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Pulse

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How Pulse compares, including where it doesn't win yet

Pulse is the only one of these tools that probes from residential connections. It's also the newest. Here's where it leads, and where the others are further along today.
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Data-centre probesHome probes

The short version

Pick the tool that fits what you need today

Pulse's probe network is live, but its dashboards, alerting and status pages are still in build. If you need those today, one of the others will serve you better for now.

Another tool is the better fit if…

  • You need deep APM integration and mature browser tests today: Datadog.
  • You want a free tier with status pages and incident management right now: UptimeRobot or Better Uptime.
  • You want a long-established vendor with a proven track record: Pingdom.

Pulse is the better fit if…

  • Your users are on home broadband and you want to see what they see
  • You've been bitten by CDN, geo or bot rules that only affect real users
  • You want 30-second checks from many locations without per-monitor fees
  • You're happy to adopt early and grow with it as alerting and status pages ship

Feature comparison

Pulse against the popular monitors

Where a Pulse capability is still in build, the table says so.
Edge Pulse compared with Pingdom, UptimeRobot, Datadog and Better Uptime
PingdomUptimeRobotDatadogBetter Uptime
Probe locations2,000+ residential~120 data centres~30 data centres~70 data centres~30 data centres
Residential IPs
Check frequency30s1 min30s (paid)1 min30s (paid)
HTTP/HTTPS checks
DNS monitoring
SSL monitoring
Multi-step API
Page speed
Status pagesFree shared, $2/mo custom (in build)$29/mo extra$7/mo extraIncluded
Starting price$0 (150k runs/mo free)$15/mo$0 (5 min)$5/check/mo$0 (5 monitors)
Usage-based pricing
Multi-location confirmationIn build
Slack integrationIn build
PagerDuty integrationPlanned

Competitor figures are from their public websites and pricing pages and may change; location counts are approximate. Pulse is in early access.

Head to head

Each alternative, fairly

Every one of these is a good product. Pick one to see what it does well, where it falls short and what Pulse does differently.

Pulse vs Pingdom

One of the original uptime services, now part of SolarWinds.

Where Pingdom is strong

  • Long-established and widely known
  • Broad feature set, including page speed
  • Reliable infrastructure

Where it falls short

  • Data-centre probes only, about 120 of them
  • Status pages cost $29 a month extra
  • Plans start at $15 a month

What Pulse does differently: Around 16 times as many probe locations, all residential, and per-run pricing with a free monthly allowance.

Trying Pulse

Run it alongside, then decide

You don't have to rip anything out. The sensible way to evaluate Pulse is next to the tool you already trust.
Get migration help
  1. 01

    Keep your current monitor

    Leave existing checks and alerting exactly as they are while you evaluate.
  2. 02

    Recreate your key checks

    Start with the pages and APIs that matter most. The free allowance covers a lot. Our experts can map them for you.
  3. 03

    Compare the vantage points

    Look for failures and slow regions Pulse sees from home connections that data-centre probes don't.
  4. 04

    Move over as it ships

    Switch alerting and status pages across as those parts of Pulse go live.

FAQ

Comparison questions

Is Pulse cheaper than the alternatives?
It depends on your setup. Pulse charges per run: $0.01 per 1,000 standard runs after 150,000 free a month. Small setups are often free, and large ones pay for what they run rather than per monitor. The pricing calculator shows your numbers.
Why does residential monitoring matter?
Data-centre probes sit on well-peered networks and are often allowlisted by CDNs and bot filters. Your users aren't. Residential probes catch ISP routing problems, stale resolvers and rules that block real people but not cloud IPs.
Can I use Pulse and another tool together?
Yes, and while dashboards, alerting and status pages are in build, that's what we'd suggest: keep your existing alerting and use Pulse to see what your users see.

Add the vantage point the others don't have

Run Pulse next to your current monitor and see what changes when the probe sits on someone's home broadband.

Create a free accountWork out what it costs

Early access. 150,000 standard check runs free every month.