Comparison
Uptime Kuma alternative
Uptime Kuma is free, self-hosted monitoring, with status pages you can map to your own domains. RetainerProof is not that. It is a hosted care report, and the status page is optional. Host Kuma if you want the monitor. Send RetainerProof if the retainer has to be visible.
The project README and the MIT license, read on 20 October 2026, are the source for what follows. There is no hosted price, because you run it. I am not going to invent a server bill and call it their pricing.
The comparison
The README describes monitoring for HTTP, TCP, keywords, ping, DNS, and more, notifications through a long list of services, 20-second intervals, multiple status pages, and mapping those pages to specific domains. Certificate info is listed. You install it with Docker or Node. The license file is the MIT license.
| RetainerProof | Uptime Kuma | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9, $29, or $79 a month | The software is MIT licensed. You pay for the machine you run it on |
| Who hosts it | Hosted | You do |
| Status pages | One public page per site, optional | Multiple, and the README says you can map them to specific domains |
| Interval I could read | 15 minutes by default, down to 30 seconds | The README says 20-second intervals |
| Care report and work log | Yes | No. It is a monitor and a status page |
| Client login | None. Secret report link | You run the app. I am not describing their user model beyond the README |
When to keep Uptime Kuma
Keep it when you want a monitor you control, a fast interval, and status pages on domains you already proxy. It will notice things a 15-minute check can miss. It will not write “restored the contact form” for you. If that sentence is the retainer, the status page is the wrong artifact to send at renewal.
When RetainerProof is the alternative
Use it when you do not want to operate the monitor, and you do want a page with the work on it. You can keep Kuma for the ping and still send the care link. The public status page here is simpler on purpose. It is kept out of search results. It is a link you hand someone.
I would not migrate a Kuma status page and expect incident comments, a 20-second check, and Telegram to come along. They will not.
Plans are Starter at $9/month for up to 5 sites, Studio at $29/month for up to 25 sites, and Agency at $79/month for up to 100 sites. Studio is the plan marked recommended when it is for sale. Starter, including a trial, keeps a small Powered by RetainerProof link on the client digest and the public status page. Studio and Agency remove that link. Prices are on the pricing page.
FAQ
Is Uptime Kuma free?
The license is MIT, so the software is free to run. Hosting, backups of that server, and your time are not on their pricing page, because there is not a hosted plan in the README.
Can RetainerProof replace a self-hosted status page?
Only the simple kind: current state, recent probe incidents, optional email after a subscriber confirms. Not a multi-protocol monitor.
Does the care report show Kuma’s charts?
No. The report shows RetainerProof’s own probes, plus the work log. Leave Kuma’s charts in Kuma.
Other comparisons
- RetainerProof compared with the tools you already run
- RetainerProof vs ManageWP
- RetainerProof vs MainWP
- RetainerProof vs WP Umbrella
- WP Umbrella alternative
- RetainerProof vs Modular DS
- Modular DS alternative
- AgencyAnalytics alternative
- Better Stack status page alternative
- How to prove a website maintenance retainer to clients
- What to include in a website maintenance report
Also see pricing and a sample client digest.
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