API Status Check vs Pingdom: Monitor Your Infra AND Your Dependencies
These tools solve different but complementary problems. Pingdom monitors YOUR servers and sites (is MY website down?). API Status Check monitors the third-party APIs your app depends on (is Stripe/AWS/GitHub down?). Best practice: use BOTH for complete visibility.
Quick Comparison: API Status Check vs Pingdom
These tools complement each other. Pingdom monitors YOUR infrastructure, API Status Check monitors the third-party APIs you depend on. Here's a side-by-side breakdown.
| Feature | API Status Check | Pingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring focus | Third-party APIs your app depends on | YOUR servers, sites, and infrastructure |
| Problem solved | Is Stripe/AWS/GitHub down? | Is MY website/server down? |
| Coverage | 114+ APIs across 18 categories | Your own URLs/servers (you configure) |
| Check interval | 5-minute intervals | 1-min (Synthetic), 5-min (Advanced), custom |
| Check types | Independent API endpoints + status pages | Synthetic, RUM, transaction monitoring |
| Free tier | Unlimited status viewing, badges, RSS | No free tier |
| Paid pricing | $9/$29/$49/mo (Alert Pro/Team/Developer) | $15/mo (Synthetic), $85/mo (Advanced), $119/mo (Pro) |
| Developer tools | MCP server, per-API RSS, status badges | Status pages, RUM, transaction scripts |
| Configuration | Zero-config (pre-built for 114+ APIs) | Manual setup for each monitor |
| Market position | Indie/bootstrapped, developer-focused | SolarWinds (enterprise), established |
Detailed Feature Comparison
Understanding the difference between Pingdom and API Status Check comes down to monitoring scope: infrastructure you control vs dependencies you rely on. Here's a deeper breakdown.
Core monitoring focus: complementary, not competing
API Status Check: monitor third-party APIs you depend on
API Status Check solves a specific problem: knowing when the third-party APIs your application depends on are experiencing issues. When Stripe payments fail, OpenAI requests timeout, or GitHub Actions stall, you need to know whether the problem is on your end or theirs. ASC monitors 114+ APIs across 18 categories (payments, AI, cloud, CI/CD) with independent endpoint checks every 5 minutes, plus official status page integration. This gives you visibility into your dependencies — the services you rely on but don't control.
Pingdom: monitor YOUR servers and infrastructure
Pingdom performs synthetic uptime monitoring, real user monitoring (RUM), and transaction monitoring on YOUR URLs, servers, and infrastructure. You configure monitors for your own website, APIs, servers, or services, and Pingdom checks them at regular intervals to ensure they're responding correctly. If your site goes down or your API stops responding, Pingdom alerts you immediately. This is essential for monitoring what you control and ensuring your own services are healthy. Pingdom doesn't monitor third-party APIs like Stripe or AWS — it monitors YOUR stuff.
The complementary approach: use BOTH for complete visibility
Know when the problem is with your dependencies
When your application starts failing, the first question is: "Is it us or them?" API Status Check answers the "them" part. If your Stripe integration stops working, checking API Status Check tells you whether Stripe is experiencing a broader outage or if the issue is specific to your implementation. This saves debugging time and helps you communicate accurately with users and stakeholders. Without dependency monitoring, you're flying blind when third-party services have issues.
Know when the problem is with your infrastructure
Pingdom answers the "us" part. If your website or API goes down due to server issues, deployment problems, or infrastructure failures, Pingdom catches it immediately with synthetic monitoring, RUM (real user monitoring), and transaction checks. This is the foundation of uptime monitoring — knowing your own systems are healthy. Combined with API Status Check, you have full visibility: Pingdom tells you if YOUR services are down, ASC tells you if the APIs you depend on are down. Together, they form a complete monitoring stack.
Coverage & service selection
Curated third-party API coverage
API Status Check focuses on 114+ developer tools and infrastructure APIs that engineering teams rely on: Stripe, PayPal, Plaid (payments); OpenAI, Anthropic, Replicate (AI); AWS, Azure, GCP, Vercel (cloud); GitHub, GitLab, CircleCI (CI/CD); and many more. This curated approach means you get relevant, actionable data about the services your application actually depends on. You don't configure these monitors — they're already running, and you just subscribe to the ones you care about.
Monitor your own endpoints (bring your own URLs)
With Pingdom, you define the monitors: add your website URLs, API endpoints, servers, or services you want to track. Pingdom supports HTTP(S) checks, transaction monitoring (scripted multi-step flows), real user monitoring (RUM) for actual user experience, and page speed analysis. This flexibility means you can monitor anything you control, but you have to configure each monitor manually. Pingdom is ideal for ensuring your own infrastructure is responsive, but it doesn't monitor third-party services for you.
