Compared: OnlineOrNot
An OnlineOrNot alternative for agencies tracking certificate expiry
OnlineOrNot and ExpiryOwl compared on pricing, SSL checks, domain expiry, alert channels, API and status pages, with each fact linked.
What OnlineOrNot is
OnlineOrNot is uptime monitoring and status pages for software teams. It monitors websites, APIs and cron jobs and sends alerts by email, SMS, Slack, Telegram, PagerDuty and more.
onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25Side by side
Everything in the OnlineOrNot column was read on OnlineOrNot's own website on the date shown next to it. Prices and plans change; follow the link to see today's version. Where we couldn't confirm something, we say so instead of guessing.
| Topic | OnlineOrNot | ExpiryOwl |
|---|---|---|
| Starting paid price | Pro: from $15/mo with 10 monitors included. Annual billing gives two months free.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | Freelancer: $9/month or $90/year for 50 domains and 10 clients. |
| Free plan | Hobby: free, up to 2 users, 3 uptime monitors, 3-minute check interval and 1 status page.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | Free: 5 domains, 1 client, 1 seat, uptime every 15 minutes and a read-only API. |
| SSL certificate expiry | Optional SSL verification on uptime checks alerts you when a certificate is expired, invalid or has chain or handshake problems.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | Every certificate checked every 6 hours: issuer, SANs, chain and hostname match. Alerts at 30, 14, 7, 3, 1 and 0 days. |
| Domain expiry | Not verified | Daily RDAP lookups: expiry date, registrar, statuses, transfer lock and nameservers, plus DNS change alerts. |
| Pricing model | A base plan plus usage: $10 per 25 additional monitors, $4 per 1k additional browser check runs, $24 per additional status page.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | Flat per agency, sized by domain count, not per monitor: Agency is $29/month for 250 domains, unlimited clients and 5 seats. |
| Alert channels | Email, Slack, Discord and Telegram on all plans; SMS, webhooks and on-call integrations on Pro and Enterprise.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | Email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Telegram, signed webhooks (Zapier, Make, n8n) and an iCal feed of expiry dates. |
| API | Authenticated API and MCP access on all plans, including the free Hobby plan.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | REST API and an MCP server on paid plans; a read-only API on Free. |
| Status pages | 1 status page on Hobby and Pro; custom domain on Pro; additional pages $24 each.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25 | White-label client status pages and an embeddable widget on Agency ($29/month); custom domains on Agency Pro ($79/month). |
When OnlineOrNot is the better choice
- You monitor applications more than sites: browser checks, API checks, cron jobs and heartbeats are core features.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25
- You want 30-second checks and unlimited users on the paid plan.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25
- You want API and MCP access on the free plan.onlineornot.com · verified 2026-09-25
When ExpiryOwl fits better
- We look for renewals that should have happened. ACME certificates (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services) normally renew when about a third of their lifetime remains; when one passes that point we flag it as renewal overdue. For Let's Encrypt we use its ACME Renewal Information (ARI) window. That is usually weeks before the certificate expires.
- Certificates and domains in one list: daily RDAP domain checks (registrar, statuses, transfer lock, nameservers) next to 6-hourly certificate checks.
- ExpiryOwl is organised around clients: group domains per client, send each one a white-label monthly PDF report and give them a status page. Unlimited clients from Agency ($29/month).
- A 47-day readiness score per domain for the CA/B Forum SC-081 schedule: maximum certificate lifetime drops to 200 days from 15 March 2026, 100 days from 15 March 2027 and 47 days from 15 March 2029.
OnlineOrNot is a trademark of its owner. We are not affiliated with them. If something here is out of date, email [email protected] and we'll correct it.
Start with five domains, free.
The free plan watches 5 domains for one client: certificates, domain registration, DNS and uptime every 15 minutes. No card, no trial clock.