Cuckoo vs Better Stack (heartbeats)
Checked
Better Stack is an observability platform: uptime monitoring, incident management and on-call, status pages,
logs and more. Cuckoo monitors (cron monitoring) are one feature of its uptime product [1][2]. A heartbeat has a
secret URL, supports /fail and an exit-code suffix with the script output in the request body, and raises an
incident for the on-call team when a heartbeat is missed [2].
Cuckoo (our product) does only cron and heartbeat monitoring: a ping URL per job
(https://cuckoo.metastic.ch/ping/YOUR-UUID) with /start, /fail and exit-code suffixes, period or cron
schedules with time zones, and alerts by email, Slack, Discord or signed webhook. It also accepts Sentry SDK cron
check-ins. Plans: Free (20 checks), Team CHF 12/month (200 checks), Business CHF 39/month (1,000 checks). It has no on-call scheduling,
phone alerts or status pages.
Prices and features were checked on 2026-11-05 on Better Stack's public pricing page and documentation and may have changed since. Cuckoo's prices are its list prices on that date (CHF, VAT may apply). Better Stack is a trademark of its owner. Cuckoo is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Better Stack.
At a glance
| Cuckoo | Better Stack | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 20 checks, 30 days of history | 10 monitors & heartbeats combined, 1 status page [1] |
| Heartbeats on paid plans | Team CHF 12/month for 200, Business CHF 39/month for 1,000 | 10 included; each additional 10 cost $20/month, or $17/month billed yearly [1] |
| Seats | No seat fees; members: Free 3, Team 10, Business 50 | Responder license $34/month, or $29/month yearly; team member licenses $0 [1] |
| Ping URL | /ping/YOUR-UUID |
https://incidents.betterstack.com/api/v1/heartbeat/<TOKEN> [2] |
| Failure / exit code | /fail, /<exit code>, POST body stored (10 KB) |
/fail, /$? with script output in the body [2] |
| Start signal / run duration | /start + max runtime |
Not described on the heartbeat docs page we checked [2] |
| Schedule | Period + grace, or cron + time zone + grace | "Expect a heartbeat every" + grace period [2] |
| Phone / SMS alerts | No | Unlimited phone call and SMS alerts listed [1] |
| On-call scheduling / escalation | No | Yes, on-call escalation per heartbeat [2] |
| Status pages | No | 1 included; extra public pages $15/month ($12 yearly) [1] |
| Sentry SDK cron check-ins | Yes (DSN-based) | Not listed for heartbeats on the pages we checked |
| Operator / hosting | metikular GmbH, Switzerland; EU hosting | Not checked |
Key differences
Platform vs single tool
Better Stack is a good fit if heartbeats are one part of a larger monitoring and incident setup: missed heartbeats become incidents, routed through on-call schedules with phone and SMS escalation, and status pages keep customers informed [1][2]. Cuckoo is a focused tool for teams that only need to know when a job didn't run, ran late or failed.
Pricing shape
Better Stack's free tier shares 10 slots between uptime monitors and heartbeats [1]. Paid usage combines extra heartbeat bundles ($20 per 10 per month, or $17 yearly) with responder licenses ($34/month, or $29 yearly) for the people on call [1]. Cuckoo's plans are flat CHF prices with no per-seat or per-heartbeat add-ons (Team: 200 checks and 10 members for CHF 12/month). Prices are in different currencies and we don't convert them.
Schedules
Better Stack's heartbeat docs describe a frequency ("expect a heartbeat every …") plus a grace period [2]. Cuckoo accepts both a simple period and a cron expression with an IANA time zone, which helps with schedules like "weekdays at 02:15 local time".
Sentry compatibility
Better Stack's error tracking product accepts Sentry SDKs for errors, but we did not find Sentry cron check-in support for heartbeats on the pages we checked. Cuckoo accepts Sentry SDK cron check-ins via its DSN.
When to choose Better Stack instead
- You need on-call schedules, escalation, phone calls and SMS [1][2].
- You want uptime monitoring, status pages and heartbeats in one product [1].
- Your team already uses Better Stack for logs or incidents.
When Cuckoo fits better
- You only need cron and heartbeat monitoring and prefer a flat plan without responder seats.
- You need more than 10 heartbeats on a free plan (Cuckoo Free: 20).
- You want cron expressions with time zones,
/startsignals and Sentry SDK check-ins. - You want a Swiss-operated, EU-hosted service invoiced in CHF.
FAQ
How many heartbeats does Better Stack's free plan include?
The free plan includes 10 monitors and heartbeats combined plus one status page [1]. Cuckoo's Free plan includes 20 checks and 30 days of history.
Can I forward Cuckoo alerts into Better Stack or another on-call tool?
Yes. Use a signed generic webhook channel in Cuckoo and point it at your incident tool's incoming webhook or email integration. Cuckoo itself has no on-call schedules.
Is migrating from Better Stack heartbeats to Cuckoo a URL swap?
Mostly. Replace the incidents.betterstack.com heartbeat URL with https://cuckoo.metastic.ch/ping/YOUR-UUID.
The /fail and /$? suffixes work the same way; a POST body is stored with the ping (first 10 KB).
Sources
- Better Stack pricing, https://betterstack.com/pricing (checked 2026-11-05)
- Better Stack docs, cron and heartbeat monitor, https://betterstack.com/docs/uptime/cron-and-heartbeat-monitor/ (checked 2026-11-05)