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Technology · head to head

Checkmk vs Harness

Checkmk logo

Checkmk

Technology

Comprehensive IT monitoring, open and flexible

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Harness logo

Harness

Developer Tools

Software delivery platform across CI, CD, security testing and cost management

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Checkmk pricing calculated by service count, not hosts (approximately 30 services per host on average); Harness essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Checkmk and Harness actually diverge.

Attributes where Checkmk and Harness differ
AttributeCheckmkHarness
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools

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

What people use each for

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

Checkmk

  • Infrastructure monitoringnot Harness
  • System observabilitynot Harness
  • Enterprise compliance monitoringnot Harness

Harness

  • Deploying apps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with rollbacksnot Checkmk
  • Integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before productionnot Checkmk
  • Automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expensesnot Checkmk
  • Enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecksnot Checkmk
  • Assessing deployment frequency and lead time productivity metricsnot Checkmk

Where each one falls short

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

Checkmk

  • Pricing calculated by service count, not hosts (approximately 30 services per host on average)
  • Professional support limited to 8-10 hours per week on base plans
  • Synthetic monitoring is separate add-on with per-test pricing

Harness

  • Essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • DevOps Essentials has no on-premises deployment option
  • Internal Developer Portal requires minimum 20 developer licenses
  • Pipeline execution history retention 6 months (Essentials) vs 25 months as add-on (Enterprise)

Pricing, plan by plan

Checkmk

Free
  • Community (Self-Hosted)Free
    • No cost, forever
    • Up to ~100 hosts
    • Basic infrastructure monitoring
  • Pro (Self-Hosted)$190/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Reporting
    • Distributed monitoring
  • Ultimate (Self-Hosted)$275/month
    • Full-stack observability
    • Advanced security compliance
    • 10 hours x 5 days professional support (upgradable to 24/7)
  • CloudAI (SaaS)$240/month
    • Fully managed cloud hosting
    • 99.5% uptime SLA
    • Supports up to 50000 services

Harness

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Starter platform for software delivery lifecycle
    • Open source options available (Harness Open Source, Litmus Chaos)
  • Essentials$null/month
    • Growing organizations with small to mid-size teams
    • Packaged DevOps Essentials bundle
    • Continuous software delivery capabilities
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Large-scale organizations
    • Pick any modules based on needs
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose Checkmk if

  • You want to start without paying.
Checkmk review

Choose Harness if

  • You want to start without paying.
Harness review

Questions people ask

Is Checkmk or Harness better?
Neither clearly leads. Checkmk starts at Free and Harness at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Checkmk or Harness?
Checkmk starts at Free and Harness at Free.
Does Checkmk or Harness run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Checkmk for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Checkmk best used for?
Checkmk is most often used for infrastructure monitoring, system observability, enterprise compliance monitoring. Of those, infrastructure monitoring and system observability are not what Harness is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Checkmk: Is there a free version of Checkmk?

Yes, Checkmk Community edition is free forever and supports up to approximately 100 hosts for basic infrastructure monitoring with no cost.

Source
Harness: Is there a free Harness plan?

Yes, Harness offers a free plan for individual developers and small teams with open source options including Harness Open Source and Litmus Chaos.

Source
Checkmk: How does Checkmk calculate pricing by host count?

Checkmk uses service-based pricing where each monitored aspect (file system, hardware sensor, switch port, metric) counts as one service. On average, there are approximately 30 services per host.

Source
Harness: What are Harness's paid pricing tiers?

Harness offers Essentials for growing teams and Enterprise for large-scale organizations. Both require contacting sales for custom pricing. Pricing is based on modules and features selected.

Source
Checkmk: What is the difference between Checkmk Pro and Ultimate tiers?

Pro tier at 190 EUR/month includes advanced analytics and 8x5 support, while Ultimate at 275 EUR/month adds full-stack observability, advanced compliance features, and upgradable 24/7 support.

Source
Harness: Can Harness be deployed on-premises?

Enterprise plans include self-managed platform deployment option. DevOps Essentials bundle does not offer on-premises deployment.

Source
Checkmk: Does Checkmk offer a managed SaaS option?

Yes, Checkmk CloudAI is a fully managed SaaS tier at 240 EUR/month with 99.5% uptime SLA and support for up to 50000 services.

Source
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