I Monitor 50+ Websites for Free Using Apify Scheduled Runs

Apify has a built-in scheduler that runs your actors on a cron schedule. Combined with free-tier actors, you get free monitoring.

What I Monitor

• Uptime — is the site responding? What's the response time?
• SSL certificates — are any expiring within 30 days?
• Security headers — HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options present?
• Broken links — any new 404s since last check?
• Tech stack changes — did a competitor switch frameworks?

How It Works

1. Create an actor (e.g., SSL Certificate Checker)
2. Set up a scheduled run (daily, hourly, weekly)
3. Actor runs automatically and stores results
4. Set up email/Slack notifications for failures

Cost

Apify free tier gives you enough compute for basic monitoring. Most of my tools run in under 10 seconds and use <256MB RAM.

The Toolkit

• Website Uptime Checker — status codes, response times
• SSL Certificate Checker — expiry alerts
• HTTP Headers Checker — security score
• Broken Links Checker — find 404s
• Tech Stack Detector — track changes

All free on Apify Store — search knotless_cadence.