hostnag vs Better Stack

Better Stack pairs fast uptime, heartbeat and SSL/domain checks with incident escalation, on-call scheduling and log management in one platform. One timeline of what will break (certificates, domains, mail setup) and what is broken, alongside the incident and on-call tools Better Stack already has.

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Better Stack read from its public documentation on 2026-09-15. Tell us if it changed.

What breaks, and whether Better Stack or hostnag covers it
What breaks	Better Stack	hostnag
A host goes downwebsite, API, VPN, mail, gateway	Yes	Yes
A certificate expiresdays-before thresholds, daily inside the last window	YesSSL certificate checks verify current validity and a configurable expiry window (1 to 60 days).	Yes
Better Stack: SSL certificate checks verify current validity and a configurable expiry window (1 to 60 days).
A domain lapsesregistration expiry from RDAP	YesDomain expiration monitoring is built into the uptime and keyword monitor types on a paid plan.	Yes
Better Stack: Domain expiration monitoring is built into the uptime and keyword monitor types on a paid plan.
A certificate is swappedfingerprint changed, wrong host, chain not trusted	UnknownThe SSL certificate checks page documents validity and expiry only; it does not say whether a fingerprint, hostname or chain change is detected.	Yes
Better Stack: The SSL certificate checks page documents validity and expiry only; it does not say whether a fingerprint, hostname or chain change is detected.
A DNS record driftsexpected answer missing or changed	UnknownThe DNS monitor page only describes querying a DNS server with a domain name; it does not document checking the answer against an expected value.	Yes
Better Stack: The DNS monitor page only describes querying a DNS server with a domain name; it does not document checking the answer against an expected value.
An ISP link dropsthe public address from several locations, confirmed by a ping from inside the site	UnknownNo combined outside-check-plus-inside-confirmation monitor for an office or ISP link is documented.	Yesoutside and inside
Better Stack: No combined outside-check-plus-inside-confirmation monitor for an office or ISP link is documented.hostnag: outside and inside
Mail stops being deliveredMX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and blocklists, at the expiry cadence of your plan	UnknownSMTP, POP3 and IMAP monitors are documented as server-reachability checks; nothing documents SPF, DKIM, DMARC or blocklist checking.	Yes
Better Stack: SMTP, POP3 and IMAP monitors are documented as server-reachability checks; nothing documents SPF, DKIM, DMARC or blocklist checking.
Someone issues a certificate for your domainnew certificates in the transparency logs, daily	UnknownNo certificate transparency log watch is documented on the product page.	Yes
Better Stack: No certificate transparency log watch is documented on the product page.
A scheduled job stops runningcron, backups, workers: a heartbeat that goes quiet	YesA cron and heartbeat monitor expects a periodic ping and raises an incident if it is missed past its grace period.	Yes
Better Stack: A cron and heartbeat monitor expects a periodic ping and raises an incident if it is missed past its grace period.
Your nameservers or registrar changenameservers, registrar, DNSSEC, certificate issuer, DNS answers, redirect targets	UnknownThe DNS monitor documentation does not describe watching NS records, registrar data, DNSSEC or redirect targets for a change.	Yes
Better Stack: The DNS monitor documentation does not describe watching NS records, registrar data, DNSSEC or redirect targets for a change.

UNKNOWN means their documentation did not say either way on the day we read it. PARTLY is covered with a limit noted in the cell.

What Better Stack has that we don't

On-call scheduling and escalation policies bundled with uptime monitoring.
iOS and Android mobile apps with push, SMS and phone-call alerts.
A public REST API for managing monitors and heartbeats.
ICMP ping monitoring, not just a TCP port check.
A bundled log management product (Vector, Syslog or OpenTelemetry ingestion).

Switching

01Paste a Better Stack API token (Team Settings, API tokens) in the import dialog; it is used once and never stored.
02HTTP, keyword, TCP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP and DNS monitors carry over with their type, target and port; mail-protocol checks become TCP port monitors in hostnag.
03Ping (ICMP) monitors are not supported and are listed with a note to watch the port instead or use a link monitor.
04Cron and heartbeat monitors are not read by this importer yet and are listed as unsupported so nothing is lost silently.
05Check intervals snap up to the nearest hostnag preset (1, 5, 15, 60, 360 or 1440 minutes).
06Monitors are created up to your plan's limit; the rest stay listed in the preview.

Pricing

A free tier covers 10 monitors and heartbeats with 3-minute checks and one status page; paid uptime plans check as often as every 30 seconds, with extra monitors, heartbeats and incident-response seats billed as add-ons.

Free

$0/ mo

For your own handful of hosts.

Monitors: 5
Groups: 1
Status pages: 1
Seats: 1
Every: 5min
Locations: 1
History: 30days
Channels: Email

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Pro

$19/ mo

For a team's sites, APIs and gateways.

Monitors: 50
Groups: 10
Status pages: 10
Seats: 5
Every: 1min
Locations: 3
History: 90days
Channels: Email, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Webhook

Start with Pro

Business

$79/ mo

For many groups: clients, products or offices.

Monitors: 500
Groups: ∞
Status pages: ∞
Seats: 25
Every: 1min
Locations: 4
History: 365days
Channels: Email, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Webhook, SMS, PagerDuty, Opsgenie

Start with Business

Sources

Read on 2026-09-15.

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