Originally published on API Status Check
Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Open Source | API Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| API Status Check | Developers, free monitoring | Free | ✅ | ✅ |
| Downdetector | Consumer service tracking | Free | ❌ | ❌ |
| Atlassian StatusPage | Enterprise teams | $29/mo | ❌ | ✅ |
| Instatus | Beautiful status pages | $16/mo | ❌ | ✅ |
| Cachet | Self-hosted teams | Free | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sorry™ | Design-focused startups | $49/mo | ❌ | ✅ |
| UptimeRobot | Uptime monitoring + status | $7/mo | ❌ | ✅ |
| Pingdom | Comprehensive monitoring | $10/mo | ❌ | ✅ |
What is a Status Page?
A status page is a dedicated web page that shows the real-time operational status of your service or the services you depend on. Instead of users asking "Is X down?" or flooding support, they can check your status page to see:
- Current status (operational, degraded, outage)
- Incident history (past outages and resolutions)
- Scheduled maintenance (planned downtime)
- Component status (API, dashboard, webhooks, etc.)
For developers, status pages are critical for monitoring third-party APIs you depend on—like Stripe, OpenAI, AWS, or Twilio. When your app breaks because Stripe's API is down, you need to know immediately.
1. API Status Check
Best for: Developers monitoring third-party APIs for free
Pricing: Free forever (paid plans for custom alerts: $9-$49/mo)
Website: apistatuscheck.com
What It Does
API Status Check aggregates real-time status from 100+ critical APIs and services. Instead of bookmarking 10 different status pages, you get one dashboard showing everything: Stripe, OpenAI, AWS, Vercel, Supabase, Cloudflare, and more.
Key Features
- ✅ 100+ APIs tracked (Stripe, OpenAI, AWS, etc.)
- ✅ Real-time monitoring (checks every 5 minutes)
- ✅ Free alerts (Slack, Discord, email, webhooks)
- ✅ Developer-friendly (API, status badges, embeds)
- ✅ Historical incident data (see past outages)
Pros
- Completely free for unlimited monitoring
- Built specifically for developers/DevOps
- Clean API documentation
- No credit card required
- Fast, simple setup
Cons
- Focused on APIs (not consumer services like Netflix)
- Smaller service catalog than Downdetector
- No custom status page hosting (aggregator-only)
Bottom line: If you're a developer who depends on third-party APIs, this is the easiest free way to monitor them all in one place.
2. Downdetector
Best for: Tracking consumer services and social media outages
Pricing: Free (ad-supported)
Website: downdetector.com
What It Does
Downdetector is the largest crowdsourced outage tracker. It monitors 1,000+ services by analyzing user reports, tweets, and web chatter. When Facebook, Instagram, or Netflix goes down, Downdetector is usually the first to know.
Key Features
- ✅ 1,000+ services (consumer + business)
- ✅ Crowdsourced reports (real user feedback)
- ✅ Heatmaps (geographic outage visualization)
- ✅ Free to use
- ✅ Mobile apps (iOS/Android)
Pros
- Massive service catalog
- Great for consumer services
- Real-time user reports
- Trusted brand (owned by Ookla)
Cons
- No proactive monitoring (reports only)
- No developer tools (no API, no webhooks)
- Ad-heavy experience
- Not built for API monitoring
Bottom line: Perfect for consumers checking if a service is down. Not ideal for developers needing proactive API monitoring.
3. Atlassian StatusPage
Best for: Enterprise teams running their own status page
Pricing: $29/mo (Starter), $99/mo (Business), Custom (Enterprise)
Website: statuspage.io
What It Does
StatusPage is the industry standard for hosting your own branded status page. It's used by GitHub, Stripe, Twilio, and thousands of SaaS companies. If you're running a product with paying customers, StatusPage helps you communicate incidents transparently.
Key Features
- ✅ Branded status pages (custom domain, design)
- ✅ Incident management (timeline, updates, post-mortems)
- ✅ Subscriber notifications (email, SMS, Slack, webhooks)
- ✅ Integrations (Datadog, PagerDuty, etc.)
- ✅ Private status pages (for internal teams)
Pros
- Industry leader (trusted by top companies)
- Deep integration ecosystem
- Reliable uptime (99.99% SLA)
- Great incident communication tools
Cons
- Expensive for small teams
- Overkill if you just need monitoring
- Learning curve for advanced features
Bottom line: The gold standard for companies hosting their own status page. Expensive but worth it for serious SaaS businesses.
4. Instatus
Best for: Beautiful, design-focused status pages
Pricing: $16/mo (Starter), $79/mo (Business), $249/mo (Enterprise)
Website: instatus.com
What It Does
Instatus is a modern status page platform that emphasizes speed and design. It's the "pretty" alternative to StatusPage—think minimalist, fast-loading, and easy to set up.
Key Features
- ✅ Beautiful templates (modern, minimal design)
- ✅ Fast setup (live in 5 minutes)
- ✅ Custom domains
- ✅ Email/SMS subscribers
- ✅ Integrations (Slack, webhooks, monitors)
Pros
- Gorgeous UI/UX
- Faster than StatusPage
- Cheaper than StatusPage
- Great for startups
Cons
- Fewer integrations than StatusPage
- Less mature product
- No built-in monitoring (requires external tools)
Bottom line: If you want a beautiful status page without StatusPage's price tag, Instatus is excellent. Perfect for design-conscious startups.
