Cuckoo vs Healthchecks.io
Checked
Healthchecks.io is one of the best-known cron job monitors. Every check gets a ping URL, it alerts you when a ping is late, and its whole code base is open source under the BSD 3-clause license, so you can self-host it [1][2]. It has a free Hobbyist plan with 20 jobs and paid plans from $20/month [1].
Cuckoo uses the same basic model: a unique ping URL per job (https://cuckoo.metastic.ch/ping/YOUR-UUID),
/start, /fail and exit-code suffixes, period or cron schedules with a time zone, and email, Slack, Discord and
webhook alerts. Two things are different: it also accepts Sentry SDK cron check-ins (point the SDK's DSN at
Cuckoo), and its paid plans are flat CHF prices. Cuckoo is new, hosted in the EU and operated by
metikular GmbH in Switzerland. Healthchecks.io has a much longer track record and more integrations.
Prices and features were checked on 2026-11-05 on Healthchecks.io's public pricing page, docs and GitHub repository, and may have changed since. Cuckoo's prices are its list prices on that date (CHF, VAT may apply). Healthchecks.io is a trademark of its owner. Cuckoo is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Healthchecks.io.
At a glance
| Cuckoo | Healthchecks.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 20 checks, 30 days of history | Hobbyist: 20 jobs, 100 log entries per job [1] |
| Paid plans | Team CHF 12/month (200 checks), Business CHF 39/month (1,000 checks) | Business $20/month (100 jobs), Business Plus $80/month (1,000 jobs) [1] |
| Annual billing | CHF 120/year (Team), CHF 390/year (Business) | $192/year (Business), $768/year (Business Plus), "save 20%" [1] |
| Supporter / donation tier | No | Supporter $5/month, same limits as Hobbyist [1] |
| Free for open source / nonprofits | Not offered yet | Business plan free on request [1] |
| Ping URL | UUID per check | UUID per check, or project ping key + slug, which can auto-provision checks [3] |
| Start / fail / exit code signals | /start, /fail, /<0-255> |
/start, /fail, /<exitcode> [3] |
| Schedules | Period + grace, or cron + time zone + grace | Simple, cron and OnCalendar schedules, grace time [3] |
| Logs with pings | POST body, first 10 KB stored | Log entries per job: 100 (free) or 1,000 (paid) [1] |
| Alert channels | Email, Slack, Discord, signed webhooks | "25+ integrations" incl. email, webhooks, SMS, Slack, PagerDuty [2][3] |
| SMS / phone calls | No | SMS & WhatsApp credits and phone call credits on Business plans [1] |
| Sentry SDK cron check-ins | Yes (DSN-based) | Not listed on the pages we checked |
| Open source / self-hosting | No | Yes, BSD 3-clause, Python/Django [2] |
| Operator | metikular GmbH, Switzerland; EU hosting | SIA Monkey See Monkey Do (per site footer) [1] |
Key differences
Open source vs hosted-only
This is the biggest difference and it favours Healthchecks.io. You can run the exact same software on your own
server under the BSD 3-clause license, and its README documents a production setup (reverse proxy, the
sendalerts process, WSGI server) [2]. Cuckoo is a hosted service only. If self-hosting is a requirement,
Healthchecks.io (or another self-hosted tool) is the better choice.
Price shape
Both have a free tier with 20 checks. Above that, Healthchecks.io's next step is $20/month for 100 jobs [1]. Cuckoo's Team plan is CHF 12/month for 200 checks and Business CHF 39/month for 1,000 checks, where Healthchecks.io charges $80/month for 1,000 jobs [1]. The prices are in different currencies and we don't convert them.
Sentry SDK compatibility
If you already instrument jobs with the Sentry SDK (sentry_sdk.monitor, Sentry.withMonitor(),
captureCheckIn), Cuckoo can receive those check-ins: you set the SDK's DSN to the Cuckoo DSN
(https://PUBLIC_KEY@cuckoo.metastic.ch/PROJECT_ID), and monitors are created from the SDK's monitor_config.
We did not find Sentry envelope support on the Healthchecks.io pages we checked. For plain HTTP pings, both work the same way.
Integrations and escalation
Healthchecks.io lists 25+ notification integrations, plus SMS, WhatsApp and phone calls on paid plans [1][2]. Cuckoo starts with email, Slack, Discord and signed generic webhooks. If you need PagerDuty-style on-call routing or phone calls today, Healthchecks.io covers more.
Auto-provisioning
Healthchecks.io can create checks on first ping when you use the project ping key + slug URL format [3]. In
Cuckoo, HTTP-pinged checks are created in the dashboard; checks reported via the Sentry SDK are created from
monitor_config automatically.
When to choose Healthchecks.io instead
- You want to self-host or need the source code (BSD 3-clause) [2].
- You need SMS, WhatsApp or phone call alerts, or one of its many integrations such as PagerDuty [1][3].
- You run an open-source project or nonprofit and qualify for its free Business plan [1].
- You prefer a service with many years of operating history.
When Cuckoo fits better
- Your jobs already send Sentry cron check-ins and you want to move cron monitoring without re-instrumenting code.
- You want a company operated in Switzerland with EU hosting and invoices in CHF.
- You need more than 20 monitors: Team covers 200 checks for CHF 12/month.
FAQ
Is Cuckoo a fork of Healthchecks.io?
No. Cuckoo is a separate code base. It uses the same widely used ping URL pattern (/start, /fail,
exit code suffixes), so moving a job between the two usually means replacing one URL.
How do I migrate cron jobs from Healthchecks.io to Cuckoo?
Create a check in Cuckoo with the same schedule and grace time, then replace the hc-ping.com URL in your
crontab or script with https://cuckoo.metastic.ch/ping/YOUR-UUID. Suffixes like /start, /fail and
/$? keep working. Run both in parallel for a few days if you want to be careful.
Can I self-host Cuckoo?
No, Cuckoo is hosted only. If you need self-hosting, Healthchecks.io is open source under the BSD 3-clause license and documents how to run it yourself [2].
Which one has the bigger free plan?
Both list 20 checks on the free plan: Healthchecks.io's Hobbyist plan [1] and Cuckoo's Free plan. Healthchecks.io's free plan keeps 100 log entries per job [1].
Sources
- Healthchecks.io pricing and FAQ, https://healthchecks.io/pricing/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- Healthchecks GitHub repository README (license, stack, self-hosting notes), https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks (checked 2026-11-05)
- Healthchecks.io documentation (ping URLs, schedules, grace time, projects, integrations), https://healthchecks.io/docs/ (checked 2026-11-05)