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Openstatus vs Sematext

Openstatus logo

Openstatus

Logging

Status pages with uptime monitoring and compliance-ready incident tracking

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sematext logo

Sematext

Logging

Full Stack Observability Platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Openstatus free tier severely limited to 1 monitor and 1 status page; Sematext the $5 Basic plan caps ingestion at 500 MB a day and retains logs for 7 days
  • They diverge on capability: Openstatus covers Branded status pages, Sematext covers Log aggregation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Openstatus and Sematext actually diverge.

Attributes where Openstatus and Sematext differ
AttributeOpenstatusSematext
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Founded20232007

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 Openstatus

  • Branded status pages
  • Global monitoring
  • Incident notifications
  • Audit-ready trails
  • API and CLI access
  • Terraform provider
  • Self-hosting

Only in Sematext

  • Log aggregation
  • APM
  • Metrics monitoring
  • Anomaly detection
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • REST
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Openstatus

  • Publishing incident status pages to customersnot Sematext
  • Demonstrating compliance readiness to auditorsnot Sematext
  • Alerting internal teams when services are downnot Sematext
  • Tracking uptime metrics across global regionsnot Sematext

Sematext

  • Centralised log management and search across servicesnot Openstatus
  • Infrastructure and application monitoring alongside logsnot Openstatus

Where each one falls short

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

Openstatus

  • Free tier severely limited to 1 monitor and 1 status page
  • Per-status-page pricing adds cost for multi-product organizations
  • No built-in workflow orchestration or incident response automation
  • Limited historical analytics beyond incident documentation
  • No AI-powered incident diagnosis or root cause analysis

Sematext

  • The $5 Basic plan caps ingestion at 500 MB a day and retains logs for 7 days
  • Ingestion and storage are billed on separate meters, at $0.10 per GB received and $0.15 per GB stored
  • Retention is a plan property rather than a setting, so keeping logs longer means moving tier
  • The published pricing page renders Standard and Pro figures from unresolved template placeholders, so only the Basic numbers are actually readable

Pricing, plan by plan

Openstatus

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 monitor with 10-minute intervals
    • 1 status page with 3 components
    • No credit card required
  • Starter$30/month
    • 20 monitors with 1-minute intervals
    • 1 status page with 20 components
    • 3-month data retention
  • Pro$100/month
    • 50 monitors with 30-second intervals
    • 5 status pages with 50 components each
    • 12-month data retention
  • Scale$500/month
    • 50 monitors with 30-second intervals
    • 10 status pages with 500 components each
    • 24-month data retention

Sematext

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Log aggregation
    • APM
    • Metrics monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose Openstatus if

  • You need branded status pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want global monitoring.
Openstatus review

Choose Sematext if

  • You need log aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want apm.
Sematext review

Questions people ask

Is Openstatus or Sematext better?
Neither clearly leads. Openstatus starts at Free and Sematext at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Openstatus or Sematext?
Openstatus starts at Free and Sematext at Free.
Does Openstatus or Sematext run on more platforms?
Openstatus runs on Web, API. Sematext runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Openstatus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Openstatus best used for?
Openstatus is most often used for publishing incident status pages to customers, demonstrating compliance readiness to auditors, alerting internal teams when services are down, tracking uptime metrics across global regions. Of those, publishing incident status pages to customers and demonstrating compliance readiness to auditors are not what Sematext is typically brought in for.
What can Openstatus do that Sematext cannot?
Openstatus covers Branded status pages, Global monitoring, Incident notifications, Audit-ready trails. Sematext covers Log aggregation, APM, Metrics monitoring, Anomaly detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Openstatus: Can I use OpenStatus for free?

Yes, the free tier includes 1 monitor with 10-minute check intervals and 1 status page with 3 components, no credit card required.

Source
Sematext: How much does Sematext cost?

Sematext uses a transparent usage-based pricing model. Customers can set a Max Daily Volume for automatic rejection of excess data to prevent unexpected charges and keep costs predictable. Specific tier pricing is available through their cost calculator tool.

Source
Openstatus: What is included in annual billing for Starter plan?

Annual billing costs $300/year (vs $360/month), saving 2 months. Includes 20 monitors, 1-minute intervals, and all alert types.

Source
Sematext: How does Sematext's pricing compare to competitors?

Sematext is positioned as +3x cheaper than Datadog, with potential annual savings of $800,000 for customers logging more than 200TB/month and a reported 75% decrease in price per GB compared to alternatives.

Source
Openstatus: Can I add extra status pages beyond my plan limit?

Yes, additional status pages cost $20/month and are billed separately on top of your plan.

Source
Sematext: Does Sematext offer a free trial?

Yes, Sematext offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing you to test the platform before committing to a paid plan.

Source
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