Upptime vs Uptime Kuma
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A free uptime monitor and status page that runs on GitHub Actions, Issues, and Pages.
Open source · MIT
Self-hosted uptime monitor that checks your sites and services and alerts you when they go down.
The short answer
Choose Upptime if you need…
- Developers who already use GitHub and want a free uptime monitor
- Small teams or startups that want a public status page without a paid service
- People who want their monitoring data under their own control in a git repository
- Anyone who wants a git-based audit trail of uptime changes and incidents
Choose Uptime Kuma if you need…
- People who want to monitor their own websites or services without paying a hosted monitoring service
- Home lab and self-hosting users who already run Docker
- Small teams that want a status page for their users
- Developers who want simple uptime checks for their apps
Side-by-side
| Upptime | Uptime Kuma | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 17.2k | 93.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Beginner |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Run with Docker |
| Main language | Markdown | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Upptime
Upptime checks whether your websites or services are online, using scheduled GitHub Actions runs as often as every 5 minutes. It records response times in git, opens and closes GitHub Issues when downtime is detected, and publishes a status page with uptime and incident history via GitHub Pages. Its configuration lives in a single file in your repository.
Uptime Kuma
Uptime Kuma is a monitoring tool you run on your own server or computer. It regularly checks websites, servers, and services (over HTTP, TCP, ping, DNS, and other methods) and shows their status in a web dashboard. When something fails, it can send notifications through services such as Telegram, Discord, Slack, or email.
Best for
Upptime
- Developers who already use GitHub and want a free uptime monitor
- Small teams or startups that want a public status page without a paid service
- People who want their monitoring data under their own control in a git repository
- Anyone who wants a git-based audit trail of uptime changes and incidents
Uptime Kuma
- People who want to monitor their own websites or services without paying a hosted monitoring service
- Home lab and self-hosting users who already run Docker
- Small teams that want a status page for their users
- Developers who want simple uptime checks for their apps
Strengths
Upptime
- Free to run when you already use GitHub, with no external server or subscription described in the README
- All configuration is in one file, and data stays in your own repository
- Response times and incidents are recorded in git, giving a full change history
Uptime Kuma
- The README describes a clean, responsive web interface with many monitor types in one tool
- Installation with Docker is a single command, and the README covers both Docker and non-Docker setups
- Open-source under the MIT license with a large, active community on GitHub
Not ideal for
Upptime
- Teams that need checks more frequent than the scheduled interval GitHub Actions supports, since checks run as often as every 5 minutes
- Users who do not use GitHub, because the project depends on GitHub Actions, Issues, and Pages
- Organizations needing enterprise features like guaranteed alert routing, since the README does not describe these
Uptime Kuma
- People who do not want to run and maintain their own server, since the README is built around self-hosting
- Users on FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Replit, or Heroku, which the README lists as unsupported
- Anyone needing enterprise-scale monitoring, since the README does not describe that scale
Trade-offs
Upptime
- Data is tied to the repository; the README says your data is gone if you delete the repo
- Monitoring depends on GitHub Actions scheduling, so check timing is not guaranteed to be exact
- The README is truncated here, so details on alerting options and setup complexity are not fully confirmed
Uptime Kuma
- The README warns that NFS file systems are not supported for data storage, so you must use a local volume
- Non-Docker installs need Node.js 20.4 or newer, Git, and optionally pm2, which takes some setup
- Advanced setup such as reverse proxies and updates is delegated to the project wiki, so some details live outside the README
Getting started
Upptime
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/upptime/upptimeUptime Kuma
Docker Compose setup
mkdir uptime-kumaEnter the folder
cd uptime-kumaFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Upptime and Uptime Kuma?
Upptime: A free uptime monitor and status page that runs on GitHub Actions, Issues, and Pages. Uptime Kuma: Self-hosted uptime monitor that checks your sites and services and alerts you when they go down. Upptime suits developers who already use github and want a free uptime monitor, while Uptime Kuma suits people who want to monitor their own websites or services without paying a hosted monitoring service.
Are Upptime and Uptime Kuma free?
Upptime: Free and open source. Uptime Kuma: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, Upptime or Uptime Kuma?
Uptime Kuma is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Upptime is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is Upptime or Uptime Kuma more popular?
Uptime Kuma has more GitHub stars (93.2k) than Upptime (17.2k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Upptime and Uptime Kuma?
Other options people compare them with include Dockge.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.