Softwr

Networking · head to head

Prometheus vs Uptime.com

Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Networking

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

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 Prometheus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy; Uptime.com pricing structure not fully detailed publicly
  • They diverge on capability: Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, Uptime.com covers Website monitoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Prometheus and Uptime.com differ
AttributePrometheusUptime.com
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, API
CategoryNetworkingLogging
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

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.

Prometheus

  • Monitoring and alerting systemnot Uptime.com
  • Time-series databasenot Uptime.com
  • Infrastructure metrics collectionnot Uptime.com

Uptime.com

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

Where each one falls short

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

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

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

Prometheus

Free
  • Prometheus (Open Source)Free
    • 100% open source
    • Community-driven project
    • Apache 2 License

Uptime.com

On request

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus 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 Prometheus or Uptime.com better?
Neither clearly leads. Prometheus 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, Prometheus or Uptime.com?
Prometheus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prometheus and On request for Uptime.com.
Does Prometheus or Uptime.com run on more platforms?
Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Uptime.com runs on Web, API.
Can I use Prometheus for free?
Yes. Prometheus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Uptime.com starts at On request.
What is Prometheus best used for?
Prometheus is most often used for monitoring and alerting system, time-series database, infrastructure metrics collection. Of those, monitoring and alerting system and time-series database are not what Uptime.com is typically brought in for.
What can Prometheus do that Uptime.com cannot?
Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery. Uptime.com covers Website monitoring, API monitoring, Synthetic monitoring, Page speed testing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Prometheus: What does Prometheus cost?

Prometheus is completely free and open source. There are no pricing tiers or paid plans. The entire project is licensed under Apache 2 and hosted on GitHub.

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
Prometheus: Is Prometheus commercial software or free?

Prometheus is 100% open source and community-driven. It is a CNCF graduated project with no commercial restrictions or licensing 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
Prometheus: How is Prometheus licensed?

Prometheus is licensed under the Apache 2 License, which permits free use, modification, and distribution for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

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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