Comparison

PerkyDash vs Instatus

Beautiful status pages vs monitoring + status pages. Both are great - but which do you actually need?

Last updated: January 2026

The Short Version

Instatus makes beautiful, affordable status pages. Great UI, generous free tier, friendly founder.

But like Statuspage, Instatus has no monitoring. You need UptimeRobot, Freshping, or similar to detect issues - then Instatus displays them.

PerkyDash combines monitoring + status pages in one tool. Detect issues AND communicate them.

Choose Instatus if:

You already have monitoring and want a clean, affordable status page.

Choose PerkyDash if:

You want monitoring + status pages together, without juggling multiple tools.

Credit Where It's Due: Instatus is Great

Beautiful design

One of the best-looking status pages on the market. Clean, modern, professional.

Generous free tier

Unlimited subscribers and team members on free plan. Rare in this space.

Affordable Pro plan

$20/mo for custom domain. Much cheaper than Statuspage's $29/mo.

Fast setup

Users report setup in under 20 minutes. Very straightforward.

Multi-language support

Status pages in multiple languages out of the box.

Responsive founder

Active Slack community, founder personally responds to feedback.

Good integrations

Works with UptimeRobot, Pingdom, PagerDuty, Datadog, and more.

If you just need a status page and already have monitoring sorted, Instatus is genuinely excellent. We're not here to trash talk - it's a well-made product.

The Missing Piece: No Built-In Monitoring

Instatus Workflow

Two tools required
1

You need monitoring tool (separate)

2

Monitoring detects issue

3

Sends webhook to Instatus

4

Instatus updates status page

5

Customers see update

PerkyDash Workflow

One tool does both
1

PerkyDash monitors your site

2

Detects issue automatically

3

Updates status page (auto or manual)

4

Customers see update

"If there was a way for Instatus to run the website/app pings instead of having to integrate with something for automatic updates that would be awesome. Would love to get rid of my Freshping account and just use Instatus."

— Actual Instatus user review

Pricing Breakdown

Instatus Pricing

Plan Price What You Get
Free $0 Status page, unlimited subscribers, NO custom domain
Pro $20/mo Custom domain, same features
Business $300/mo Multiple pages, SSO/SAML
Private $50+/mo Private/internal status pages

Note: No monitoring included. You'll need UptimeRobot ($7+/mo), Freshping, or similar.

PerkyDash Pricing

Plan Price What You Get
Pro $9.99/mo Full monitoring + status pages + visual diff
Agency $39.99/mo Everything + white-label + unlimited monitors

Note: Monitoring AND status pages included.

Real Cost Comparison

Free status page + free monitoring

Instatus Free $0
Freshping Free $0
Total $0
PerkyDash Pro $9.99/mo

Winner: Instatus (if free tiers meet your needs)

Custom domain + proper monitoring

Instatus Pro $20/mo
UptimeRobot Pro $7/mo
Total $27/mo
PerkyDash Pro $9.99/mo

Annual savings: $204

Multiple status pages + advanced monitoring

Instatus Business $300/mo
Better Stack $29/mo
Total $329/mo
PerkyDash Agency $39.99/mo

Annual savings: $3,468

Feature-by-Feature

Feature PerkyDash Instatus
Status Pages
Public status pages
Custom domain ✅ (from $20/mo)
Private pages ✅ (from $50/mo)
Unlimited subscribers
Multi-language ⚠️ Limited ✅ Excellent
Beautiful design ✅ Good ✅ Excellent
Monitoring
Uptime monitoring ✅ Built-in ❌ Requires integration
API flow monitoring ✅ Built-in ❌ Requires integration
Visual diff monitoring ✅ Built-in ❌ Not available
SSL monitoring ✅ Built-in ❌ Requires integration
Heartbeat/cron ✅ Built-in ❌ Requires integration
Integrations
Slack/Teams
Discord
Email notifications
SMS notifications ✅ (Pro)
Monitoring tool integrations N/A (built-in) ✅ 10+ tools
Other
Emergency status page ✅ Free tool
White-label ✅ Agency plan
Setup time ~10 min ~20 min

Choose Instatus If...

You already have monitoring you love

If UptimeRobot or Pingdom is working great for you, Instatus adds beautiful status pages.

You need excellent multi-language support

Instatus handles multiple languages better than most competitors.

You want the best-looking status page

Instatus has some of the cleanest designs in the space.

Free tier meets your needs

Unlimited subscribers on free is hard to beat if you don't need custom domain.

You prefer indie/bootstrapped tools

Solo founder, responsive support, active community.

Choose PerkyDash If...

You want monitoring + status pages in one tool

No integration juggling. One dashboard, one bill.

You need visual diff monitoring

Catch layout/visual issues automatically. Instatus can't do this.

Budget matters at scale

As you grow, separate tools cost more. PerkyDash stays flat.

You want white-label status pages

For agencies, PerkyDash Agency includes white-label.

You want emergency status pages

Free tool to create instant status page during crisis.

The Hidden Cost of "Just Add Monitoring"

Instatus integrates with monitoring tools. Sounds simple, right?

Reality check:

1.

Setup time

Configure monitoring tool. Configure Instatus. Set up webhook. Test integration. Debug when it breaks.

2.

Two dashboards

Check monitoring in one place, update status in another. Context switching during incidents.

3.

Two bills

Instatus + monitoring tool. Both can increase pricing independently.

4.

Integration maintenance

Webhooks fail. APIs change. Integrations need babysitting.

5.

Partial automation

Most integrations just change component status. You still manually write incident updates.

With PerkyDash:

One tool. One dashboard. One bill. Monitoring detects issue → status page reflects it → you write the update. No integration layer to maintain.

Common Questions

Is Instatus really that much prettier than PerkyDash?

Honestly, yes - Instatus has exceptional design. It's one of the best-looking status pages available. PerkyDash status pages are clean and professional, but Instatus edges ahead on pure aesthetics. If design is your top priority and you already have monitoring, Instatus is a great choice.

Can I use Instatus free tier forever?

Yes, but without a custom domain. Your status page URL will be yourname.instatus.com. For many indie projects, this is totally fine. If you need status.yourcompany.com, you'll need Pro ($20/mo).

Does PerkyDash integrate with Instatus?

Not directly, and you wouldn't need to - PerkyDash has its own status pages built in. Using both would be redundant.

What if I'm already using Instatus?

If it's working for you, keep using it! But if you're paying for Instatus + a monitoring tool and want to simplify, PerkyDash consolidates both. Migration is straightforward - recreate your components, update your DNS, done.

Is Instatus going to add monitoring?

The founder has hinted at it in reviews ("I'm planning on going into monitoring, but that's a secret"). If/when they do, this comparison will change. For now, it's status-page-only.

Which has better uptime/reliability?

Both are reliable hosted services. Instatus has been around longer and has a solid track record. PerkyDash is newer but built on reliable infrastructure. For mission-critical enterprise needs, both work - but you might also consider self-hosted options for maximum control.

The Verdict

Instatus is a beautiful, affordable status page tool. Generous free tier, excellent design, responsive founder. If you have monitoring sorted and just need status pages, it's a great choice.

PerkyDash combines monitoring + status pages in one tool. Less pretty than Instatus, but you don't need to juggle multiple services or maintain integrations.

The real question: Do you want two specialized tools, or one tool that does both?

Both are valid answers. It depends on your setup, budget, and preference for simplicity vs. best-in-class components.

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Or check out Instatus if you already have monitoring

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