Pricing & free tier
Free status viewing + paid alerts ($9-$49/mo)
API Status Check has a genuinely free tier: browse all status data, use RSS feeds per API, and embed status badges in docs without creating an account. Paid plans start at $9/mo (Alert Pro) for email/Slack/Discord alerts on your watched APIs, $29/mo (Team) for team alerting and priority support, and $49/mo (Developer) for advanced integrations and API access. No per-service limits — you can monitor as many APIs as you need within your plan.
Premium pricing: $15-$119/mo (no free tier)
Pingdom is a premium service with pricing starting at $15/mo for Synthetic monitoring (10 checks, 1-minute intervals), $85/mo for Advanced (50 checks, transaction monitoring, RUM), and $119/mo for Professional (200 checks, advanced features). There is no free tier — Pingdom is positioned as an enterprise-grade monitoring solution for businesses that need comprehensive uptime monitoring for their own infrastructure. Pricing scales with the number of checks and features you need.
Developer integrations & tooling
MCP server, per-API RSS feeds, status badges
API Status Check provides unique developer-focused integrations: a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI coding assistants (Claude, Cursor) check API status in real-time during development, per-API RSS feeds for automation and dashboard integration, and embeddable status badges for docs and READMEs. These tools are designed to surface API status signals where developers already work, without requiring manual checks or custom integrations.
Public status pages, RUM, transaction scripts
Pingdom provides public status pages (customizable for your services), real user monitoring (RUM) for tracking actual user experience, transaction monitoring for multi-step workflows (login → checkout → confirmation), and webhooks/API access for automation. These are powerful tools for teams that need comprehensive visibility into their own infrastructure performance. Pingdom's integrations are mature and enterprise-focused, making it suitable for larger organizations with complex monitoring needs.
Alerts & notifications
Email, Slack, Discord, webhooks for dependency outages
API Status Check alerts you when the third-party APIs you depend on experience issues. Get notified via email, Slack, Discord, or webhooks when Stripe, AWS, or OpenAI report incidents or fail endpoint checks. This proactive alerting means you can inform users, pause affected workflows, or switch to fallback providers before your support channels explode. Alerts are contextual — you only get notified about the services you actively use.
Email, SMS, webhooks for YOUR infrastructure
Pingdom alerts you when YOUR services go down. Configure notifications via email, SMS, webhooks, or integrations with PagerDuty, Opsgenie, Slack, and other incident management tools. Fast, reliable alerting is critical when your own infrastructure fails, and Pingdom excels here with configurable alert policies, escalation rules, and maintenance windows. You can set up complex notification workflows to ensure the right people are notified at the right time.
Market maturity & ownership
Newer, developer-focused, indie-built
API Status Check is a newer entrant (launched 2024-2025) built specifically for developers who need visibility into third-party API dependencies. It's indie/bootstrapped, which means rapid iteration, developer-friendly design, and transparent pricing. The focus is on solving a specific problem that larger monitoring tools overlook: tracking the health of APIs you depend on but don't control. The trade-off is less brand recognition compared to established players.
Established, enterprise-focused, SolarWinds-owned
Pingdom has been around since 2006 and is owned by SolarWinds, a major enterprise software company. It's a trusted, mature platform with a proven track record of reliability and is used by large enterprises for comprehensive infrastructure monitoring. Pingdom offers enterprise-grade features like RUM, transaction monitoring, and advanced analytics. The trade-off is higher pricing and enterprise positioning — it's optimized for businesses willing to pay premium prices for comprehensive monitoring of their own infrastructure.
📊When to Use Pingdom
Pingdom is an enterprise-grade solution for monitoring YOUR own infrastructure. If your primary concern is ensuring your servers, websites, and APIs are responding, and you need RUM and transaction monitoring, Pingdom is purpose-built for this.
Monitor your own websites & servers
If you need to ensure YOUR website, API, or server is responding and healthy, Pingdom is purpose-built for this. Configure synthetic checks, RUM, and transaction monitoring to get comprehensive visibility into your own infrastructure.
Real user monitoring (RUM)
Pingdom's RUM feature tracks actual user experience — page load times, browser performance, geographic performance differences. This goes beyond synthetic checks to show how real users experience your site.
Transaction monitoring for complex flows
Monitor multi-step user flows (login → checkout → confirmation) with Pingdom's transaction monitoring. This ensures critical business workflows are functioning end-to-end, not just individual endpoints.
