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Healthchecks vs Cronitor

Healthchecks logo

Healthchecks

Logging

Simple and effective cron job monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cronitor logo

Cronitor

Logging

Monitoring for cron jobs, websites, and background tasks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Healthchecks free tier limited to 20 jobs, restricting scale for small teams; Cronitor free tier limited to 5 monitors, limiting viability for small teams
  • They diverge on capability: Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Cronitor covers Cron job monitoring.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Healthchecks and Cronitor actually diverge.

Attributes where Healthchecks and Cronitor differ
AttributeHealthchecksCronitor
Pricing modelPer-job monitoring with fixed tiersPay-per-monitor plus user seats
Founded20152014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Healthchecks

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

Only in Cronitor

  • Cron job monitoring
  • Uptime and performance checks
  • Heartbeat monitoring
  • Status pages
  • Real-user monitoring
  • Alert integrations
  • Email reports

What people use each for

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

Healthchecks

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

Cronitor

  • Monitoring scheduled cron jobs and background tasksnot Healthchecks
  • Tracking website and API uptime with global checksnot Healthchecks
  • Alerting teams when critical jobs fail to executenot Healthchecks
  • Communicating service status to customersnot Healthchecks

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cronitor

  • Free tier limited to 5 monitors, limiting viability for small teams
  • Pay-per-monitor pricing scales quickly with infrastructure size
  • Requires integrating ping calls into existing jobs
  • Limited to monitoring jobs that can send pings
  • No built-in workflow orchestration or task scheduling

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Cronitor

Free
  • HackerFree
    • 5 monitors
    • Email and Slack alerts
    • Basic status page
  • Business$2/monitor/month
    • Unlimited monitors
    • 30-second check frequency
    • 10 alert integrations
  • Enterprise$6000/year
    • Custom features and integrations
    • 5-second check frequency
    • Dedicated engineer

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Cronitor if

  • You need cron job monitoring.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want uptime and performance checks.
Cronitor review

Questions people ask

Is Healthchecks or Cronitor better?
Neither clearly leads. Healthchecks starts at Free and Cronitor at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Healthchecks or Cronitor?
Healthchecks starts at Free and Cronitor at Free.
Does Healthchecks or Cronitor run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Healthchecks for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Healthchecks best used for?
Healthchecks is most often used for monitoring cron jobs that run on schedules, alerting teams when background tasks fail, tracking kubernetes cronjob execution health, monitoring jenkins builds and deployments. Of those, monitoring cron jobs that run on schedules and alerting teams when background tasks fail are not what Cronitor is typically brought in for.
What can Healthchecks do that Cronitor cannot?
Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Customizable schedules, Event logs, Status badges. Cronitor covers Cron job monitoring, Uptime and performance checks, Heartbeat monitoring, Status pages.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Cronitor: How does Cronitor billing work for the Business plan?

Business plan costs $2 per monitor per month plus $5 per user per month, billed monthly based on actual usage.

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
Cronitor: What is the difference between Hacker and Business plans?

Hacker plan ($0/month) includes 5 monitors and basic Slack/email alerts. Business plan ($2/monitor/month) offers unlimited monitors, 30-second checks, 10 integrations, 12-month retention, and email reports.

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
Cronitor: Does Cronitor offer a free trial?

Yes, Cronitor provides a 14-day free trial on the Business plan without requiring a credit card.

Source
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