Monitor Credits

What are monitor credits?

Instead of specifying a fixed number of monitors that you can create, our plans issue a certain amount of "monitor credits". In many cases this has the same effect, but there are some differences.

The number of monitor credits you have available defines the maximum number of monitors that your account can have at any one time. These credits are not consumed like phone credits; rather, monitors use them when they are created, then release them when they are removed from your account.

For example, the Free plan provides 10 monitor credits. If you create a standard monitor, you would have 9 credits left. If you then delete this monitor, your account will have 10 monitor credits again.

You can also think of this as a number of "slots" available for monitors to use.

Why this complexity, why not just set a simple limit?

Good question! For the example above, it would indeed be easier to just say "you can have up to 10 monitors". However, not all monitors cost a single credit, as some are a lot more expensive for us to run.

For example, a standard HTTP monitor running every 15 seconds will consume 240 times as many resources as one running once an hour (on average). Similarly, a monitor running in 5 regions will clearly use 5 times as many resources as one running in only a single region.

We absorb the bulk of this difference ourselves, with most monitors costing a single credit, but for some high-intensity configurations we charge slightly more. This means that most of the time you can configure the monitor exactly how you want without worrying about cost, while also catering to those who need a lot of resources.

Some other monitoring services solve this problem by imposing additional restrictions - for example, allowing you to use 10 monitors but only 1 of a certain type. Our solution offers greater flexibility: you can spend your credits however you choose; the only limit is the total number of credits available.

How can I tell how much my monitor will cost?

The potential credit usage is clearly shown on the Setup monitoring page of the monitor creation wizard, so you can see how much it would cost in advance.

For existing monitors, the current number of credits is given on the dashboard. When editing the monitor, both the current and potential new cost is shown on Monitoring tab of the settings page, so you can see what effect (if any) your changes have on the number of credits used.

The exact calculation used is also given below. Most monitors cost a single credit, with monitors running more frequently than every minute or using more than 3 regions using extra.

Monitor credit calculation

The total number of credits that a monitor uses is calculated as:

Base cost + Interval bonus + Region bonus

Base cost

All current monitor types have a base cost of 1 credit.

Interval bonus

This bonus depends on how often the monitor runs - specifically, the interval of time between successive checks.

Monitors that do not run on a schedule (i.e. Manual Monitors) never incur any interval bonus, nor do those using a crontab schedule.

Region bonus

This bonus depends on the number of regions in which the monitor runs, when using specified regions.

Monitors that do not run in regions (i.e. Manual Monitors and Heartbeat Monitors) never incur any region bonus, nor do those with a region setting of Worldwide (regardless of how many regions they run in).

Examples

A monitor running every minute in London consumes 1 credit.

A monitor running every minute in London, New York, Singapore, and Sydney consumes 2 credits (1 base + 1 region bonus).

A monitor running every 30 seconds in London consumes 2 credits (1 base + 1 interval bonus).

A monitor running every 15 seconds in London, New York, and Singapore consumes 3 credits (1 base + 2 interval bonus).

A monitor running every 15 seconds in London, New York, Singapore, and Sydney consumes 4 credits (1 base + 2 interval bonus + 1 region bonus).

What if the monitor cost changes?

If you change the configuration of a monitor, that may affect how many credits it consumes. For example, if you add a 4th region to an existing monitor, it will now consume an additional credit.

This information is clearly given on the monitor settings page, with a break-down of the various cost components both before and after any changes you have made.

As with creating a new monitor, you will not be able to save changes if doing so would consume more monitor credits than are available.

What if the pricing changes?

We have never changed any part of the cost calculation, nor how many credits are available in any plan, and we have no plans to do so.

Any questions?

We hope that this guide has demystified monitor credits for you. However, if you have any questions (relating to billing or otherwise), please get in touch. Email support@statuscloud.com and we'll help however we can.