Cron job monitoring tools in 2026
Dead man's switches for scheduled work. A job pings a URL when it runs, and the tool alerts when a ping is late or missing. This list has 12 cron job monitoring tools. Of these, 3 are open source, 12 have a free plan and 3 can be self-hosted. Checked by hand on 30 September 2026.
- 1
Checkly
Synthetic monitoring for developers: API checks and Playwright browser checks written as code, deployed from CI and run from many regions.
- 2
cronalive
Heartbeat monitoring for cron jobs with HTTP uptime and TLS expiry checks, plus Laravel, Python and Node packages that create checks from code.
- 3
Cronitor
Monitoring for cron jobs, background workers and scheduled tasks that tracks run duration and failures, plus website uptime checks and status pages.
- 4
Dead Man's Snitch
Dead man's switch for cron jobs and scheduled tasks: each job checks in to a unique URL, and a missed check-in triggers an alert.
- 5
Drumbeats
Cron job, heartbeat and uptime monitoring with incident tracking and status pages, billed by check-in volume rather than monitor count.
- 6
Healthchecks.io
Cron job and heartbeat monitoring: each job pings a unique URL, and a missed or late ping sends an alert. The server is open source and can be self-hosted.
- 7
LastPing
Dead man's switch monitoring for cron jobs, CI pipelines and AI agents, with an MCP server so agents can set up their own monitors.
- 8
Runitor
Command runner for Healthchecks.io: wraps a job, sends start, success or failure pings with its output, and also works with self-hosted Healthchecks.
- 9
Sitesure
Heartbeat and scheduled-task monitoring alongside website uptime, SSL, DNS and domain checks, priced per monitor.
- 10
Uptime Kuma
Self-hosted monitor for HTTP, keyword, TCP, ping, DNS, Docker and push checks, with status pages and dozens of notification integrations.
- 11
WatchCron
Cron job monitoring with heartbeat pings and alerts, plus hosted cron jobs that call your URLs on a schedule.
- 12
Watchgoose
Heartbeat monitoring and status pages for cron jobs, backups and background workers, with an MCP server and free plans for open source projects.
Side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Free plan | Open source | Self-hosted | Ping URL | Grace period | Cron expressions | Start and failure signals | Run duration | Output capture | Alert integrations | API or IaC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checkly | Free plan | 1 user, 10k API and 1k browser check runs/mo | No | No | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes |
| cronalive | Free plan | 10 checks, 5-min HTTP interval, 50k pings/mo | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cronitor | Free plan | 5 monitors, email and Slack alerts | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dead Man's Snitch | Free plan | 1 snitch | No | No | Yes | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drumbeats | Free plan | 200K check-ins (beats)/mo | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Healthchecks.io | Free plan | 20 jobs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LastPing | Free plan | Free for individuals | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runitor | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | Yes | - | Yes | - | - |
| Sitesure | Free plan | 2 monitors | No | No | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Uptime Kuma | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - |
| WatchCron | Free plan | 20 checks, 3 cloud cron jobs | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes |
| Watchgoose | Free plan | 10 checks, 1 user | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Yes: confirmed in the tool's documentation. No: documented as not offered. -: not confirmed. Plans and prices change; check each tool's own site before you decide.