Softwr

Logging · head to head

Healthchecks vs incident.io

Healthchecks logo

Healthchecks

Logging

Simple and effective cron job monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
incident.io logo

incident.io

Logging

Software reliability platform with on-call management and agentic root cause analysis

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Healthchecks free tier limited to 20 jobs, restricting scale for small teams; incident.io free plan limited to single team and basic features
  • They diverge on capability: Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, incident.io covers Intelligent alert routing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Healthchecks and incident.io actually diverge.

Attributes where Healthchecks and incident.io differ
AttributeHealthchecksincident.io
Pricing modelPer-job monitoring with fixed tierssubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Slack, Microsoft Teams
Founded20152021

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 Healthchecks

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

Only in incident.io

  • Intelligent alert routing
  • Agentic root cause analysis
  • On-call scheduling
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • AI call transcription
  • Status pages
  • Workflow automation

What people use each for

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

Healthchecks

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

incident.io

  • Manage incident response workflows in Slacknot Healthchecks
  • Automatically investigate root causes with AInot Healthchecks
  • Maintain on-call schedules across teamsnot Healthchecks
  • Track incident metrics and trendsnot Healthchecks
  • Communicate status to customers automaticallynot 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

incident.io

  • Free plan limited to single team and basic features
  • Per-user pricing increases costs for larger teams
  • Agentic features may require additional integrations
  • Advanced features concentrated in higher price tiers

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

incident.io

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Slack and Teams support
    • Single team on-call
    • Status pages
  • Pro$25/user-month
    • All Team features
    • Advanced insights
    • Custom dashboards
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Pro features
    • Dedicated success manager
    • Advanced access controls

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.

Choose incident.io if

  • You need intelligent alert routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want agentic root cause analysis.

Questions people ask

Is Healthchecks or incident.io better?
Neither clearly leads. Healthchecks starts at Free and incident.io at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Healthchecks or incident.io?
Healthchecks starts at Free and incident.io at Free.
Does Healthchecks or incident.io run on more platforms?
Healthchecks runs on Web, API. incident.io runs on Web, Slack, Microsoft Teams.
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 incident.io is typically brought in for.
What can Healthchecks do that incident.io cannot?
Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Customizable schedules, Event logs, Status badges. incident.io covers Intelligent alert routing, Agentic root cause analysis, On-call scheduling, Slack and Teams integration.

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
incident.io: What is included in the free incident.io plan?

The Basic free plan includes Slack and Teams support, single team on-call, status pages, and 1 custom field, ideal for getting started with incident management.

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
incident.io: How much does on-call management cost?

On-call is an add-on costing $10/user/month for Team plan or $20/user/month for Pro plan, in addition to base incident management pricing.

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
incident.io: Can incident.io integrate with my existing tools?

incident.io natively integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams for incident management workflows, with additional integrations available.

Source
incident.io: What SLA does incident.io offer?

Only the Enterprise plan includes a 99.99% SLA guarantee. Basic, Team, and Pro plans do not have published SLAs.

Source
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