Kener vs Upptime
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Kener | Upptime |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Markdown |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | one-click, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,177 | ★ 17,168 |
| First released | 2023 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Statuspage, Better Uptime | Statuspage, Pingdom |
What are Kener and Upptime?
Kener
Kener is an open-source status page system built with SvelteKit that monitors services and displays their health. It supports incidents, maintenance windows, and a polished, customizable interface.
- Modern SvelteKit interface
- Incident and maintenance management
- Multiple monitor types
- Customizable theming
Upptime
Upptime is an uptime monitor and status page powered entirely by GitHub Actions and Issues. It runs checks on a schedule, opens issues for downtime, and publishes a status page with no server required.
- Runs on GitHub Actions
- Auto-generated status page
- Downtime issues and alerts
- No servers to maintain
Kener vs Upptime: key differences
Kener is written in TypeScript, while Upptime is built with Markdown. Upptime is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Kener. Upptime is the more established project (first released 2020), while Kener arrived in 2023. Upptime has the considerably larger community, at 17,168 GitHub stars versus 5,177. Kener lists first-class Docker deployment; Upptime does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Kener if…
- Attractive modern UI
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller plugin ecosystem
Choose Upptime if…
- Completely free hosting
- Zero infrastructure
Watch out for
- Tied to GitHub
- Check interval limited by Actions
Frequently asked questions
Is Kener or Upptime better?
Neither is universally better. Upptime has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kener and Upptime free and open-source?
Yes. Kener is licensed under MIT and Upptime under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kener and Upptime with Docker?
Kener: yes. Upptime: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Kener or Upptime?
Upptime has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Kener. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.