Which has faster check intervals, CronAlert or OnlineOrNot?

OnlineOrNot's Pro tier checks as often as every 30 seconds; CronAlert's paid plans check every 1 minute (free is 3 minutes for both CronAlert and roughly comparable to OnlineOrNot's 3-minute Hobby interval). In practice the difference between 30 seconds and 1 minute rarely changes outcomes — detection time is usually dominated by confirmation logic that suppresses false positives. Both products re-verify failures before alerting.

Do both CronAlert and OnlineOrNot support cron job heartbeat monitoring?

Yes. Both let a scheduled job ping a unique URL on every successful run and alert you when the pings stop. CronAlert includes heartbeats on every plan, sharing the 25-monitor free allowance; OnlineOrNot also offers cron job monitoring alongside its uptime checks. If heartbeats are a primary need, compare how many total monitors each free tier gives you.

CronAlert vs OnlineOrNot: Feature Comparison and Pricing

Q: Is CronAlert or OnlineOrNot cheaper?

For most monitor counts, CronAlert. CronAlert's free tier includes 25 monitors; OnlineOrNot's Hobby tier includes 3. On paid plans the gap widens with scale: CronAlert Pro is a flat $5/mo for 100 monitors, while OnlineOrNot Pro starts at $15/mo for 10 uptime monitors and adds $10 per 25 additional — roughly $55/mo at the 100-monitor mark. OnlineOrNot's Pro tier does include things CronAlert prices differently, like 30-second check intervals, unlimited team members, and 12-month data retention, so compare against your actual needs.

Q: Does CronAlert offer browser checks like OnlineOrNot?

No. OnlineOrNot bundles metered browser check runs that render pages in a real browser, useful for catching client-side rendering failures. CronAlert deliberately sticks to HTTP checks and covers the 'up but wrong' problem with keyword and regex assertions plus SHA-256 content-hash change detection on the response body — zero-maintenance checks that catch empty templates, error pages returning 200, and broken deploys. If you specifically need JavaScript rendered before validation, OnlineOrNot's browser checks or a dedicated synthetics tool is the right call.

Q: Can CronAlert send SMS alerts like OnlineOrNot?

No. OnlineOrNot includes SMS alerts on its Pro tier. CronAlert alerts via email, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, PagerDuty, Opsgenie, Splunk On-Call, webhooks, and PWA push notifications — the push notifications reach your phone's lock screen without SMS. If a text message specifically must arrive, OnlineOrNot Pro has it natively; if escalation goes through PagerDuty or Opsgenie anyway, CronAlert routes there on paid plans.

OnlineOrNot is one of the most likable products in the uptime space: built by Max Rozen as a self-funded, independent alternative to enterprise monitoring suites, shipped in small daily releases, and aimed squarely at freelancers, agencies, and small software teams. It checks websites from multiple regions, monitors SSL certificates and cron jobs, runs browser checks, and re-runs every failed check before alerting. CronAlert shares a lot of that DNA — independent, simple, priced for small teams — which makes this a comparison between two tools solving the same problem with different trade-offs, not a David-and-Goliath story.

This comparison aims to be fair to both. Where OnlineOrNot is genuinely ahead we say so, and both products ship frequently, so verify current pricing and limits on OnlineOrNot's site before committing.

Feature comparison at a glance

OnlineOrNot

Uptime checks from multiple global regions, as often as every 30 seconds on Pro
Browser check runs (metered) that render pages in a real browser
SSL certificate monitoring, configurable HTTP method/headers/body, expected status codes
Cron job and heartbeat monitoring
Every failed check runs at least twice before alerting
Alerts: email, Slack, Discord, Telegram free; SMS, webhooks, and on-call integrations (PagerDuty, Opsgenie, Grafana OnCall, Incident.io) on Pro
Public API and an open-source CLI; public and private status pages
Pricing: Hobby free (3 uptime monitors, 3-min interval, 2 members, 14-day retention), Pro from $15/mo (10 monitors, then $10 per 25 more; 30-sec interval; unlimited members; 12-month retention), Enterprise custom

