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Logging · head to head

CloudWatch vs Uptime.com

CloudWatch logo

CloudWatch

Logging

AWS Monitoring and Observability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Uptime.com logo

Uptime.com

Logging

Website monitoring and uptime checker with 80+ global monitoring points

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudWatch has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CloudWatch the free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB; Uptime.com pricing structure not fully detailed publicly
  • They diverge on capability: CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Uptime.com covers Website monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudWatch and Uptime.com actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudWatch and Uptime.com differ
AttributeCloudWatchUptime.com
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Api), 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 CloudWatch

  • Metrics collection
  • Log aggregation
  • Dashboards
  • Alarms and notifications
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

Only in Uptime.com

  • Website monitoring
  • API monitoring
  • Synthetic monitoring
  • Page speed testing
  • Real User Monitoring
  • Status pages
  • Private locations
  • Global network

What people use each for

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

CloudWatch

  • Metrics and log collection for AWS workloadsnot Uptime.com
  • Alarming on thresholds across AWS servicesnot Uptime.com
  • Querying logs with Logs Insightsnot Uptime.com
  • Live tailing logs during an incidentnot Uptime.com
  • Distributed tracing alongside X-Raynot Uptime.com

Uptime.com

  • Monitor website availability across multiple global locationsnot CloudWatch
  • Test API endpoints and validate response timesnot CloudWatch
  • Verify DNS resolution and certificate validitynot CloudWatch
  • Track page load performance over timenot CloudWatch
  • Send alerts to teams when issues occurnot CloudWatch

Where each one falls short

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

CloudWatch

  • The free tier covers 5 GB of log ingestion and 10 custom metrics a month, after which log ingestion is $0.50 per GB from 5 to 30 GB
  • Custom metrics are $0.30 each for the first 10,000, so instrumenting broadly gets expensive before volume discounts apply
  • Each custom dashboard beyond the free three is $3 a month
  • Alarms are billed at $0.10 per alarm metric a month, with high-resolution alarms costing more
  • Log storage beyond the free 5 GB is $0.03 per GB per month on top of the ingestion charge

Uptime.com

  • Pricing structure not fully detailed publicly
  • Limited information on check frequency in basic plans
  • Real User Monitoring and status pages require add-ons
  • Lower-tier plans may have feature limitations

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudWatch

Free
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Logs ingestion: $0.50/GB (first 5GB free), down to $0.05/GB at scale
    • Logs storage: $0.03/GB/month
    • Live Tail: $0.01/minute after 1,800 free minutes
  • Free tierFree
    • 5GB logs ingestion per month
    • 10 custom metrics
    • 3 custom dashboards

Uptime.com

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Uptime.com review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudWatch if

  • You need metrics collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want log aggregation.
CloudWatch review

Choose Uptime.com if

  • You need website monitoring.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want api monitoring.
Uptime.com review

Questions people ask

Is CloudWatch or Uptime.com better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudWatch starts at Free and Uptime.com at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudWatch or Uptime.com?
CloudWatch has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CloudWatch and On request for Uptime.com.
Does CloudWatch or Uptime.com run on more platforms?
CloudWatch runs on Web, Api. Uptime.com runs on Web, API.
Can I use CloudWatch for free?
Yes. CloudWatch has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Uptime.com starts at On request.
What is CloudWatch best used for?
CloudWatch is most often used for metrics and log collection for aws workloads, alarming on thresholds across aws services, querying logs with logs insights, live tailing logs during an incident. Of those, metrics and log collection for aws workloads and alarming on thresholds across aws services are not what Uptime.com is typically brought in for.
What can CloudWatch do that Uptime.com cannot?
CloudWatch covers Metrics collection, Log aggregation, Dashboards, Alarms and notifications. Uptime.com covers Website monitoring, API monitoring, Synthetic monitoring, Page speed testing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CloudWatch: How much does Amazon CloudWatch cost?

CloudWatch uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no upfront commitment. Logs ingestion costs $0.50/GB (first 5GB free), logs storage is $0.03/GB/month, custom metrics cost $0.30/metric/month (first 10,000), custom dashboards are $3/month, and standard alarms are $0.10/metric/month.

Source
Uptime.com: Does Uptime.com offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes, Uptime.com provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users, allowing risk-free trial of their service.

Source
CloudWatch: Does CloudWatch offer a free tier?

Yes, CloudWatch free tier includes 5GB logs ingestion, 10 custom metrics, 3 custom dashboards, and 10 alarm metrics per month at no charge. Usage beyond these limits incurs pay-as-you-go fees.

Source
Uptime.com: What alerting methods does Uptime.com support?

All plans include email and SMS alerting with 20+ integrations available including Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, and webhooks for custom integrations.

Source
CloudWatch: What are CloudWatch's pricing tiers for high-volume usage?

CloudWatch offers tiered pricing with volume discounts: logs ingestion starts at $0.50/GB and decreases to $0.05/GB at higher volumes; custom metrics start at $0.30/metric/month and decline to $0.05 at higher volumes; Application Signals cost $1.50 per million traces initially, declining to $0.30.

Source
Uptime.com: How many monitoring locations does Uptime.com have?

Uptime.com operates 80+ monitoring locations worldwide, enabling checks from multiple geographic regions to detect regional connectivity issues.

Source
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