Best xMatters Alternatives in 2026
The top xMatters alternatives are AlertOps, ilert and PagerDuty: 15 IT incident management software our editors would look at instead of xMatters, in our ranking order.
xMatters: Affordable paging with on-call, incident coordination, automation, and status pages. Where it falls short: free plan supports up to 5 users.
Switching from xMatters? For most it incident management software buyers the best xMatters alternative is AlertOps, built for broad incident response at low entry cost. On a budget, Splunk On-Call starts at $5/user/mo, against $15/user/mo for xMatters.
Why People Look for a xMatters Alternative
- Free plan supports up to 5 users
- Starter limits SMS and voice notifications per user
- Advanced pricing requires contacting sales
- Paid from $15/user/mo — Splunk On-Call is $5/user/mo
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallAlertOps9.4
Broad incident response at low entry cost
Visit AlertOps - Lowest priceSplunk On-Call8.3
Paid plans from $5/user/mo
Visit Splunk On-Call - Best free optionAlertOps9.4
Has a free plan
Visit AlertOps
All 15 xMatters Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forBroad incident response at low entry cost
- Better than xMatters:
- Paid from: $8/user/mo vs $15/user/mo
- Editor score 9.4 vs 8.4
A broad incident response platform with strong capabilities at a low entry cost.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
9.4/10★★★★★Visit AlertOps -
Best forTeams wanting free, full-featured incident response
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 9.3 vs 8.4
A broad incident response platform with a genuinely capable free plan.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
9.3/10★★★★★Visit ilert -
Best forMature teams needing extensive integrations
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 9.2 vs 8.4
A mature incident platform with broad integrations, on-call depth, and status-page workflows.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
9.2/10★★★★★Visit PagerDuty -
Best forModern teams wanting broad incident collaboration
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 9.1 vs 8.4
A broad incident response platform with a free plan and a $29 annual paid tier.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
9.1/10★★★★★Visit Better Stack -
Best forOrganizations needing polished incident command
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 9.0 vs 8.4
A polished incident command suite with broad integrations, but no permanent free plan.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit FireHydrant -
Best forTeams focused on structured response workflows
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 8.9 vs 8.4
A structured incident platform with strong response workflows and separate paid modules.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Rootly -
Best forLarge operations teams needing AI triage
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 8.8 vs 8.4
A broad incident management platform for AI-assisted triage, response, and postmortems.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit BigPanda -
Best forSelf-hosters wanting a complete open-source pager
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 8.7 vs 8.4
A broad open-source pager for teams that want to run incident operations themselves.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit OpsKnight -
Best forSelf-hosters needing measurable incident operations
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 8.6 vs 8.4
A measurable, open-source incident lifecycle for teams running their own infrastructure.
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
- Post-incident reviews
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Callu -
Best forOpen-source teams wanting broad incident basics
- Better than xMatters:
- Editor score 8.5 vs 8.4
A broad incident-management toolkit with open-source deployment and a free plan.
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
- Post-incident reviews
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit OneUptime -
Best forLow-cost teams prioritizing paging and escalation
- Better than xMatters:
- Paid from: $5/user/mo vs $15/user/mo
A low-cost choice for teams focused on paging, escalation, and incident response.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Splunk On-Call -
Best forBudget-conscious teams needing multichannel alerts
- Better than xMatters:
- Paid from: $9/user/mo vs $15/user/mo
A budget-friendly alerting platform with broad response workflows and a basic status-page capability.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit SIGNL4 -
Best forTeams needing reliable alert delivery and audit trails
- Better than xMatters:
- Paid from: $13.99/user/mo vs $15/user/mo
A focused incident alerting platform with schedules, escalations, messaging, and audit trails.
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
- Post-incident reviews
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit OnPage -
Best forSlack- and Teams-centric incident teams
A chat-native incident platform with free entry, on-call, workflows, and status pages.
- ChatOps incident actions
- On-call scheduling
- Escalation policies
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit incident.io -
Best forIT teams needing incident and service management
A broad ITSM suite for teams that need incident management alongside service operations.
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Freshservice
xMatters Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to xMatters?
AlertOps: #1 in our IT Incident Management Software ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad incident response platform with strong capabilities at a low entry cost.
Is there a free alternative to xMatters?
Yes. AlertOps, ilert, PagerDuty, Better Stack and FireHydrant have a free plan or a free tier (10 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
What is the cheapest paid alternative to xMatters?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, Splunk On-Call starts lowest, at $5/user/mo.
Why do people look for xMatters alternatives?
Free plan supports up to 5 users; Starter limits SMS and voice notifications per user; Advanced pricing requires contacting sales.
How do I switch from xMatters?
Export your data from xMatters (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel xMatters.
How to Switch from xMatters
- Export your data from xMatters (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel xMatters.
xMatters vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | On-call scheduling | Escalation policies | Status page | Post-incident reviews | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | xMatters | Yes | $15/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 8.4 |
| 1 | AlertOps | Yes | $8/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | ilert | Yes | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 9.3 | |
| 3 | PagerDuty | Yes | $21/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 9.2 |
| 4 | Better Stack | Yes | $29/seat/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 9.1 |
| 5 | FireHydrant | Yes | $25/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 9.0 |
| 6 | Rootly | No | $20/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 8.9 |
| 7 | BigPanda | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.8 | |||
| 8 | OpsKnight | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Basic | Yes | 8.7 |
| 9 | Callu | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 8.6 |
| 10 | OneUptime | Yes | $22/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Basic | Yes | 8.5 |
| 11 | Splunk On-Call | No | $5/user/mo | Yes | Yes | None | Yes | 8.3 |
| 12 | SIGNL4 | Yes | $9/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.2 | |
| 13 | OnPage | No | $13.99/user/mo | Yes | Yes | None | Yes | 8.1 |
| 14 | incident.io | Yes | Yes | Yes | Advanced | Yes | 8.0 | |
| 15 | Freshservice | No | $19/user/mo | 7.9 |
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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