CronAlert

HTTP/HTTPS checks with SSL certificate monitoring built in
Keyword, string, and regex matching plus SHA-256 content-hash change detection
Heartbeat / cron job monitoring on every plan, including free
Multi-region checks across five Cloudflare edge regions with quorum logic (Team and Business)
Alerts via email, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, PagerDuty, Opsgenie, Splunk On-Call, webhooks, and PWA push
Full REST API on every plan, plus MCP integrations for AI assistants
Status pages with 90-day history, incident tracking, an Atom feed, and custom domains on paid plans
Flat, predictable pricing: Free $0 (25 monitors), Pro $5/mo, Team $20/mo, Business $50/mo

Where OnlineOrNot leans

First, check frequency and browser checks. OnlineOrNot Pro checks every 30 seconds — twice CronAlert's fastest interval — and its metered browser check runs render pages in a real browser, catching client-side failures (a JavaScript bundle that 404s, a React app that white-screens) that no plain HTTP check can see. It's a lighter-weight take on the synthetic checks that Checkly builds its whole product around.

Second, Pro-tier generosity beyond monitor count. Unlimited team members on Pro is unusual at this price point — CronAlert doesn't add team seats until its $20 Team plan — and 12 months of data retention on Pro beats CronAlert Pro's 30 days for anyone who needs long-horizon uptime reporting at low cost.

Third, native SMS and a CLI. SMS alerts are included on Pro without a third-party escalation service, and the open-source CLI is a nice touch for terminal-first workflows. Like CronAlert, OnlineOrNot re-verifies failures before alerting, so neither product will page you for a single blip.

Where CronAlert pulls ahead

The first answer is the free tier and flat pricing at scale. CronAlert's free plan includes 25 monitors — more than eight times OnlineOrNot's 3 — with SSL monitoring, heartbeats, a status page, webhooks, and the full REST API included. On paid plans the curve diverges quickly: monitor number 11 on OnlineOrNot starts a $10-per-25-monitors meter, so a 100-monitor fleet runs roughly $55/mo against CronAlert Pro's flat $5/mo, and a 500-monitor agency fleet lands around $211/mo against CronAlert Team's flat $20/mo. If you monitor more than a handful of endpoints, the arithmetic is decisive.

Second, content-aware checks without a browser. CronAlert's keyword and regex assertions and SHA-256 content-hash checks catch "up but wrong" failures — error pages returning 200, empty templates, defacements, stale content — with one line of configuration and no metered check runs. Browser checks catch a superset of these, but they're metered; content assertions are included flat.

Third, status pages included, not add-ons. Every CronAlert plan includes a public status page with incident tracking; Pro includes 3 and Team unlimited. OnlineOrNot includes one status page (limited on Hobby) and prices additional pages at $24/mo each — more than CronAlert's entire Team plan. Agencies publishing a status page per client should read that sentence twice.

Finally, API on the free tier and AI-native management. CronAlert ships its full REST API on every plan including free, plus an MCP server so Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf can create and manage monitors conversationally. OnlineOrNot has a public API and CLI as well; CronAlert's differentiator is having all of it, plus MCP, at $0.

Two similar philosophies, one different meter

Both products believe monitoring should be simple and affordable — the difference is what scales the bill. OnlineOrNot meters monitor count and browser check runs: predictable at small scale, but growing fleets buy $10 monitor packs and additional $24 status pages. CronAlert's plans are flat: the tier sets your monitor ceiling and everything inside it — checks, status pages within plan limits, API calls, alert channels — is included. If you're at 5 monitors, the two bills look similar (or both are $0). At 50+, they don't. Our buyer's guide covers how to weigh metered vs flat models against your growth curve.

When to pick each

Pick OnlineOrNot if: you want 30-second check intervals, you need browser-rendered checks for client-side failures without adopting a full synthetics platform, native SMS matters, you want unlimited teammates on a $15 plan, or 12-month history on a budget tier is important. It's a well-built, honestly priced product from an independent developer, and for a small fleet it's a fine choice.

