Free is allowed for client work, but resale has a separate boundary
UptimeRobot's Free-plan help page says there is no personal-only restriction
. Section 3 of its Terms of Service states, word for word: UptimeRobot is available for any use, including commercial and business use.
The terms were last updated May 26, 2026, and checked October 3, 2026. Some older advice says the Free plan is for personal or non-commercial use only. That reflects an earlier version of the terms, not the current wording. That makes Free a genuine option for an agency, not just a trial to discard when a client starts paying.
There is a different rule for reselling the service. Section 14 restricts repackaging UptimeRobot's data, status pages, alerts or API responses as a standalone or rebranded monitoring service without a separate commercial agreement. The vendor's client-work guidance distinguishes monitoring within a broader maintenance or support service from selling monitoring itself. A paid tier does not, by itself, remove that restriction.
The Fair Use Policy, checked October 3, 2026, rules out coordinating multiple accounts to bypass limits and automated activity that strains shared infrastructure. An agency cannot stack Free accounts to expand its client-monitoring capacity. UptimeRobot may review usage, propose a better-fit plan, or throttle activity, reduce capacity or suspend features, sometimes without notice. The policy sets no separate numerical client-site cap for agencies.
Count monitors before choosing a paid tier
Free lists 50 monitors. The entry Solo tier lists only 10, with a separate 50-monitor option. Paying therefore does not automatically give you more capacity. Count the distinct checks you need, then select the actual monitor tier rather than the plan name alone.
Prices below are UptimeRobot's listed US dollar prices with monthly billing, as of October 2026. You may see a different currency where you are.
| Plan | Monitor capacity | Documented check interval | Login seats listed | USD per month, billed monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 50 | 5 minutes | None | $0, as of October 2026 |
| Solo | 10 | 60 seconds | None | $13, as of October 2026 |
| Solo | 50 | 60 seconds | None | $28, as of October 2026 |
| Team | 100 | Pricing: 30 seconds. Help: 1 minute. | 3 | $46, as of October 2026 |
| Scale | 200 | Pricing: 15 seconds. Help: 30 seconds. | 5 | $98, as of October 2026 |
| Scale | 500 | Pricing: 15 seconds. Help: 30 seconds. | 5 | $228, as of October 2026 |
The pricing table lists Team at 30 seconds
and Scale at 15 seconds
. The help page says Team Plan: Monitoring happens every 1 minute.
and Scale Plan: Monitoring is conducted every 30 seconds.
Confirm the interval that applies before buying a tier specifically for that requirement.
These are documented polling intervals, not measured detection or recovery guarantees. The same help page says re-checks become less frequent during extended downtime. Keep that qualification beside the interval when deciding what your monitoring arrangement can support.
A required check type can matter more than the site count
UptimeRobot lists HTTP, keyword, ping and port checks on Free. Its pricing comparison puts SSL and domain-expiration monitoring, DNS monitoring, heartbeat monitoring and maintenance windows on Solo and higher. If your care plan requires one of those documented features, unused Free capacity does not solve the gap.
API access and API monitoring are different entries in that comparison: the platform API is listed on Free, while the API-monitoring feature is paid. Do not assume that an API key gives a Free account every monitor type.
First choose the scope of the check. The guide to separate HTTP, DNS and certificate checks explains the different questions those layers answer. Buy against the required documented check, not a general promise that a tool catches everything.
Another dashboard user is a Team decision, not a Solo upgrade
The client-work guidance says Free and Solo do not include login seats. Team includes 3 login seats; Scale includes 5. This matters when another responder or a client needs their own dashboard access, even if the monitor count is small.
Do not confuse a login seat with a notify-only seat. The seat-type documentation describes notify-only seats as alert recipients without dashboard access. It also says they cannot receive mobile push notifications. Choose the access and alert route the person actually needs.
A status page is a separate way to give clients visibility. The pricing page lists one basic status page on Free and three with an own-domain option on Solo. Check the branding and access features against the client's requirement, while keeping the resale restriction above in view.
Ten client sites can still mean no subscription charge
Take an illustrative portfolio of 10 client sites, with one ordinary HTTP check per site and no additional dashboard users. That needs 10 monitors. Checking a second distinct URL for every client needs 20, still within Free's published 50-monitor limit.
| Requirement | Calculation | Subscription implication |
|---|---|---|
| One HTTP URL per client | 10 x 1 = 10 monitors | Free: no subscription charge if its other limits fit. If you need Solo's documented 60-second checks, Solo 10 fits at USD $13/month with monthly billing, as of October 2026. |
| Two HTTP URLs per client | 10 x 2 = 20 monitors | Free: still no subscription charge if its other limits fit. For Solo's documented 60-second checks, choose Solo 50 at USD $28/month with monthly billing, as of October 2026. Solo 10 is too small. |
| Two URLs per client, plus another dashboard user | 20 monitors | Team 100 fits at USD $46/month with monthly billing, as of October 2026. The reason is the additional login, not because 20 exceeds Free's capacity. The interval disagreement beside the plan table still applies. |
No subscription charge does not make the agency's response work free. This example excludes staffing, incident work and any separately purchased alert credits. Paid amounts depend on the selected monitor tier, currency and billing period; an advertised annual monthly equivalent is not a monthly invoice. The paid examples use monthly billing, not annual-billing discounts. Check the current pricing selection before committing.
Self-hosting is another option, with work attached
A paid hosted subscription is not the only alternative. The Uptime Kuma project describes a self-hosted monitor with HTTP(s), DNS and push checks. Its MIT license is free of a software license charge, but you still need a place to run it and a process for maintaining it.
That is a different responsibility choice, not a claim that self-hosting costs nothing or matches every hosted feature. For a broader budget, use the client-site monitoring cost calculator and its dated source notes. For the response side, use the check-scope and alert-ownership guide.
Sources and scope
Compiled from the named vendor and maintainer documents below, checked October 3, 2026. The comparison uses published limits and a labeled example, not product testing. The interval conflict is retained rather than resolved by assumption. No affiliate links appear on this page.
- UptimeRobot: Plans & Pricing, checked October 3, 2026.
- UptimeRobot: Who Should Use the Free Plan?, checked October 3, 2026.
- UptimeRobot: Can I Use UptimeRobot for Client Work?, checked October 3, 2026.
- UptimeRobot Terms of Service and Fair Use Policy, checked October 3, 2026.
- UptimeRobot: Monitoring Interval and Team Roles & Seat Types, checked October 3, 2026.
- Uptime Kuma maintainer README and MIT license, checked October 3, 2026.