Checkmate vs Monika
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Checkmate
Open-source uptime and infrastructure monitoring tool
VS
Monika
Synthetic monitoring with HTTP probes from config
| Feature | Checkmate | Monika |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,436 | ★ 625 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Pingdom, Better Uptime | Pingdom, Datadog Synthetics |
Why pick each one
Choose Monika if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Checkmate or Monika better?
Neither is universally better. Checkmate has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Checkmate and Monika free and open-source?
Yes. Checkmate is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Monika under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Checkmate and Monika with Docker?
Checkmate: yes. Monika: yes.