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SiteGuardian vs Better Uptime. When you don’t need an on-call rotation.
Better Uptime is the uptime + status page + on-call rotation product. The free tier is generous (10 monitors, 3-minute cadence, status page). SiteGuardian is the simpler paid product for the founder who only wants one loud email per outage — no rotation, no dashboard.
- Better Uptime ships an on-call rotation. SiteGuardian deliberately does not.
- Better Uptime’s free tier is 10 monitors at 3-minute cadence. SiteGuardian has no free tier.
- Per-URL slow threshold is a SiteGuardian default. Better Uptime has global response thresholds per monitor.
- USD pricing flat on SiteGuardian. Better Uptime per-seat licensing as you add responders.
- Built for one founder, one inbox, one storefront.
When Better Uptime is the right fit
Better Uptime is the right fit when an on-call rotation, a status page, and a generous free tier are all buying-time requirements.
When SiteGuardian is the right fit
SiteGuardian is the right fit when one inbox is enough, the URL count will exceed 4, and flat USD pricing matters.
Feature-by-feature
Where each one differs, side by side.
The rows below are the axes a small shop should care about most when choosing a monitor. Anything outside this list is something most small shops do not use.
| Feature | SiteGuardian | Competitor |
|---|---|---|
| Probe cadence (free tier) | Every 3 minutes, up to 10 monitors | |
| Probe cadence (paid) | Every minute (Pro) | Every 30 seconds |
| On-call rotation | ||
| Public status page | ||
| Custom slow threshold per URL | Per monitor, not per URL | |
| Pricing model (paid) | $19/mo Starter, $39/mo Pro, $299 once Lifetime | Per monitor + per seat |
| Alert destination | One inbox | Email, SMS, Slack, phone, push |
| Best fit | Small shop | Team with on-call + status page |
| AI-powered root cause | Not yet available | Not yet available |
Pricing, line by line
Better Uptime’s real public pricing, next to SiteGuardian’s.
Each row is one tier the competitor publishes on their pricing page, plus SiteGuardian Starter / Pro / Lifetime. The verification trail below the table names the source URL and the date we re-checked it.
| Tier | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
SiteGuardianSiteGuardian Starter | $19/month | 1 site, 10 URLs, every-5-min probes |
SiteGuardianSiteGuardian Pro | $39/month | 3 sites, 50 URLs, every-1-min probes |
SiteGuardianSiteGuardian Lifetime | $299 once | 1 site, 50 URLs, every-5-min probes, all future updates included |
CompetitorBetter Uptime Free | $0/month | 10 monitors, 3-min cadence, status page, basic on-call |
CompetitorBetter Uptime Starter | From $25/month (annual) | Per monitor + per seat, status page, escalation |
CompetitorBetter Uptime Pro | From $79/month (annual) | Per monitor + per seat, 30-second cadence, on-call, status page |
Verification trail
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Starter: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-07-17
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Pro: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-07-17
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Lifetime: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-07-17
- Better — Better Uptime Free: https://betteruptime.com/pricingverified 2026-07-19
- Better — Better Uptime Starter: https://betteruptime.com/pricingverified 2026-07-19
- Better — Better Uptime Pro: https://betteruptime.com/pricingverified 2026-07-19
Honest pros & cons
What each tool genuinely does well — and where it’s rough.
Better Uptime
Pros
- Generous free tier (10 monitors, 3-min cadence, status page).
- On-call rotation ships on paid tiers.
- 30-second cadence on paid plans.
Rough edges
- Per-seat licensing climbs past $80/mo as responders are added.
- Per-monitor plus per-seat pricing — two axes, harder to forecast.
- Slow thresholds are set per monitor, not per URL.
SiteGuardian
Pros
- Per-URL slow thresholds on every plan.
- Flat $19 / $39 / $299 pricing per site, not per seat.
- Single-inbox product surface — no rotation to manage.
Rough edges
- No free tier; you pay from URL one.
- No on-call rotation in the base product.
- Slowest cadence is 5 minutes on Starter.
Who it’s for
The two buyer profiles — and which one you are.
Better Uptime is for
A small team with 2+ engineers on an on-call rotation who needs status pages, pagers, and escalation chains in one stack.
SiteGuardian is for
A 1-founder Shopify / WordPress shop with 4+ URLs to monitor and no on-call rotation.
The verdict
SiteGuardian for one founder; Better Uptime when free + status + rotation is the buying list.
Pick SiteGuardian if
A 1-founder Shopify / WordPress shop with 4+ URLs to watch and no on-call rotation, who wants flat USD pricing and one inbox.
Pick Better Uptime if
A small team with 2+ engineers on a rotation who specifically wants the status page + escalation chains, and the free tier fits the URL count.
Frequently asked
The buying-time questions, answered flat.
Frequently asked
Mega comparison
See every comparison we wrote.
Fourteen alternatives, side by side in one decision matrix.
Related reading
Keep comparing.
Try it
If Better Uptime feels heavier than you need. Try SiteGuardian.
Starter is $19 a month. One site, ten URLs, every-five-minute checks. Pro is $39 a month. Three sites, fifty URLs, every-minute checks. Lifetime is $299 paid once and stays yours with every future update included.
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