Indie uptime alternative to Datadog — not full observability
StillOnline vs Datadog
Datadog is an enterprise observability platform (APM, logs, infrastructure, synthetics — pricing). StillOnline is only external HTTP uptime + status pages, from $0 / $9 / $29.
Quick answer
StillOnline vs Datadog: Datadog is enterprise observability (APM, logs, infra); StillOnline is external HTTP checks + status page only — $0 / $9 / $29, 1 URL on Free, not a Datadog replacement. Pricing · Uptime monitoring · Status pages · MCP.
Independence
StillOnline publishes this comparison; we sell StillOnline. Verify Datadog pricing and limits on their official pricing page. Last verified: 2026-06-25.
Best for / Not best for
| Best for | Not best for | |
|---|---|---|
| StillOnline | Solo/small teams needing affordable external uptime + customer status page + MCP on Pro ($9), predictable $0–$29/mo | Full-stack observability — APM, logs, distributed tracing, enterprise compliance |
| Datadog | Enterprise SRE teams with budget for unified telemetry (APM, logs, metrics, RUM, synthetics, security) | Indie founders who only need "is my API up?" and a public status link |
TL;DR
- Choose Datadog for full-stack observability and enterprise compliance.
- Choose StillOnline for affordable external uptime + customer status page + MCP.
- Common pattern: Datadog inside the VPC; StillOnline for public probes and status communication.
Quick comparison
| Feature | StillOnline | Datadog (pricing) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Uptime + status page | APM, logs, metrics, synthetics, security |
| Typical cost | $0–29/mo | Often $100s–1000s/mo |
| Agents required | No | Yes (for most products) |
| Status pages | Included | Not a first-class public status product |
| Setup time | Minutes | Days–weeks |
| MCP for indie monitors | Pro $9 — MCP | Enterprise ecosystem |
What Datadog does well
Per Datadog pricing:
- Unified telemetry: traces, logs, metrics, RUM, synthetics.
- 750+ integrations and enterprise features (SSO, compliance).
- Synthetic tests from global locations with advanced scenarios.
Where StillOnline wins
10–100× lower cost for "is it up?"
If the job is probe my HTTPS health URL and show customers a status page, StillOnline Pro at $9 is orders of magnitude cheaper than standing up Datadog synthetics plus platform minimums.
Zero agents
StillOnline probes from the outside, like a user — no host agent install.
Status page + subscribe flow
Built for public trust: page auto-created, Google subscribe (v1), public JSON at api.stillonline.tech/v1/public/status/{slug}.
AI-native ops on Pro
MCP + REST on Pro/Ultimate for coding agents — without Datadog contract complexity. See pricing.
When to choose Datadog
- You need APM and distributed tracing daily.
- You have SRE team and enterprise budget.
- Compliance requires a single enterprise vendor.
When to choose StillOnline
- Solo or small team needs status page + alerts only.
- You want predictable SaaS bill and agent-friendly API.
Methodology
We compared both products as external uptime + status communication tools for indie SaaS (June 2026). StillOnline limits come from production plan config (Free: 1 project, 1 URL, 5 min interval, 24h history; Pro $9: 10 projects, API/MCP). Datadog figures come from official pricing as of 2026-06-25. We did not run a 7-day parallel probe benchmark — feature tables reflect published specs, not live SLA measurements. StillOnline is not positioned as a Datadog replacement for APM/logs.
FAQ
Can StillOnline and Datadog coexist?
Yes — Datadog for internal depth; StillOnline for external SLA view and public status page.
Is StillOnline a Datadog alternative?
For external HTTP uptime + customer status page + MCP on Pro, yes. For APM, logs, and distributed tracing, no — use Datadog or similar.
Which is cheaper for external uptime checks?
StillOnline: $0 / $9 / $29 flat. Datadog synthetics typically cost $100s+/mo with platform minimums — see Datadog pricing.
Does Datadog have MCP / AI agent integration?
Datadog has a large enterprise API ecosystem but no indie-focused MCP server like StillOnline's on Pro ($9). See MCP docs.
Can I use StillOnline Free for a commercial SaaS?
Yes — Free includes 1 project, 1 check, and a public status page for shipped products.
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