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Upstat vs Better Stack

Keep monitoring—and add full incident operations without usage-based surprises.

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Executive Snapshot

Move from monitoring-only to complete incident operations.

Better Stack excels at uptime monitoring and logging, but incident coordination remains thin. Upstat adds the missing layers—incident rooms, automations, runbooks, entity dashboards, and status pages— while keeping detection in the same place.

Predictable per-user pricing means no surprises as you add services, regions, or log volume.

You're getting more than a replacement

Upstat can complement or replace Better Stack monitoring, but it goes further—incident coordination, automations, runbooks, and status communication are built in. You get a full operations layer, not just alerts.

Capability comparison

Platform focus

Upstat

Incident operations hub covering monitoring, response, automation, and comms.

Better Stack

Monitoring/logging-first bundle; incident coordination is a lightweight add-on.

Monitoring

Upstat

Built-in uptime and API checks with incident-aware automations.

Better Stack

Strong uptime monitoring but separate from incident workflows.

Incident Response

Upstat

Kanban/list views, timelines, assignments, and workflow automations in one workspace.

Better Stack

Primarily alert lists; deeper coordination requires manual doc updates.

Automations & Runbooks

Upstat

No-code workflows and runbooks included.

Better Stack

Limited automation; advanced steps rely on external scripts or integrations.

Entity Intelligence

Upstat

Operational dashboards, ownership, and dependency mapping for every service.

Better Stack

Monitoring dashboards show metrics but lack entity-level business context.

Status Communication

Upstat

Customer and internal status pages connected directly to incidents and monitors.

Better Stack

Status pages exist but require manual context from separate monitoring dashboards.

Pricing Model

Upstat

Predictable $29 / $49 per-user plans.

Better Stack

Usage-based pricing tied to number of checks, regions, and log volume—costs rise with growth.

Unify monitoring with incident workflows

Monitoring stays first-class

Keep the coverage you rely on—Upstat's built-in monitors are incident-aware, so alerts trigger automations, status updates, and runbooks instantly.

Full incident rooms

Assign leads, track timelines, capture decisions, and automate follow-ups—without exporting data to documents or chat threads.

Predictable budgets

Usage-based pricing can spike as you add monitors or ingest more logs. Upstat's per-user plans keep costs steady while consolidating tooling.

Learn more about Unify monitoring with incident workflows

Transition without losing visibility

Upstat helps you move from monitoring-only workflows to full incident operations. Follow this checklist to migrate methodically while maintaining visibility the entire time.

  • 1
    Catalog current Better Stack monitors, dashboards, and alert recipients.
  • 2
    Stand up equivalent monitors within Upstat and map responders to services.
  • 3
    Recreate alert policies, automations, and incident workflows with Upstat runbooks.
  • 4
    Test incidents end-to-end to ensure responders, customers, and stakeholders receive updates.
  • 5
    Cut over monitors and retire duplicated logging/incident tooling where it's redundant.

Migration checklist

Map monitors and alerts, configure Upstat workflows, rehearse incidents, and retire redundant services once confidence is high.

Learn more about Transition without losing visibility

Build the executive business case

Usage-based monitoring costs escalate with every new service, region, or log source. Meanwhile, responders still lose time stitching together context. Upstat reduces both financial and operational drag.

The scenario below illustrates what a mid-market engineering team saves by consolidating monitoring and incident workflows.

Context-switching scenario

Every manual hand-off adds up—so does usage-based pricing.

Without integrated incident workflows, responders jump between monitoring dashboards, logging tools, chat, and docs. Those 10-minute pauses add up, and so do the monthly invoices for each service.

Baseline: 18 significant incidents per year. Gathering context across monitoring, logging, and ticketing takes an extra 10 minutes per incident. Revenue at risk: $9,000 per hour. Engineering cost: $120/hour.

Better Stack stack: $6,000/year in additional services (status pages, automations, collaboration) plus ~$30,600 in revenue impact from slower incident response.

Upstat outcome: Cut the hand-off time by 40% with unified dashboards and automations, protecting ~$20,200 in revenue while retiring ~$6,000 in redundant services.

Tool costs

$6,000 → $0

Better Stack subscription + add-on tools vs. Upstat all-in-one platform.

Tool savings: $6,000/year

Downtime impact

$30,600 → $10,400

40% faster MTTR from unified monitoring and incident workflows.

Revenue protected: $20,200/year

Total annual savings

$26,200

Tool consolidation ($6,000) + faster incident resolution ($20,200).

* Estimates assume 15 responders, $9k/hour revenue at risk, $120/hour engineering cost, and $6k/year in auxiliary services. Calibrate with your actual usage and pricing before sharing with finance.

Frequently asked questions

Monitoring-focused teams ask how Upstat fits into their stack. Here are the quick answers.

Should we replace Better Stack completely or run both tools?

Teams often evaluate Upstat's built-in monitoring alongside Better Stack, then consolidate once they're confident. Upstat includes monitoring plus the incident response capabilities Better Stack lacks, eliminating the need for multiple subscriptions.

Does Upstat replace Better Stack's logging capabilities?

Upstat focuses on operational intelligence—monitoring, incidents, automations, and communication—not log aggregation. Teams often keep their existing logging platform and use Upstat for incident coordination and response.

What monitoring does Upstat provide compared to Better Stack?

Upstat includes uptime, API, and heartbeat monitoring with integrated incident workflows. Better Stack offers broader observability with logging and application performance monitoring. Choose based on whether you need incident response or deeper observability.

How do costs compare between Upstat and Better Stack?

Better Stack pricing scales with monitors, regions, and log volume. Upstat charges per user and includes monitoring, incident coordination, automations, runbooks, and status pages—making budgets predictable as teams grow.

Ready to upgrade beyond monitoring-only workflows?

Launch Upstat, align your monitors, and bring incident coordination, automations, and status comms under one roof.

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