Pick CronAlert if: you need more than a few monitors — the 25-monitor free tier and flat $5 Pro make CronAlert dramatically cheaper as fleets grow — or you want status pages per client without per-page fees, content assertions included flat rather than metered browser runs, multi-region quorum checks to suppress false positives, or a full API and MCP integration from the free tier up.

Pricing side by side

OnlineOrNot: Hobby (free) — 3 uptime monitors, 3-minute interval, 1,000 browser check runs/mo, up to 2 team members, 1 limited status page, 14-day retention. Pro (from $15/mo) — 10 uptime monitors then $10 per 25 additional, 30-second interval, 3,000 browser check runs then $4 per 1,000, unlimited members, 1 status page then $24 each, SMS/webhooks/on-call integrations, 12-month retention, custom domain, audit logs. Enterprise — custom, 99.9% SLA.

CronAlert uses flat monthly plans:

Free — $0/mo: 25 monitors, 3-minute interval, 1 status page, email/Slack/Discord/webhook alerts, full REST API, SSL monitoring, 7-day retention.
Pro — $5/mo ($4/mo annual): 100 monitors, 1-minute interval, 3 status pages, all alert channels including Teams/Telegram/PagerDuty, keyword monitoring, maintenance windows, 30-day retention.
Team — $20/mo ($16/mo annual): 500 monitors, 1-minute interval, unlimited status pages, 10 members, multi-region checks, 90-day retention.
Business — $50/mo ($40/mo annual): unlimited monitors, status pages, and members, multi-region checks, SSO/SAML, audit logs, 1-year retention.

How to decide

Count your monitors first. At 3 or fewer, both free tiers work — compare features, not price. From 4 to 25, CronAlert is free where OnlineOrNot costs $15/mo. Beyond 25, the flat-vs-metered difference compounds every month. Then ask whether any OnlineOrNot exclusive — 30-second intervals, browser checks, SMS, 12-month Pro retention — is on your must-have list; if one is, that may be worth the meter. For the wider landscape, see our free uptime monitoring tools roundup and buyer's guide.

Then run the real test: point both at the same endpoints for a week, trigger a genuine failure, and compare detection time, alert clarity, and false-alarm rate. Tune your timeout thresholds either way.

Frequently asked questions

Is CronAlert or OnlineOrNot cheaper?

CronAlert for most monitor counts: 25 free monitors vs 3, and a flat $5/mo for 100 monitors vs roughly $55/mo on OnlineOrNot's metered Pro. OnlineOrNot's Pro does bundle 30-second intervals, unlimited members, and 12-month retention, so weigh what your team actually uses.

Does CronAlert offer browser checks like OnlineOrNot?

No. CronAlert covers "up but wrong" failures with keyword/regex assertions and SHA-256 content-hash checks instead of rendering pages in a browser. If client-side rendering failures are a primary risk, OnlineOrNot's metered browser checks catch them; for most sites and APIs, content assertions catch the common cases at zero marginal cost.

Which has faster check intervals?

OnlineOrNot Pro checks every 30 seconds; CronAlert paid plans check every 1 minute. Both re-verify failures before alerting, and confirmation logic — not raw interval — usually dominates real detection time.

Do both support cron job heartbeat monitoring?

Yes. Both alert when a scheduled job's ping goes silent. CronAlert includes heartbeats on all plans within the 25-monitor free allowance; OnlineOrNot offers cron monitoring alongside its uptime checks.

Can CronAlert send SMS alerts like OnlineOrNot?

No — CronAlert reaches your phone via PWA push, or via PagerDuty/Opsgenie escalation on paid plans, but has no native SMS. OnlineOrNot includes SMS on Pro.

Try CronAlert on your own endpoints

If your fleet is bigger than a handful of URLs — or you'd like it to be able to grow without a meter running — start with CronAlert's free plan: 25 monitors, SSL and keyword checks, heartbeats, a status page, and the full REST API, no card required. Create a free CronAlert account and add your first monitor in under a minute.