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Synthetic and uptime monitoring as code · by Checkly GmbH

Checkly

Monitoring-as-code for uptime, API and Playwright browser checks, defined in TypeScript or Terraform and run from 22 locations, with status pages and AI root-cause analysis.

Visit checklyhq.com ↗ Alternatives Free tier EU region
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Overview

Checkly focuses on synthetic monitoring: it runs checks against your site and APIs on a schedule from data centres around the world. Monitor types cover HTTP, TCP, DNS, ICMP, SSL, gRPC, traceroute and heartbeats, plus multistep API checks and real Playwright browser scripts that can log in or complete a checkout.

The distinctive part is monitoring as code. Checks are written as TypeScript constructs or Terraform/Pulumi resources, tested locally with the CLI and deployed from CI, so the same Playwright tests can run as end-to-end tests and as production monitors.

Pricing is modular. Detect covers monitors and check runs, Communicate covers status pages and dashboards, and Resolve covers AI root-cause analysis. The free Hobby tier includes a slice of each for one user; Starter and Team raise limits, add users and, on Team, unlock all 22 locations and private locations for internal services.

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Pricing and plans

checked 28 Sept 2026

Free tier

Hobby: 1 user, 10 uptime monitors, 1,000 browser check runs and 10,000 API check runs a month from 6 locations (max 3 per check), a status page with 20 services, 10 AI root-cause analyses.

Plan Price What you get
Hobby $0 1 user, 10 monitors, 1,000 browser and 10,000 API check runs, 6 locations
Starter Detect $24/mo annual ($29 monthly) 3 users, 50 monitors, 3,000 browser and 25,000 API runs, automatic retries; status pages +$9, AI RCA +$12 annual
Team Detect $64/mo annual ($80 monthly) 10 users, 75 monitors, 12,000 browser and 100,000 API runs, all 22 locations, private locations; status pages +$30, AI RCA +$39 annual
Enterprise Custom Parallel scheduling, white-label status pages, custom limits

Each module (Detect, Communicate, Resolve) is priced separately; annual billing saves about 20%. Add-ons: 25 extra monitors $10/mo ($8 annual), 1,000 browser runs $5 ($4), 10,000 API runs $2 ($1.80). Overages are charged automatically: $6.50 per 1,000 browser runs and $2.60 per 10,000 API runs on Starter. Check frequency limits per plan were not shown in the pricing text read. Checkly is a Berlin company; compliance certifications were not listed on the pages read.

Source: www.checklyhq.com/pricing/ · prices as published, excluding tax.

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What it does

Playwright browser checks
Run real Chromium user flows as monitors; Playwright Check Suites group related tests.
API and multistep checks
HTTP checks with assertions, chained into multistep workflows.
Uptime monitors
URL, TCP, DNS, ICMP, SSL, gRPC, traceroute and heartbeat monitors.
Monitoring as code
Define checks in TypeScript, Terraform or Pulumi and deploy them from CI with the Checkly CLI.
Private locations
Run checks inside your own network to watch internal services (Team and Enterprise).
Status pages and AI RCA
Status pages with subscribers, and AI analysis of failed checks.
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Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Checks live in your repository and deploy through CI.
  • Reuses Playwright tests as production monitors.
  • Free Hobby tier includes browser checks, not just pings.
  • Clear per-module, per-run pricing with published overage rates.

Limitations

  • Hobby and Starter use 6 locations, with at most 3 per check; all 22 need Team.
  • Hobby is limited to 1 user and has no automatic retries.
  • Status page custom CSS, password protection and incident management need Team.
  • Overages are billed automatically once purchased runs are used up.
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Who it suits

Good for

  • Teams already using Playwright for end-to-end tests
  • Monitoring critical user flows such as login and checkout
  • Developers who want monitors reviewed and deployed like code

Look elsewhere if

  • Error tracking, logs or APM
  • Someone who only needs a few simple pings with no code
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Alternatives to Checkly

Tool From Free option Stages
Amazon CloudWatch AWS-native metrics, logs, alarms and tracing
Usage-based Free tier
Grafana Cloud Hosted metrics, logs, traces and dashboards
$19/mo Free tier
New Relic Full-stack observability platform
$10/mo Free tier
OpenObserve Open-source logs, metrics, traces and RUM platform
Usage-based Free tier
Rollbar Error tracking and session replay
$15.83/mo Free tier
Sentry Error tracking and application monitoring
$26/mo Free tier

All monitoring, uptime and error tracking →

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Questions

Is Checkly free?

Yes, the Hobby plan is free for one user with 10 monitors, 1,000 browser check runs and 10,000 API check runs a month.

What is monitoring as code in Checkly?

You define checks in TypeScript, Terraform or Pulumi, keep them in git and deploy them with the Checkly CLI, often from CI.

How much does Checkly Starter cost?

The Detect module is $24 a month on annual billing or $29 monthly; status pages and AI analysis are separate modules.

Can Checkly monitor internal services?

Yes, with private locations on the Team and Enterprise plans.

Sources read for this page