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Logging · head to head

Checkly vs PagerDuty

Checkly logo

Checkly

Logging

Active reliability platform combining uptime monitoring, API testing, and incident response

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PagerDuty logo

PagerDuty

Technology

Real-time operations for real-time business

From
$21/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Checkly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Checkly free tier has limited check allocations per month; PagerDuty aIOps, status pages, and live call routing are expensive add-ons not included in base plans, significantly increasing total cost
  • They diverge on capability: Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, PagerDuty covers Incident response.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Checkly and PagerDuty actually diverge.

Attributes where Checkly and PagerDuty differ
AttributeChecklyPagerDuty
Starting priceFree$21/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLI, APIWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryLoggingTechnology
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Checkly

  • Uptime monitoring
  • Synthetic browser testing
  • API monitoring
  • Heartbeat monitoring
  • Monitoring-as-Code
  • Root cause analysis
  • Global locations

Only in PagerDuty

  • Incident response
  • On-call management
  • Alert grouping
  • Escalation policies
  • Mobile incident management
  • Postmortems
  • Event intelligence
  • Datadog

Both cover

  • Status pages

What people use each for

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

Checkly

  • Monitor API endpoints with custom assertionsnot PagerDuty
  • Test user journeys with browser automationnot PagerDuty
  • Detect performance degradation across regionsnot PagerDuty
  • Verify DNS and TCP connectivitynot PagerDuty
  • Ensure cron jobs and background tasks completenot PagerDuty

PagerDuty

  • Incident managementnot Checkly
  • On-call schedulingnot Checkly
  • Real-time alertingnot Checkly
  • Service reliabilitynot Checkly
  • Digital operationsnot Checkly

Where each one falls short

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

Checkly

  • Free tier has limited check allocations per month
  • Overage charges can add up with high-volume workloads
  • Status pages require separate paid tier
  • Root cause analysis is separate billing component

PagerDuty

  • AIOps, status pages, and live call routing are expensive add-ons not included in base plans, significantly increasing total cost
  • Complex escalation policies require workarounds for scheduling patterns beyond basic weekly rotations
  • 5-user minimum requirement forces costs even for small teams, with forced Business tier upgrades adding $12,000+ annually for larger teams

Pricing, plan by plan

Checkly

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 10 uptime monitors
    • 1,000 browser checks monthly
    • 10,000 API checks monthly
  • Team$64/month
    • 75 uptime monitors
    • 12,000 browser checks monthly
    • 100,000 API checks monthly
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom monitor quantities
    • All 22 global locations
    • 1-second check frequency

PagerDuty

$21/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PagerDuty review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkly if

  • You need uptime monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want synthetic browser testing.
Checkly review

Choose PagerDuty if

  • You need incident response.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want on-call management.
PagerDuty review

Questions people ask

Is Checkly or PagerDuty better?
Neither clearly leads. Checkly starts at Free and PagerDuty at $21/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Checkly or PagerDuty?
Checkly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Checkly and $21/month for PagerDuty.
Does Checkly or PagerDuty run on more platforms?
Checkly runs on Web, CLI, API. PagerDuty runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Checkly for free?
Yes. Checkly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PagerDuty starts at $21/month.
What is Checkly best used for?
Checkly is most often used for monitor api endpoints with custom assertions, test user journeys with browser automation, detect performance degradation across regions, verify dns and tcp connectivity. Of those, monitor api endpoints with custom assertions and test user journeys with browser automation are not what PagerDuty is typically brought in for.
What can Checkly do that PagerDuty cannot?
Checkly covers Uptime monitoring, Synthetic browser testing, API monitoring, Heartbeat monitoring. PagerDuty covers Incident response, On-call management, Alert grouping, Escalation policies. Both handle Status pages.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Checkly: What is included in the free Checkly plan?

The free Hobby plan includes 10 uptime monitors, 1,000 monthly browser checks, 10,000 monthly API checks, 6 monitoring locations, and 2-minute minimum check frequency with email, Slack, and webhook alerts.

Source
PagerDuty: What is the minimum cost to use PagerDuty?

PagerDuty requires a minimum of 5 users per account. The Professional plan starts at $21 per user per month ($105/month minimum), with annual billing providing 16% discount.

Source
Checkly: Can I write monitoring checks in my preferred language?

Yes, Checkly uses TypeScript/JavaScript for monitoring-as-code, integrated with Playwright for browser testing and supporting REST API testing.

Source
PagerDuty: What integrations does PagerDuty support?

PagerDuty integrates with 750+ monitoring, ticketing, and collaboration tools including Datadog, Slack, Jira, ServiceNow, New Relic, and Nagios.

Source
Checkly: How much does status page add to my bill?

Status pages cost between $0-$30/month depending on your plan tier, billed separately from core monitoring.

Source
PagerDuty: How much does AIOps cost in PagerDuty?

AIOps Intelligence is sold separately as an add-on starting at $699 per month, and is not included in any of the base plans.

Source
Checkly: What is the minimum check frequency?

The Hobby and Starter plans support 2-minute and 1-minute minimums respectively. The Team plan supports 30-second intervals, while Enterprise offers 1-second minimum frequency.

Source
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