5. Cachet
Best for: Self-hosted, open-source status pages
Pricing: Free (open source)
Website: cachethq.io
What It Does
Cachet is the leading open-source status page software. Install it on your own server, customize everything, and own your data. Popular with privacy-focused teams and developers who love control.
Key Features
- ✅ Open source (MIT license)
- ✅ Self-hosted (full control)
- ✅ API included
- ✅ Customizable
- ✅ Multi-language support
Pros
- Completely free
- Full control over data
- Active community
- Great for self-hosters
Cons
- Requires server setup/maintenance
- No managed hosting (DIY only)
- Less polished than paid tools
- You handle uptime/security
Bottom line: Best for teams with technical chops who want full control and zero recurring costs.
6. Sorry™
Best for: Premium status pages with top-tier design
Pricing: $49/mo (Startup), $99/mo (Business), $249/mo (Enterprise)
Website: sorry.app
What It Does
Sorry is a premium status page platform focused on design and user experience. Think of it as the "luxury" status page—beautiful, fast, and opinionated about how incident communication should work.
Key Features
- ✅ Premium design
- ✅ Real-time incident updates
- ✅ Custom branding
- ✅ Public/private pages
- ✅ Subscriber notifications
Pros
- Exceptional design quality
- Simple, focused feature set
- Fast and reliable
Cons
- Expensive
- Fewer integrations than StatusPage
- Limited monitoring features
Bottom line: If you want a status page that looks amazing and have the budget, Sorry delivers. Otherwise, Instatus offers similar design at a lower price.
7. UptimeRobot
Best for: Uptime monitoring with a built-in status page
Pricing: Free (basic), $7/mo (Pro)
Website: uptimerobot.com
What It Does
UptimeRobot is primarily an uptime monitoring tool that also generates status pages. You monitor your own sites/APIs, and it automatically creates a public status page showing uptime.
Key Features
- ✅ Uptime monitoring (HTTP, ping, keyword, port)
- ✅ Auto-generated status page
- ✅ 50 monitors free (unlimited on Pro)
- ✅ Alerts (email, SMS, Slack, webhooks)
- ✅ 99.98% uptime SLA
Pros
- Monitoring + status page in one
- Generous free tier
- Simple setup
- Reliable alerting
Cons
- Status page design is basic
- Limited customization
- Focused on your own services (not third-party APIs)
Bottom line: Great if you need to monitor your own infrastructure and want a simple status page included. Not ideal for tracking third-party APIs.
8. Pingdom
Best for: Comprehensive website/API monitoring
Pricing: $10/mo (Starter), $53/mo (Advanced), $214/mo (Professional)
Website: pingdom.com
What It Does
Pingdom is a full-featured monitoring platform (owned by SolarWinds) that includes uptime monitoring, performance tracking, and status pages.
Key Features
- ✅ Uptime monitoring
- ✅ Performance tracking
- ✅ Real User Monitoring (RUM)
- ✅ Public status pages
- ✅ Global monitoring locations
Pros
- Comprehensive feature set
- Enterprise-grade reliability
- Deep analytics
Cons
- Expensive
- Overkill for simple status needs
- Complex interface
Bottom line: Best for teams who need full monitoring + status pages. If you just want status tracking, there are cheaper options.
Which Status Page Tool Should You Choose?
Choose API Status Check if:
- You're a developer monitoring third-party APIs
- You want a free, no-setup solution
- You need alerts without monthly fees
- You monitor Stripe, OpenAI, AWS, etc.
Choose Downdetector if:
- You're tracking consumer services (Netflix, Facebook)
- You want crowdsourced outage reports
- You don't need developer tools
Choose Atlassian StatusPage if:
- You're running a SaaS product
- You need branded status page hosting
- You have budget for the best-in-class tool
Choose Instatus if:
- You want StatusPage features at half the price
- Design matters to you
- You're a startup or small team
Choose Cachet if:
- You want open-source
- You have technical skills for self-hosting
- You want full control
Choose UptimeRobot if:
- You're monitoring your own infrastructure
- You want monitoring + status page in one
- You want a free tier with real features
FAQs
What's the difference between a status page and uptime monitoring?
Status pages display current/historical status—they're informational. Uptime monitoring actively pings your services and alerts you when they go down—it's proactive. Some tools (like UptimeRobot and Pingdom) do both. API Status Check is a status aggregator (shows third-party API status), not a monitor for your own services.
Is there a free status page alternative to StatusPage?
Yes! API Status Check is completely free for monitoring third-party APIs. Cachet is free if you self-host. UptimeRobot offers a free tier with 50 monitors and a basic status page. Instatus has a limited free tier. For hosting your own branded status page with zero cost, Cachet is your best bet.
Can I use multiple status page tools together?
Absolutely. Many developers use API Status Check to monitor third-party APIs (Stripe, AWS, etc.) + UptimeRobot or Pingdom to monitor their own infrastructure + StatusPage or Instatus to host their customer-facing status page. They serve different purposes and complement each other.
Final Verdict
There's no single "best" status page tool—it depends on your needs:
- Best free for developers: API Status Check
- Best for consumers: Downdetector
- Best for enterprises: Atlassian StatusPage
- Best for startups: Instatus
- Best open source: Cachet
- Best all-in-one: UptimeRobot
For most developers reading this, API Status Check is the fastest way to start monitoring critical APIs with zero setup. It's free, it's fast, and it just works.
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