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DriftDev
DriftDev

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UptimeRobot raised their price 4 . I built an alternative.

I got hit by a 4× price hike – so I built my own uptime monitor

In July 2025, my monitoring bill went from $8 → $34/month.

Same service. Same monitors.
Just… 4× the price.

I was running a handful of side projects (5–10 apps), nothing crazy. But suddenly monitoring became one of my biggest recurring costs.

That forced a decision:

  • Pay it (and accept the new normal)
  • Cut monitoring (not great…)
  • Or build something myself

I chose option 3.


What I actually needed (and probably you too)

When I looked at my usage, I realized I wasn’t using 90% of the features.

What I really needed was simple:

  • Reliable HTTP checks
  • Fast alerts when things break
  • Coverage from multiple regions
  • A clean status page

That’s it.


So I’m building Uptimely

A minimal uptime monitoring tool focused on the essentials:

  • 1-minute checks
  • Monitoring from EU / US / AS
  • Alerts via Slack, Telegram, Webhooks, Email
  • Simple branded status pages
  • SSL monitoring

No feature overload. No complicated tiers.

Flat pricing: $9/month

And a small free tier:

  • 3 monitors
  • 5-minute checks

What’s been harder than expected

Honestly? Not the monitoring itself.

It’s deciding what not to build.

Every feature feels “nice to have”, but I’m trying to stay ruthless and keep this focused for indie devs—not turn it into another bloated platform.


Why I’m sharing this early

I’m building this solo, no VC, async.

And I don’t want to build the wrong thing.

If you’ve used uptime monitoring tools before, I’d really like your input:

  • What’s the one feature you rely on daily?
  • What annoyed you enough to consider switching?
  • What’s missing in current tools?
  • What would make you switch instantly?

Landing page is live → https://uptimely.dev (waitlist open)

Every comment genuinely shapes what I build next.

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