Cortex vs Uptime Kuma

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?
FeatureCortexUptime Kuma
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoJavaScript
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker
GitHub stars★ 5,844★ 89,960
First released20162021
ReplacesDatadog, Grafana CloudPingdom, UptimeRobot

Why pick each one

Choose Cortex if…

  • Built for very large scale
  • True multi-tenancy
Cortex details

Choose Uptime Kuma if…

  • Very easy to use
  • Great notifications
  • Lightweight
Uptime Kuma details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cortex or Uptime Kuma better?

Uptime Kuma is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Cortex if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Cortex and Uptime Kuma free and open-source?

Yes. Cortex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Uptime Kuma under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cortex and Uptime Kuma with Docker?

Cortex: yes. Uptime Kuma: yes.

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