Pingdom is a solid monitoring tool. It's also $15/month minimum with no free tier. If you just need uptime checks and alerts, that's a lot to pay.
| Tier | Pingdom | OpenPing |
|---|---|---|
| Free | None (14-day trial) | 25 monitors, 3-min checks |
| 10 monitors | $15/mo | $0 (free tier) |
| 50 monitors | $50/mo | $7/mo |
| 100 monitors | $95/mo | $19/mo |
| Check frequency | 1 min | 30s-3 min (by plan) |
| Status pages | Paid add-on | Included free |
| RUM (Real User Monitoring) | Yes | No |
| Transaction monitoring | Yes | No |
Pingdom is better for
OpenPing is better for
Bottom line: Pingdom is a mature product with advanced features like RUM and transaction monitoring. If you need those, use Pingdom. If you just need "check my URL and email me when it's down," you're paying $15-95/month for features you won't use. OpenPing does the basics for free.