Enterprise-grade monitoring
Pingdom is owned by SolarWinds and offers enterprise features, support, and SLAs. If you need a battle-tested, enterprise-backed solution for monitoring your own infrastructure, Pingdom provides that level of maturity and support.
✅When to Use API Status Check
API Status Check solves a different problem: monitoring the third-party APIs your application depends on. When Stripe, AWS, GitHub, or OpenAI experience issues, you need to know immediately — not after your support channels explode.
Monitor third-party APIs you depend on
If your application relies on Stripe, Twilio, OpenAI, AWS, GitHub, or any of 114+ APIs, API Status Check gives you visibility into whether those services are experiencing issues. This is critical for distinguishing "us vs them" problems and communicating accurately with users.
Zero-config monitoring (pre-built for 114+ APIs)
API Status Check requires zero configuration — the monitors are already running for 114+ popular APIs. You just subscribe to the ones you care about. Pingdom requires you to manually set up and maintain each monitor.
MCP integration for AI coding assistants
API Status Check provides an MCP server that lets AI assistants (Claude, Cursor) check API status in real-time during development. This unique integration surfaces dependency health directly in your coding workflow.
Free status viewing with RSS & badges
Browse all status data free, use per-API RSS feeds for automation, and embed status badges in docs/READMEs without creating an account. Pingdom has no free tier — everything requires a paid subscription.
🎯The Complete Monitoring Stack
Most engineering teams need BOTH types of monitoring. Here's the ideal setup:
Pingdom
Monitor YOUR infrastructure:
- →Your website is responding
- →Your API endpoints are healthy
- →Real user experience (RUM)
- →Transaction flows working end-to-end
API Status Check
Monitor YOUR dependencies:
- →Stripe payments are processing
- →AWS services are operational
- →GitHub/OpenAI/Twilio are responsive
- →Zero-config (pre-built for 114+ APIs)
= Complete visibility into "Is it us or them?"
Ready to Monitor Your Dependencies?
API Status Check gives you real-time visibility into 114+ third-party APIs your application depends on. Independent endpoint checks every 5 minutes, MCP server integration, per-API RSS feeds, and embeddable status badges — all starting free.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about choosing between Pingdom and API Status Check for complete monitoring coverage.
1.Is API Status Check a replacement for Pingdom?
No, they're complementary. Pingdom monitors YOUR infrastructure (your servers, websites, APIs). API Status Check monitors THIRD-PARTY APIs your app depends on (Stripe, AWS, GitHub, etc.). Best practice: use BOTH. Pingdom tells you if YOUR stuff is down, ASC tells you if the APIs you depend on are down.
2.Can I use Pingdom to monitor third-party APIs like Stripe or AWS?
Technically yes — you could configure Pingdom to ping Stripe or AWS endpoints. But API Status Check does this automatically for 114+ APIs with contextual data from official status pages, independent endpoint checks, and developer integrations (MCP, RSS, badges). You'd have to manually configure and maintain those checks in Pingdom, and you wouldn't get the contextual status page data or zero-config experience.
3.What's the biggest difference between Pingdom vs API Status Check?
Monitoring scope. Pingdom is designed to monitor endpoints YOU control (your servers, sites, APIs). API Status Check monitors endpoints you DON'T control but depend on (third-party APIs). They solve different problems: "Is MY infrastructure healthy?" (Pingdom) vs "Are the APIs I depend on healthy?" (API Status Check).
4.Which one should I choose?
Use both! Pingdom for monitoring your own infrastructure, API Status Check for monitoring your dependencies. Together they give you complete visibility. If you can only choose one: pick Pingdom if your main concern is YOUR servers going down, pick API Status Check if your main concern is third-party API outages affecting your users.
5.How does pricing compare?
Pingdom: $15/mo (Synthetic, 10 checks), $85/mo (Advanced), $119/mo (Professional) — no free tier. API Status Check: Free (all status data, badges, RSS), $9/mo Alert Pro, $29/mo Team, $49/mo Developer. ASC is significantly more affordable for dependency monitoring, especially with a genuinely free tier. Pingdom is premium-priced for comprehensive infrastructure monitoring.
6.Is Pingdom better for enterprise use?
Pingdom (owned by SolarWinds) is positioned for enterprise use with features like RUM, transaction monitoring, and enterprise support/SLAs. API Status Check is indie/bootstrapped and developer-focused. For monitoring YOUR infrastructure at enterprise scale, Pingdom is a strong choice. For monitoring third-party API dependencies, ASC provides better value and developer-friendly tooling at any scale.
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