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SiteGuardian vs Updown. When pay-per-check and flat per-URL meet.
Updown.io is the per-check micro-pricing model. Small bills at 1-2 URLs, growing fast at 5+. SiteGuardian is the flat per-URL product — Starter ships 10 URLs the day you sign up, Pro ships 50. The dividing line is whether 10 URLs are enough for the shop forever, or whether you actually only have 1-2.
- Updown charges per check. SiteGuardian Starter ships 10 URLs on day one and 50 on Pro.
- Both ship 1-minute probe cadence on paid plans.
- Updown’s free tier is banded; SiteGuardian has no free tier at all.
- Plain dollars on SiteGuardian; Updown prices in EUR.
- Built for one founder, one inbox, one storefront.
When Updown is the right fit
Updown is the right fit when 1-2 URLs is the actual count and per-check pricing yields a smaller bill than flat.
When SiteGuardian is the right fit
SiteGuardian is the right fit when the URL count will exceed 4, the cost is flat dollars, and one loud email is the only delivery.
Quick answer
SiteGuardian vs Updown, in one paragraph.
SiteGuardian wins at 4+ URLs and flat dollars; Updown wins at 1-2 URLs with a developer-friendly API. Updown is pay-per-check ($0.50/check/mo at low volume) with EUR pricing and a 15-second fastest probe cadence, aimed at developers who want an API-shaped product surface. SiteGuardian does not run a free tier; it ships uptime, SSL expiry, broken-link coverage, checkout-failure monitoring, and form-failure monitoring on every paid plan, in one loud email, with three flat tiers in USD. Pick SiteGuardian when flat USD pricing and four URL-side checks beat per-check micro-pricing; pick Updown when 1-2 URLs is the entire watch list and the developer API is the product surface.
What is SiteGuardian vs Updown?
SiteGuardian is a paid URL-side monitor with one loud email per outage and three flat tiers in USD. Updown is a pay-per-check uptime monitor ($0.50/check/mo at low volume) in EUR with a developer-friendly API surface and a 15-second fastest probe cadence. The two overlap on uptime; SiteGuardian adds the four URL-side checks (broken-link coverage, checkout, forms, SSL) Updown does not run.
Is Updown better than SiteGuardian?
Updown is better when 1-2 URLs is the entire watch list, when a developer API is the product surface, or when a 15-second fastest probe cadence matters. SiteGuardian is better when flat USD pricing and one inbox and four URL-side checks beat pay-per-check math in EUR.
Which is cheaper for one storefront?
Updown is pay-per-check and the cheapest in absolute dollars when only one or two URLs need watching. SiteGuardian Starter is $19 a month for one site and ten URLs. Across twelve months of paid use with more than three URLs under watch, SiteGuardian Starter is cheaper than the equivalent Updown per-check math; Updown wins when the URL count stays at one or two.
Does Updown monitor checkout failures?
No. Updown is an HTTP-ping product. It will tell you when your checkout URL returns 5xx, and that is all. It does not run a checkout-specific path probe and does not flag a checkout that is slow but technically up. SiteGuardian probes the checkout URL on the same cadence as your uptime checks and emails you when it goes slow or returns errors.
Does Updown have a free tier?
Updown runs pay-per-check pricing with no monthly minimum; you can run a single check for $0.50/month. There is no traditional free tier. SiteGuardian does not run a free tier either; it is paid from the first URL at $19 a month for Starter.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model (paid) | $19/mo Starter, $39/mo Pro, $299 once Lifetime | $0.50/check/month (volume tiers) |
| Probe cadence (paid) | Every minute (Pro) | Every 15 seconds on paid |
| Probe cadence (free tier) | Free at low-rate intervals | |
| Public status page | ||
| Custom slow threshold per URL | ||
| Alert destination | One inbox | Email, Slack, webhooks |
| Best fit | Small shop | API / developer |
| AI-powered root cause | Not yet available | Not yet available |
Pricing, line by line
Updown’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 |
CompetitorUpdown pay-per-check | $0.50/check/month | Volume tiers down to a few dollars a month for 1 URL |
CompetitorUpdown Free | $0/month (low-rate) | Free at low-rate intervals, paid plans start at small checks |
Verification trail
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Starter: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-08-23
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Pro: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-08-23
- SiteGuardian — SiteGuardian Lifetime: https://siteguardian.app/pricingverified 2026-08-23
- Updown — Updown pay-per-check: https://updown.io/pricingverified 2026-07-19
- Updown — Updown Free: https://updown.io/pricingverified 2026-07-19
Honest pros & cons
What each tool genuinely does well — and where it’s rough.
Updown
Pros
- Per-check pricing yields a tiny bill at low URL counts.
- 15-second probe cadence on paid plans.
- Public status page ships on paid tiers.
Rough edges
- Per-check pricing climbs linearly — 10 URLs is roughly the same bill as SiteGuardian Starter.
- EUR pricing exposes the shop to FX swings.
- API-shaped product UI is not founder-friendly.
SiteGuardian
Pros
- Flat $19/mo for 10 URLs on day one.
- Per-URL slow thresholds on every plan.
- USD pricing, no FX exposure.
Rough edges
- No free tier; you pay from URL one.
- No public status page in the base product.
- Slowest cadence is 5 minutes on Starter; Updown does 15 seconds.
Who it’s for
The two buyer profiles — and which one you are.
Updown is for
A developer-led shop with 1-2 URLs to watch who can use an API-shaped product surface.
SiteGuardian is for
A small Shopify / WordPress shop with 4+ URLs to monitor and no developer to wire up a per-check API.
The verdict
Updown at 1-2 URLs; SiteGuardian at 4+ URLs and flat dollars.
Pick SiteGuardian if
A small Shopify / WordPress shop with 4+ URLs to monitor across pages, who values flat USD pricing and a one-inbox product surface.
Pick Updown if
A developer or one-shop operator with 1-2 URLs to watch who is happy with an API-shaped product and per-check micro-pricing.
Frequently asked
The buying-time questions, answered flat.
Frequently asked
Mega comparison
See every comparison we wrote.
Nineteen alternatives, side by side in one decision matrix.
Related reading
Keep comparing.
Try it
If Updown 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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