Softwr

Logging · head to head

Better Stack vs Healthchecks

Better Stack logo

Better Stack

Logging

AI-native observability and incident response platform.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Healthchecks logo

Healthchecks

Logging

Simple and effective cron job monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Better Stack pricing model combines multiple separate line items (bundles, incident management, monitoring, status pages), making total cost unpredictable until all services are selected; Healthchecks free tier limited to 20 jobs, restricting scale for small teams

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Better Stack and Healthchecks actually diverge.

Attributes where Better Stack and Healthchecks differ
AttributeBetter StackHealthchecks
Pricing modelfreemiumPer-job monitoring with fixed tiers
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, API, Self-hostedWeb, API
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logging).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Better Stack

Nothing recorded that Healthchecks does not also cover.

Only in Healthchecks

  • Ping URL monitoring
  • Customizable schedules
  • Event logs
  • Status badges
  • Email alerts
  • SMS and phone alerts
  • Multiple integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Better Stack

  • Cost-conscious teams looking to replace Datadog loggingnot Healthchecks
  • Companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident managementnot Healthchecks
  • Teams adopting AI-assisted incident response and root cause analysisnot Healthchecks
  • Organisations needing real-time user monitoring with session replaynot Healthchecks
  • Infrastructure teams using eBPF-based distributed tracingnot Healthchecks

Healthchecks

  • Monitoring cron jobs that run on schedulesnot Better Stack
  • Alerting teams when background tasks failnot Better Stack
  • Tracking Kubernetes CronJob execution healthnot Better Stack
  • Monitoring Jenkins builds and deploymentsnot Better Stack

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Better Stack

  • Pricing model combines multiple separate line items (bundles, incident management, monitoring, status pages), making total cost unpredictable until all services are selected
  • Transactional monitoring (Playwright-based) billed separately at $1 per 100 minutes
  • On-call and reporting features require additional per-user fees on top of base telemetry bundle
  • Agentic AI SRE features billed at $5 per million tokens, creating variable costs for AI-driven analysis
  • SSO and advanced security features reserved for Enterprise tier with custom pricing

Healthchecks

  • Free tier limited to 20 jobs, restricting scale for small teams
  • Requires explicit ping integration into each job
  • No workflow orchestration or job scheduling capabilities
  • SMS and phone credits consumed separately on paid plans
  • Limited to ping-based detection without deep job introspection

Pricing, plan by plan

Better Stack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 monitors and heartbeats
    • 1 status page
    • Limited log, trace, metric and web event allocations
  • Nano$25/month
    • Core telemetry bundle
    • Log management
    • Trace management
  • Micro$100/month
    • Higher telemetry limits than Nano
    • All Nano features
  • Mega$500/month
    • Premium telemetry allocation
    • All lower-tier features

Healthchecks

Free
  • HobbyistFree
    • Monitor 20 jobs
    • 100 log entries per job
    • Email alerts
  • Supporter$5/month
    • Monitor 20 jobs
    • 100 log entries per job
    • Support the service financially
  • Business$20/month
    • Monitor 100 jobs
    • 1000 log entries per job
    • 50 SMS and WhatsApp credits
  • Business Plus$80/month
    • Monitor 1000 jobs
    • 1000 log entries per job
    • 500 SMS and WhatsApp credits

Which should you pick?

Choose Better Stack if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API, Self-hosted.
Better Stack review

Choose Healthchecks if

  • You need ping url monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want customizable schedules.
Healthchecks review

Questions people ask

Is Better Stack or Healthchecks better?
Neither clearly leads. Better Stack starts at Free and Healthchecks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Better Stack or Healthchecks?
Better Stack starts at Free and Healthchecks at Free.
Does Better Stack or Healthchecks run on more platforms?
Better Stack runs on Web, iOS, Android, API, Self-hosted. Healthchecks runs on Web, API.
Can I use Better Stack for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Better Stack best used for?
Better Stack is most often used for cost-conscious teams looking to replace datadog logging, companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident management, teams adopting ai-assisted incident response and root cause analysis, organisations needing real-time user monitoring with session replay. Of those, cost-conscious teams looking to replace datadog logging and companies requiring integrated uptime monitoring and incident management are not what Healthchecks is typically brought in for.
What can Better Stack do that Healthchecks cannot?
Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Customizable schedules, Event logs, Status badges.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Better Stack: How much cheaper is Better Stack than Datadog?

Better Stack claims to be 30 times cheaper than Datadog, with pricing structured to allow customers to ingest up to 80 times more data for the same budget compared to Datadog.

Source
Healthchecks: What does the free Hobbyist plan include?

The Hobbyist plan ($0/month) includes monitoring for 20 jobs, 100 log entries per job, and email alerts with no credit card required.

Source
Better Stack: What mobile platforms does Better Stack support?

Better Stack offers native mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

Source
Healthchecks: What is the difference between Business and Business Plus?

Business ($20/month) monitors 100 jobs with 50 SMS credits. Business Plus ($80/month) monitors 1000 jobs with 500 SMS credits and priority support.

Source
Better Stack: Does Better Stack support Sentry SDKs?

Yes. Better Stack's error tracking is compatible with Sentry SDKs for seamless integration.

Source
Healthchecks: Do nonprofits and open-source projects get special pricing?

Yes, open-source projects and nonprofits receive the Business plan at no cost.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Better Stack

More on Healthchecks

Keep looking

Other head to heads