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Logging · head to head

Healthchecks vs Zabbix

Healthchecks logo

Healthchecks

Logging

Simple and effective cron job monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zabbix logo

Zabbix

Networking

Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating

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; Zabbix the database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • They diverge on capability: Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Healthchecks and Zabbix actually diverge.

Attributes where Healthchecks and Zabbix differ
AttributeHealthchecksZabbix
Pricing modelPer-job monitoring with fixed tiersOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategoryLoggingNetworking
Founded2015Unknown

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

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

Only in Zabbix

  • Agent and agentless collection
  • Templates
  • Low-level discovery
  • Distributed proxies
  • Trigger expressions
  • Escalation actions

What people use each for

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

Healthchecks

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

Zabbix

  • A service provider monitoring thousands of customer devices where per-device commercial licensing is the largest line itemnot Healthchecks
  • Branch or industrial sites with unreliable links that need local collection and bufferingnot Healthchecks
  • Mixed estates where the same tool must poll SNMP switches, Linux hosts, Windows servers and Java applicationsnot Healthchecks
  • Replacing an aging Nagios installation while keeping script-based checks that already existnot 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

Zabbix

  • The database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • Initial configuration is heavy; getting useful alerting rather than noise requires understanding trigger expressions, macros and template inheritance, which is a multi-week learning curve for a team new to it.
  • The AGPLv3 change at version 7.0 affects anyone offering Zabbix over a network as part of a commercial service, and that obligation is easy to inherit accidentally during an upgrade.
  • The web interface is functional rather than pleasant, and many sites end up running Grafana alongside it purely for presentation, which is a second system to maintain.
  • Upgrades between major versions touch the database schema and can take hours on large history tables, so the maintenance window is proportional to how much data you kept.

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

Zabbix

Free
  • ZabbixFree
    • No device, node or metric limits
    • Full feature set with no paid edition of the software
    • AGPLv3 from version 7.0 onward
  • Zabbix Technical Support$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscriptions with defined response times
    • Access to Zabbix engineers for configuration and performance issues
    • Bug fix priority and backports

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 Zabbix if

  • You need agent and agentless collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want templates.
Zabbix review

Questions people ask

Is Healthchecks or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. Healthchecks starts at Free and Zabbix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Healthchecks or Zabbix?
Healthchecks starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does Healthchecks or Zabbix run on more platforms?
Healthchecks runs on Web, API. Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
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 Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can Healthchecks do that Zabbix cannot?
Healthchecks covers Ping URL monitoring, Customizable schedules, Event logs, Status badges. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

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
Zabbix: Is Zabbix genuinely free for commercial use?

The software has no licence fee at any scale. From version 7.0 it is AGPLv3, so offering it as a network service to third parties carries source distribution obligations.

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
Zabbix: What is the real cost of running it?

Database administration and the person who tunes it. Budget for PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB and someone who owns the retention policy.

Healthchecks: Do nonprofits and open-source projects get special pricing?

Yes, open-source projects and nonprofits receive the Business plan at no cost.

Source
Zabbix: How does it compare to a commercial per-device tool?

It removes the licence line entirely and adds an operations line. Below a few hundred devices the commercial tool is often cheaper in total; above that Zabbix wins clearly.

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