Can I monitor TCP ports with Domain Monitor?

Yes. Domain Monitor supports TCP port checks on all plans — add any host:port combination (e.g. db.myapp.com:5432) and it checks whether the port is accepting connections. Pingdom also supports TCP port checks on paid plans. The difference: Domain Monitor includes TCP monitoring on the free plan.

Pingdom Alternative

Pingdom is built for synthetic monitoring.
Domain Monitor is built smaller.

Q: Does Pingdom support mobile alerts?

Pingdom currently lists email, SMS, webhooks, integrations, and push notifications to Android/iOS as alerting options. Domain Monitor is different because the native app is the main monitoring workflow: add targets, view status/history, inspect SSL details, and receive app push alerts.

Q: What does Domain Monitor have that Pingdom doesn't?

A native app-first workflow, a permanent free plan with no credit card required, adaptive latency spike alerts, and a low-cost Pro plan for smaller monitoring needs. Pingdom's strengths are broader synthetic monitoring, page speed, transaction monitoring, SMS/push/webhook alerting, multiple test locations, incident diagnostics, and public status pages/reports.

Pingdom is a mature Synthetic Monitoring product for uptime checks, transaction monitoring, page speed monitoring, email/SMS/push alerting, webhooks, maintenance windows, multiple test locations, incident diagnostics, and public status pages/reports. Its entry package is $18/month month-to-month, or $16.50/month when billed annually ($198/year), for 10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check, and 50 SMS alerts. Domain Monitor is smaller and app-first: free to start, native iOS and Android, and $3.99/month Pro with a 21-day trial on every new account.

Download for iOS Download for Android

Free to start 21-day Pro trial iOS & Android

The honest comparison

A mature synthetic monitoring suite vs a smaller app-first monitor

Pingdom has been around since 2007 and is one of the original uptime monitoring services. Today it is positioned as a synthetic monitoring suite: uptime checks, transaction monitoring, page speed monitoring, email/SMS/push alerting, webhooks, multiple test locations, incident diagnostics, maintenance windows, public status pages and reports, and unlimited users.

That breadth is useful if you want web performance and transaction monitoring. The tradeoff is that Pingdom may be more product than a freelancer, indie developer, or small business owner needs for a handful of sites: there is no permanent free plan, and the entry package costs much more than Domain Monitor Pro.

If you want a focused app for a handful of sites — status, SSL, latency, push/email alerts, and simple diagnostics — Domain Monitor is built for that smaller workflow.

Side by side

Pingdom vs Domain Monitor

Feature	Pingdom	Domain Monitor
Free plan	No permanent free plan; 30-day trial	Free to start — no card needed
Entry price	$18/mo monthly, or $16.50/mo billed annually ($198/yr)	$3.99/mo or $39.99/yr (up to 12 targets)
Mobile workflow	Android/iOS push alerts listed; web-first monitoring suite	Native iOS & Android app-first workflow
Alert channels	Email, SMS, push, webhooks, integrations	Native push + email alerts (Pro)
Entry package	10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check, 50 SMS alerts	12 Pro targets, 5-minute cloud checks
SSL certificate monitoring	Yes	Yes + 6 milestone alerts + full cert details
TCP port monitoring	Yes	Yes — all plans
Latency / performance	Uptime response data + page speed monitoring	24h latency chart + adaptive spike alerts (Pro)
Incident diagnostics	Root-cause tools including traceroute, server output, response codes	Cloud traceroute triggered from the app (Pro)
Page speed monitoring	Yes	Not included — focused on uptime
Transaction monitoring	Yes (advanced checks)	Not included
Real user monitoring (RUM)	Available as separate Pingdom product	Not included
Status pages / reports	Public status pages and reports	Public status page included in Pro
Free trial	30-day trial	21 days Pro on every new account

What you get instead

Focused uptime monitoring in a native app

Domain Monitor is not a synthetic monitoring suite like Pingdom. It is focused on uptime, SSL, latency, and connectivity for smaller setups — with a native app as the main workflow.

Native app-first workflow

Pingdom lists email, SMS, push notifications, webhooks, and integrations. Domain Monitor focuses on a simpler native app workflow: add targets, check status/history, and receive push/email alerts from the same mobile product.

Native app as the main workflow

Pingdom is primarily a web synthetic monitoring suite with mobile alert options listed in its docs. Domain Monitor is available on the App Store and Google Play, with a native interface for checking status, viewing history, and running diagnostics from the app.

TCP port monitoring — free plan

Pingdom's Synthetic Monitoring package includes uptime and advanced checks. Domain Monitor includes TCP port monitoring on all plans including free — useful for databases, mail servers, SSH, game servers, and other simple host:port checks.

Free to start

Pingdom has no permanent free plan. Domain Monitor lets you start without an account — add a target, run manual checks, no credit card. Create a free account for 5 targets. Every new account gets a 21-day Pro trial automatically — no card required. When you first subscribe to Pro, a 7-day trial is also included.

FAQ

Common questions about switching from Pingdom

Does Pingdom have a free plan?

Pingdom does not offer a permanent free plan, but it does offer a 30-day free trial. Its Synthetic Monitoring entry package is $18/month month-to-month, or $16.50/month when billed annually ($198/year), for 10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check, and 50 SMS alerts. Domain Monitor is free to start — add one target and run manual checks with no account, or create a free account for up to 5 targets.

Does Pingdom support mobile alerts?

Pingdom currently lists push notifications to Android/iOS as an alerting option, alongside email, SMS, webhooks, and integrations. Domain Monitor is different because the native iOS/Android app is the primary workflow for adding targets, checking status, viewing history, and receiving alerts.

Is Domain Monitor cheaper than Pingdom?

For small-site monitoring, yes. Pingdom's Synthetic Monitoring entry package is $18/month month-to-month, or $16.50/month when billed annually ($198/year), for 10 uptime checks, 1 advanced check, and 50 SMS alerts. Domain Monitor Pro is $3.99/month (or $39.99/year) for up to 12 targets, cloud checks every 5 minutes, push and email alerts, SSL tracking, latency history, cloud traceroute triggered from the app, and a status page. Every new account gets a 21-day Pro trial automatically — no card required. When you first subscribe to Pro, a 7-day trial is also included.

What does Domain Monitor have that Pingdom doesn't?

A native app-first workflow, a permanent free plan, TCP port monitoring on the free tier, cloud traceroute triggered from the app, adaptive latency spike alerts, a 21-day Pro trial on sign-up, and a 7-day subscription trial on first subscription. Pingdom's strengths are broader synthetic monitoring, page speed, transaction monitoring, SMS/push/webhook alerting, incident diagnostics, and public status pages/reports.

Does Domain Monitor do page speed monitoring like Pingdom?

No. Pingdom's strength is synthetic and web performance monitoring — page speed tests, real user monitoring, and transaction checks. Domain Monitor does not do page speed analysis. If web performance monitoring is your primary need, Pingdom or similar tools may be more appropriate. Domain Monitor is focused on uptime, SSL, latency, connectivity, and mobile-first alerts.

Pingdom is built for synthetic monitoring.Domain Monitor is built smaller.

A mature synthetic monitoring suite vs a smaller app-first monitor

Pingdom vs Domain Monitor

Focused uptime monitoring in a native app

Common questions about switching from Pingdom

Small-site monitoring in one mobile app

Pingdom is built for synthetic monitoring.
Domain Monitor is built smaller.