Cronjay vs Sentry Crons
Checked
This page compares the two products side by side: price, plan requirements and monitor options. For the step-by-step switch (keep the SDK, change the DSN), see the Sentry Crons alternative page.
Sentry Crons is the cron monitoring part of Sentry. It tracks "the uptime and performance of any scheduled,
recurring job" [1]. Jobs report in_progress, ok and error check-ins through the Sentry SDKs, the CLI or a
plain HTTP endpoint, and a check-in can upsert the monitor with a schedule, a check-in margin, a maximum runtime
and a time zone [2]. Every Sentry plan includes one cron monitor; extra monitors cost $0.78 each per month and can
only be bought from a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) budget [3][4].
Cronjay is a standalone cron and heartbeat monitor that accepts Sentry SDK cron check-ins. Set your
SDK's DSN to the Cronjay DSN (https://PUBLIC_KEY@cronjay.metastic.ch/PROJECT_ID) and your existing
monitor decorators, withMonitor() calls or captureCheckIn() calls report to Cronjay. Monitors are matched
by slug and created or updated from monitor_config. Jobs without the SDK use plain ping URLs
(https://cronjay.metastic.ch/ping/YOUR-UUID). Plans: Free (20 checks), Team CHF 12/month
(200 checks), Business CHF 39/month (1,000 checks).
Prices and features were checked on 2026-11-05 on Sentry's public pricing page and documentation, and may have changed since. Cronjay's prices are its list prices on that date (CHF, VAT may apply). Sentry is a trademark of Functional Software, Inc. Cronjay is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Sentry.
At a glance
| Cronjay | Sentry Crons | |
|---|---|---|
| Included monitors | Free: 20 | 1 cron monitor on every plan, incl. the free Developer plan [3][4] |
| Extra monitors | Flat plans: Team CHF 12/month (200), Business CHF 39/month (1,000) | $0.78 per monitor per month, from PAYG budget only [3][4] |
| Base plan | Not needed | Team $29/month ($26 annual), Business $89/month ($80 annual) [3] |
| Check-in statuses | start, success, fail, exit code | in_progress, ok, error [2] |
| Schedules | Period + grace, or cron + time zone + grace | crontab or interval schedule, checkin_margin, timezone [2] |
| Max runtime | Yes | max_runtime, up to 10,080 minutes [2] |
| Failure / recovery thresholds | No | failure_issue_threshold, recovery_threshold [2] |
| Sentry SDK support | Cron check-ins only (DSN-based) | Native, the protocol owner |
| Plain HTTP ping | /ping/YOUR-UUID with /start, /fail, exit code |
HTTP check-in endpoint with ?status= [2] |
| Errors, tracing, replays | No (check-ins only, other events dropped) | Yes, full Sentry platform |
| Alerts | Email, Slack, Discord, signed webhooks | Sentry issues and alert rules |
| Operator / hosting | metikular GmbH, Switzerland; EU hosting | Functional Software, Inc. |
Cost for an example setup
List prices only, before taxes, not converted between USD and CHF. Sentry figures use $0.78 per additional monitor per month, with one monitor included [3][4].
| Setup | Sentry Crons (cron part only) | Cronjay |
|---|---|---|
| 10 cron monitors | 9 × $0.78 = $7.02/month, on top of a Sentry plan with PAYG budget | Free plan |
| 30 cron monitors | 29 × $0.78 = $22.62/month, on top of the plan | Team CHF 12/month (up to 200) |
| 100 cron monitors | 99 × $0.78 = $77.22/month, on top of the plan | Team CHF 12/month (up to 200) |
If you already pay for Sentry Team or Business for error tracking, the base plan is a sunk cost and only the per-monitor charge matters. Sentry's docs don't say on the pricing page how monitors are counted per environment; see its quota management page [4].
Key differences
Same SDK, different backend
Because Cronjay speaks the Sentry check-in format, the migration is a DSN change, not a rewrite. The catch: a Sentry SDK has one DSN per client. If the same process also reports errors to Sentry, sending everything to Cronjay would drop those errors (Cronjay only stores check-ins). The clean options are a separate process or job runner that uses the Cronjay DSN, or plain HTTP pings for the jobs while errors stay on Sentry.
Integrated vs focused
Sentry's strength is context: a failed cron check-in sits next to the error, the trace and the release that caused it [1]. Cronjay has none of that. It only answers "did the job run, on time, successfully?" If you rely on that cross-linking, Sentry Crons is the better tool.
Pricing
Sentry Crons is cheap per monitor ($0.78) [3], but it needs a PAYG budget for anything beyond the one included monitor [4]. Cronjay's Free plan covers 20 monitors without a credit card, and paid plans are flat (Team CHF 12/month for 200).
Monitor options
Sentry exposes failure and recovery thresholds (alert only after N consecutive failures) [2]. Cronjay supports grace times and max runtime, but not consecutive-failure thresholds.
When to choose Sentry Crons instead
- You already use Sentry for errors and want cron failures linked to errors, traces and releases [1].
- You need consecutive-failure or recovery thresholds [2].
- You have few monitors and already pay for a Sentry plan with a PAYG budget [3][4].
When Cronjay fits better
- You want cron monitoring without a Sentry subscription or PAYG budget.
- Your jobs already use Sentry's cron instrumentation and you want to move them by changing the DSN.
- You also have shell, systemd or CI jobs that are easier to monitor with a one-line
curlping.
FAQ
Can I keep using the Sentry SDK with Cronjay?
Yes, for cron check-ins. Set the DSN to your Cronjay DSN and keep the monitor_slug and monitor_config you
already use. Cronjay creates or updates the monitor from monitor_config. Error events sent to that DSN are dropped.
What happens to my Sentry errors if I switch the DSN?
They would no longer reach Sentry, because an SDK client sends everything to one DSN. Keep errors on your Sentry DSN and send check-ins to Cronjay from a separate process, or use Cronjay's HTTP ping URLs from the job itself.
How much does Sentry Crons cost?
Every Sentry plan includes one cron monitor. Each additional monitor costs $0.78 per month and is paid from the pay-as-you-go budget [3][4]. Sentry Team starts at $26/month billed annually or $29/month billed monthly [3].
Does Cronjay support Sentry's HTTP check-in endpoint?
Cronjay accepts the SDK envelope format. For plain HTTP, use Cronjay's own ping URL
(/ping/YOUR-UUID, /start, /fail, exit code), which is simpler than building check-in requests by hand.
Sources
- Sentry Crons product documentation, https://docs.sentry.io/product/crons/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- Sentry Crons HTTP check-ins and monitor_config, https://docs.sentry.io/product/crons/getting-started/http/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- Sentry pricing page, https://sentry.io/pricing/ (checked 2026-11-05)
- Sentry pricing and billing documentation, https://docs.sentry.io/pricing/ (checked 2026-11-05)