DNS Monitor vs UptimeRobot
Comparing DNS Monitor and UptimeRobot for DNS monitoring. Dedicated DNS change detection vs uptime tool with basic DNS checks.
UptimeRobot is one of the most popular uptime monitoring tools on the market, and for good reason. It does an excellent job of telling you whether your website is up or down, with free and paid plans that cover HTTP, ping, port, and keyword monitoring. But when it comes to DNS monitoring specifically, UptimeRobot and DNS Monitor solve very different problems.
Understanding those differences helps you decide whether you need one, the other, or both.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DNS Monitor | UptimeRobot |
|---|---|---|
| DNS change detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| All DNS record types | ✓ | Limited |
| DNS propagation tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Diff views for record changes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Change history and audit log | ✓ | ✗ |
| HTTP uptime monitoring | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ping monitoring | ✗ | ✓ |
| Keyword monitoring | ✗ | ✓ |
| Status pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dedicated DNS focus | ✓ | ✗ |
What UptimeRobot Does Well
UptimeRobot has earned its reputation by being reliable, affordable, and easy to set up. Their free tier includes 50 monitors with 5-minute intervals, which is generous for small teams and side projects. The dashboard is clean, alerts are configurable, and integrations with Slack, PagerDuty, and other tools work smoothly.
For uptime monitoring specifically, UptimeRobot is hard to beat on value. If your primary concern is knowing whether your website responds to HTTP requests, it handles that well.
Where UptimeRobot Falls Short on DNS
UptimeRobot's DNS monitoring is a secondary feature, not a core focus. Their DNS monitor type checks whether a domain resolves to an expected IP address, and that is essentially it. There are several limitations:
No change detection
UptimeRobot checks if DNS resolves, but it does not track what changed. If your MX record is modified or a TXT record is removed, UptimeRobot will not notice unless it directly affects resolution to the IP it expects.
Limited record type coverage
The focus is on A records and basic resolution. You cannot monitor MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, or other record types with the same granularity.
No propagation tracking
UptimeRobot does not check DNS from multiple global locations to track propagation. It checks from its shared monitor pool and reports up or down.
Shared monitor infrastructure
DNS checks run through UptimeRobot's general-purpose monitoring pool. This is fine for uptime checks but means DNS queries are not optimized for the nuances of DNS monitoring.
They solve different problems
UptimeRobot answers "is my site reachable?" DNS Monitor answers "have my DNS records changed, and are they correct everywhere?" These are complementary questions, not competing ones.
How DNS Monitor Differs
DNS Monitor is built specifically for DNS. Every feature is designed around tracking, detecting, and alerting on DNS record changes across all record types and global locations.
Purpose-Built DNS Monitoring
DNS Monitor tracks every record type, detects changes with diff views, and monitors propagation across global resolvers.
Where UptimeRobot checks whether DNS resolves to an expected target, DNS Monitor watches the full picture: every record type, every change, from multiple vantage points. If someone modifies your SPF record, removes a CNAME, or your nameserver delegation changes, DNS Monitor catches it and shows you exactly what changed.
When to Choose UptimeRobot
You need uptime monitoring first
If your primary requirement is knowing when your website, API, or service goes down, UptimeRobot is purpose-built for that job.
You want a free tier for basic monitoring
UptimeRobot's free plan is one of the best in the industry. If budget is tight and you need basic monitoring across many sites, it delivers real value.
You need status pages
UptimeRobot includes status page functionality, which DNS Monitor does not provide.
When to Choose DNS Monitor
You need to track DNS record changes
If unauthorized or unexpected DNS modifications are a concern, DNS Monitor provides the change detection and audit trail you need.
You manage multiple record types
MX, TXT, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, CNAME, NS records all matter. DNS Monitor covers every type, not just A record resolution.
You need propagation visibility
After making DNS changes, DNS Monitor shows you how those changes propagate across global resolvers in real time.
You want diff views and history
Seeing exactly what changed, when, and what the previous value was helps you troubleshoot and audit with confidence.
Using Both Together
For many teams, the best answer is running both tools. UptimeRobot monitors whether your services are reachable. DNS Monitor watches the DNS layer underneath. When UptimeRobot alerts you to downtime, DNS Monitor can help you determine whether a DNS change caused it.
Our Honest Take
UptimeRobot is a great tool that we genuinely respect. If you need uptime monitoring, use it. But calling UptimeRobot's DNS check "DNS monitoring" is like calling a smoke detector a fire suppression system. It detects one symptom (resolution failure) but misses the underlying changes that cause DNS-related incidents. If DNS matters to your operations, you need a tool that watches DNS specifically.
If you rely on DNS for anything critical, a dedicated DNS monitoring tool gives you the visibility that uptime monitors were never designed to provide.
Add DNS Monitoring to Your Stack
Pair DNS Monitor with your existing uptime tools for complete infrastructure visibility. Know about DNS changes before they cause downtime.
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