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Head-to-head · IT Alerting Software

xMatters vs Better Stack

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score xMatters #7 in IT Alerting Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit xMatters
Better Stack #8 in IT Alerting Software 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Better Stack

xMatters leads on 1 check, Better Stack on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorexMatters · 8.6/10
  • Lowest starting pricexMatters · $15/user/mo
  • Free planboth

xMatters scores higher on our rubric for it alerting software: 8.6 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

xMatters is cheaper to start at $15/user/mo against $29/user/mo.

xMatters is the better fit for teams coordinating enterprise incident workflows. Better Stack is the better fit for teams coordinating incidents and status updates.

  • xMatters fits best

    Teams coordinating enterprise incident workflows

  • Better Stack fits best

    Teams coordinating incidents and status updates

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Side by side

Feature xMatters 8.6/10 Visit ↗ Better Stack 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.6 8.5
Ranking #7 in IT Alerting Software #8 in IT Alerting Software
Best for Teams coordinating enterprise incident workflows Teams coordinating incidents and status updates
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $15/user/mo (best) $29/seat/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Mobile Cloud, Mobile
Platforms Web, iOS, Android Web, iOS, Android
Support Email, Phone, Community, Docs · 24/7 Email, Docs
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, SSO/SAML SOC 2, GDPR, 2FA
Integrations 200+ integrations 6 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features xMatters 2/5 · Better Stack 2/5
On-call scheduling ✓ ✓
Escalation policies ✓ ✓
Alert acknowledgment Not checked yet Not checked yet
Incident status pages Not checked yet Not checked yet
Mobile apps Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Alert source integrations Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Rotations, escalation policies, and incident roles in one console
  • Slack and Microsoft Teams support incident actions
  • Workflows can notify responders, ticket, or launch remediation
  • Routes alerts through scheduled on-call duties and repeating escalation policies
  • Tracks incidents from creation through resolution, with post-mortems
  • Publishes public or password-protected status pages with automatic updates
Cons
  • Public status pages and post-incident reports require Advanced
  • Starter is priced per user, which can add up across larger teams
  • The Free plan's user limit is described inconsistently
  • Responder costs $34 per license monthly or $29 per license monthly with annual billing
  • The free plan is limited to 10 monitors and heartbeats and one status page
  • Incident response is centered on Better Stack’s cloud and mobile platform
Our verdict

xMatters brings alert routing, on-call scheduling, and incident coordination together for IT, DevOps, and SRE teams. Its incident console organizes timelines, roles, severity, and status, while dynamic resolver engagement and collaboration…

Read the review →

Better Stack combines monitoring with incident response for engineering and operations teams coordinating service disruptions. Incidents can start from monitors, heartbeats, integrations, manual reports, or API calls. Responders can…

Read the review →
  1. xMattersIT Alerting Software 8.6Free plan
  2. Better StackIT Alerting Software 8.5Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • xMatters — where it wins

    • Rotations, escalation policies, and incident roles in one console
    • Slack and Microsoft Teams support incident actions
    • Workflows can notify responders, ticket, or launch remediation

    Where it doesn't

    • Public status pages and post-incident reports require Advanced
    • Starter is priced per user, which can add up across larger teams
    • The Free plan's user limit is described inconsistently

  • Better Stack — where it wins

    • Routes alerts through scheduled on-call duties and repeating escalation policies
    • Tracks incidents from creation through resolution, with post-mortems
    • Publishes public or password-protected status pages with automatic updates

    Where it doesn't

    • Responder costs $34 per license monthly or $29 per license monthly with annual billing
    • The free plan is limited to 10 monitors and heartbeats and one status page
    • Incident response is centered on Better Stack’s cloud and mobile platform

More comparisons

All IT alerting software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update