StatusCake is a well-established website monitoring service offering uptime checks, SSL and domain monitoring, page-speed tests, and public status pages. It is reliable, easy to set up, and genuinely useful — especially for teams that want a no-fuss free tier that allows commercial use.
What Is StatusCake?
StatusCake launched in 2012 and has grown into one of the more recognisable names in uptime monitoring. The service checks your websites, APIs, and servers from locations around the world, alerts you the moment something goes wrong, and provides reporting that helps you understand patterns in your availability over time.
Beyond basic uptime, StatusCake bundles several related features — SSL certificate expiry alerts, domain registration expiry tracking, page-speed testing, and hosted public status pages — into a single account. That breadth means many smaller teams can rely on StatusCake as their only monitoring tool rather than stitching together several separate services.
Its reputation is built on straightforward reliability: it does what it says on the tin, and the learning curve is genuinely low.
Key Features
- Uptime monitoring — HTTP/HTTPS checks that alert you when your site goes down or returns unexpected status codes
- SSL certificate monitoring — tracks certificate validity and warns you before expiry, helping you avoid browser security warnings; see our guide on domain & SSL monitoring for context on why this matters
- Domain expiry monitoring — alerts before your domain registration lapses, a separate risk that is easy to overlook
- Page-speed testing — periodic performance snapshots to help you spot regressions in load time
- Public status pages — hosted pages you can share with customers so they can see real-time availability without contacting support
- Approximately 43 monitoring locations — checks run from a network of global nodes, reducing the chance of false positives from a single region
- Alert integrations — built-in support for Slack, Telegram, Discord, email, and more
- Free plan with commercial use — a genuinely usable free tier that does not prohibit business websites (more on this below)
StatusCake Pricing
Free Plan
The free plan allows up to 10 uptime monitors with 5-minute check intervals. Importantly, it explicitly permits commercial use, which many competing free tiers do not. The main condition to be aware of: you must log in to your account approximately every 90 days or checks will be paused. For small projects or developers who simply want basic coverage without paying, this is a solid offer.
Superior Plan — approximately $20/month
The Superior plan raises the monitor count to 100 monitors and shortens check intervals to 1 minute — the entry point for businesses needing more granular monitoring.
Business Plan — approximately $67/month
The Business plan supports up to 300 monitors with 30-second check intervals, aimed at larger teams and agencies. Annual billing typically reduces both figures; verify exact costs on StatusCake's site.
| Plan | Monitors | Check interval | Approx. price/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 | 5 minutes | $0 |
| Superior | 100 | 1 minute | ~$20 |
| Business | 300 | 30 seconds | ~$67 |
Pros
- Easy to set up — adding your first monitor takes under two minutes; no technical knowledge required
- Free plan allows commercial use — uncommon among uptime tools; 10 monitors at 5-minute intervals is genuinely useful for small businesses
- Well-rounded feature set — uptime, SSL, domain, page speed, and status pages in one place avoids juggling multiple tools
- Reliable alerting — StatusCake has a long track record of delivering alerts promptly; users rarely report missed notifications
- Multiple alert channels — Slack, Telegram, Discord, and email support out of the box covers most team communication setups
- ~43 monitoring locations — broad enough for most use cases and helps filter out single-region false positives
- Competitive pricing — the Superior plan at around $20/month is reasonable for 100 monitors at 1-minute intervals
Cons
- Dated user interface — the most consistently cited complaint from long-term users; the dashboard functions well but looks and feels behind modern alternatives
- Free plan requires periodic login — the 90-day re-login requirement to keep checks active is easy to forget and can cause monitoring gaps at the worst time
- Somewhat limited monitoring locations — roughly 43 locations is a reasonable spread, but services built on larger infrastructure networks offer more granular geographic coverage, which matters for globally distributed audiences
- No server-level monitoring on entry plans — CPU, memory, and disk monitoring typically requires an agent install and is positioned higher in the plan structure
- Content change detection not a core feature — if you need to be alerted when specific text on a page changes or disappears, you may need a separate tool or a higher plan
Who Is StatusCake Best For?
