Better Stack vs exit1.dev
Polished on-call and status pages, vs 500 monitors, every protocol, and MCP.
Better Stack (formerly Better Uptime) built its reputation on slick status pages and on-call incident management. It's a strong product — but its paid plans start at just 10 monitors, with more billed as add-ons. exit1.dev gives you 500 monitors on Pro at a lower price, every protocol on the free tier, and MCP for AI assistants. Here's the honest breakdown.
Best known for: beautiful status pages and built-in on-call scheduling.
The short version
Better Stack is the pick if on-call scheduling, incident management, and unlimited SMS are central to your workflow. exit1.dev wins on monitor volume and breadth: 500 monitors on Pro at $24/mo vs Better Stack's 10-monitor Responder base at $34/mo, plus TCP/UDP/ICMP/WebSocket checks free.
Free tier
What each gives you for $0.
| Feature | exit1.devFree | Better StackFree |
|---|---|---|
| Monitors | 10 | 10 |
| Check interval | 5 min | 3 min |
| Protocols | HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, WebSocket | HTTP only |
| SSL certificate monitoring | ||
| Response validation (JSON, headers, body) | ||
| Webhooks | 1 | |
| Slack / Discord / Teams | Slack only | |
| REST API | ||
| Public status page | 1 | 1 |
| Log retention | 60 days | 3 days |
- Monitors
- 10
- Check interval
- 5 min
- Protocols
- HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, WebSocket
- SSL certificate monitoring
- Response validation (JSON, headers, body)
- Webhooks
- 1
- Slack / Discord / Teams
- REST API
- Public status page
- 1
- Log retention
- 60 days
- Monitors
- 10
- Check interval
- 3 min
- Protocols
- HTTP only
- SSL certificate monitoring
- Response validation (JSON, headers, body)
- Webhooks
- Slack / Discord / Teams
- Slack only
- REST API
- Public status page
- 1
- Log retention
- 3 days
Paid tier
exit1.dev Pro ($24/mo) vs Better Stack Responder ($34/mo, $29 annual).
| Feature | exit1.devPro — $24/mo | Better StackResponder — $34/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Monitors included | 500 | 10 (add-ons extra) |
| Minimum check interval | 30 sec | 30 sec |
| Multi-region checks | ||
| Protocols | HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, WebSocket | HTTP + TCP + DNS |
| SSL certificate monitoring | ||
| SMS alerts | 50 / month included | Unlimited |
| On-call scheduling | ||
| Slack / Discord / Teams | ||
| Webhooks | 25 | |
| MCP (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf) | ||
| REST API | ||
| Log retention | 365 days | Unlimited incidents |
- Monitors included
- 500
- Minimum check interval
- 30 sec
- Multi-region checks
- Protocols
- HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, WebSocket
- SSL certificate monitoring
- SMS alerts
- 50 / month included
- On-call scheduling
- Slack / Discord / Teams
- Webhooks
- 25
- MCP (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)
- REST API
- Log retention
- 365 days
- Monitors included
- 10 (add-ons extra)
- Minimum check interval
- 30 sec
- Multi-region checks
- Protocols
- HTTP + TCP + DNS
- SSL certificate monitoring
- SMS alerts
- Unlimited
- On-call scheduling
- Slack / Discord / Teams
- Webhooks
- MCP (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)
- REST API
- Log retention
- Unlimited incidents
Better Stack Responder's base plan includes 10 monitors; scaling to 50 adds roughly $21–$25/month in add-ons. Figures reflect published plans as of 2026.
Where exit1.dev wins
- 500 monitors on Pro vs Better Stack Responder's 10-monitor base (the rest are paid add-ons).
- Every protocol — TCP, UDP, ICMP, WebSocket — on the free tier; Better Stack free is HTTP only.
- SSL monitoring, JSON validation, and a webhook on the free plan.
- MCP access for AI assistants, which Better Stack doesn't offer.
Where Better Stack wins
- Unlimited SMS on paid plans vs our 50/month on Pro.
- Built-in on-call scheduling and incident management (rotations, escalations).
- Status pages are among the most polished in the category.
Better Stack vs exit1.dev — FAQ
Better Stack vs exit1.dev — which is cheaper?
exit1.dev Pro is $24/mo for 500 monitors. Better Stack Responder is $34/mo but starts at 10 monitors, with more billed as add-ons — so exit1.dev is markedly cheaper once you scale past a handful of monitors.
Does Better Stack have on-call scheduling?
Yes — on-call rotations and incident management are a core Better Stack strength. exit1.dev focuses on monitoring depth (all protocols, 500 monitors, MCP) rather than full incident-management workflows, so if on-call is your priority, Better Stack has the edge there.
Is exit1.dev's free plan better than Better Stack's?
For monitoring depth, yes: exit1.dev free includes SSL monitoring, JSON/header validation, a webhook, and every protocol, while Better Stack's free tier is HTTP only with 3-day retention. Better Stack free does include REST API access, which exit1.dev reserves for Pro.
Try exit1.dev free — no credit card
10 monitors, every protocol, SSL monitoring, and instant alerts on the free plan. Scale to 500 monitors and 30-second checks on Pro whenever you're ready.