Hosting
Sentinel Watch · We host it
Uptime Kuma · You self-host (Docker, etc.)
Sentinel Watch vs Uptime Kuma
Uptime Kuma is the self-hosted monitor people mean when they say “just run Docker.” The UI is excellent: status badges, latency bars, notifications you wire yourself, and status pages on your own domain. The cost is operational: a VPS, TLS, backups, and upgrades. Sentinel Watch is the opposite trade: we host the checker, you sign in with email OTP, and you live with our 5-minute interval and email-only alerts. Our dashboard language (bars, pause/resume, incident sidebar) is intentionally close to Kuma’s because that is what “good” looks like — without pretending we are a drop-in Kuma clone.
Project: github.com/louislam/uptime-kuma. Reviewed 30 Aug 2026.
| Feature | Sentinel Watch | Uptime Kuma |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | We host it | You self-host (Docker, etc.) |
| Cost | Free (our infra limits apply) | Software is free; you pay the server |
| Setup | Sign in with email | Provision a VM, reverse proxy, backups, updates |
| UI | Dark glass dashboard inspired by the same bars-and-status language | Excellent self-hosted dashboard; very polished |
| Status pages | Included | Included, on your infrastructure |
| Control | Less (shared SaaS) | Full (your box, your data) |
| Best for | People who do not want to run a monitor box | People who already run Docker and want no vendor |
Cost
Sentinel Watch · Free (our infra limits apply)
Uptime Kuma · Software is free; you pay the server
Setup
Sentinel Watch · Sign in with email
Uptime Kuma · Provision a VM, reverse proxy, backups, updates
UI
Sentinel Watch · Dark glass dashboard inspired by the same bars-and-status language
Uptime Kuma · Excellent self-hosted dashboard; very polished
Status pages
Sentinel Watch · Included
Uptime Kuma · Included, on your infrastructure
Control
Sentinel Watch · Less (shared SaaS)
Uptime Kuma · Full (your box, your data)
Best for
Sentinel Watch · People who do not want to run a monitor box
Uptime Kuma · People who already run Docker and want no vendor
Pick Kuma if
You already run containers, want ping/port/docker monitors, or must keep check data on hardware you control.
Pick Sentinel Watch if
You do not want another box to babysit. Read features and limits before migrating anything production-critical.
Hosted, not another container
If Kuma’s ops cost is the reason you still have no monitor, start here.
Start free