- Individual developers and freelancers who want a free tool that works on commercial client sites without upgrading
- Small to medium businesses managing a modest number of properties and wanting one tool for uptime, SSL, domain, and status pages
- Teams comfortable with an older-style interface who prioritise reliability over a polished modern UI
- Budget-conscious buyers who need 1-minute checks across up to 100 monitors at a reasonable price
StatusCake is less ideal if a modern UI is important, if you need dense global coverage, or if you want sub-30-second checks without moving to the Business plan.
Verdict
StatusCake earns its reputation as a dependable, accessible monitoring tool. It is not flashy, and users have been asking for a UI refresh for years — but it does the fundamentals well, the free tier is genuinely useful, and the paid plans are priced fairly. For a developer or small team that needs reliable uptime and SSL alerts without a steep learning curve or a large invoice, StatusCake is a solid choice.
The caveats are real: the dated interface can slow onboarding, the 90-day free-plan login requirement is an avoidable but genuine failure mode, and teams with globally distributed audiences may find the location count limiting. None are dealbreakers, but all are worth factoring in.
Bottom line: StatusCake is a good, honest monitoring tool — not the newest, but reliable, affordable, and straightforward, which counts for a lot when all you really need is the alert to arrive when something breaks.
Looking for a StatusCake Alternative?
If you want to compare StatusCake against a more modern option, MonitoringDaddy vs StatusCake walks through the differences side by side. MonitoringDaddy is an all-in-one hosted monitoring platform covering uptime, SSL, domain, server metrics, and content monitoring in a single modern interface, with status pages included and plans starting from $8/month. If the StatusCake UI has been a friction point for your team, or you want tighter integration of server-level monitoring alongside your uptime checks, it is worth a look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is StatusCake free?
Yes. StatusCake offers a permanently free plan that includes 10 uptime monitors with 5-minute check intervals. Unlike some competitors, the free plan explicitly permits commercial use, so you can monitor business websites without paying. The main condition is that you must log in roughly every 90 days to keep your checks active — if you do not, StatusCake will pause your monitors until you sign back in.
Is StatusCake good for small businesses?
Generally, yes. For a small business that wants basic uptime, SSL, and domain monitoring without paying for a premium tool, StatusCake covers the essentials reliably. The interface is dated by modern standards, but it is functional. If you manage more than 10 properties or need 1-minute check intervals, you will need the Superior plan at around $20/month, which is still reasonably priced for 100 monitors.
What does the StatusCake free plan include?
The free plan includes 10 uptime monitors, 5-minute check intervals, SSL certificate monitoring, domain expiry monitoring, and access to StatusCake's alert integrations including email, Slack, and Discord. Commercial use is permitted. The key limitation to remember is the 90-day active login requirement — checks will pause if you do not log in within that window.
How much does StatusCake cost in 2026?
As of 2026, StatusCake's Superior plan is approximately $20/month for 100 monitors at 1-minute intervals, and the Business plan is approximately $67/month for 300 monitors at 30-second intervals. Pricing can change, and annual billing typically offers a discount, so always verify current figures on StatusCake's own pricing page before subscribing.
How many monitoring locations does StatusCake use?
StatusCake uses approximately 43 monitoring locations globally. This is a reasonable spread for most businesses and helps avoid false positives caused by a single region experiencing connectivity issues. Teams with heavily globalised audiences who need very granular geographic coverage may find this count limiting compared to some alternatives, but it is sufficient for the majority of use cases.
What alert channels does StatusCake support?
StatusCake supports Slack, Telegram, Discord, and email natively, along with a range of additional integrations. For most teams, the built-in Slack and email support is sufficient to route alerts to wherever the right person will see them. If you rely heavily on Microsoft Teams or need custom webhook workflows, check StatusCake's current integration list, as the available channels can change between plan versions.
What are the main complaints about StatusCake?
The most common criticism is the user interface, which many users describe as feeling outdated compared to newer monitoring tools. A secondary complaint is the free plan's 90-day login requirement, which can catch users off guard if they set monitors and then do not return to the dashboard for a while. Some users also note that monitoring locations, while adequate, are less extensive than on platforms built on larger global networks.
Is there a good StatusCake alternative?
MonitoringDaddy is one option worth comparing. It covers uptime, SSL, domain, server, and content monitoring in a single modern interface with status pages included, and plans start from $8/month. See the full StatusCake alternative comparison for a feature-by-feature breakdown. If SSL and domain monitoring are a priority, our guide to domain & SSL monitoring explains what to look for in any tool you evaluate.