly. No ticket systems, no tiered support levels, no waiting days for a response. Most questions get answered within hours.
The migration process
Here's a proven process for successfully migrating to OnlineOrNot:
1. Sign up for free
Create your OnlineOrNot account with a 14-day free trial. No credit card required. Explore the dashboard and see how it works.
2. Add your critical monitors
Start with your most important endpoints. Add a handful of uptime checks for your core URLs, APIs, and any cron jobs you need to track.
3. Run in parallel
Run OnlineOrNot alongside your current tool for 1-2 weeks. Compare alert quality, response times, and overall experience.
4. Migrate fully
Once you're confident, move all your monitors to OnlineOrNot. Our team offers white-glove migration support - just email the founder directly.
5. Decommission the old tool
Cancel your old monitoring subscription. You'll likely save money while getting faster, more reliable monitoring.
Need to pitch OnlineOrNot to your bosses?
Here are the key points to help you get stakeholder buy-in:
"We'll catch issues before customers report them"
30-second monitoring means we detect outages 2x faster than most alternatives. Multi-location verification ensures we only get real alerts, not false positives.
"We're going to save money"
OnlineOrNot's transparent per-check pricing is often cheaper than per-monitor or tiered pricing models. No surprise overages or hidden fees.
"We get everything we need in one tool"
Uptime monitoring, cron job tracking, API monitoring, and status pages all in one place. No need to manage multiple subscriptions or piece together different tools.
"We can actually get support when we need it"
Direct access to the founder via email. No ticket systems, no tiered support, no waiting days for a response.