We’ll break down each software’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as its price and compatibility, to ensure your choice has your needs covered.

Here is our list of the best REST API Monitoring Tools:

  • Loggly EDITOR’S CHOICE Best all-round option for REST API monitoring. Loggly blends an excellent user interface with enterprise-level altering and proper monitoring features at a price that is tough to beat.
  • Sematext Synthetics (FREE TRIAL) A testing system that runs APIs periodically to ensure that they are working. Tests are performed from several points on the globe.
  • Site24x7 Website Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) A package of services that test website performance and monitor availability while also tracking the performance of supporting applications and frameworks plus APIs. This is a cloud-based service.
  • ManageEngine Applications Manager (FREE TRIAL) Fully feature application manager that is built to encompass all of your organization’s systems, cloud applications, and services under one simple no-nonsense dashboard.
  • Sauce Labs API Testing This cloud platform offers API testing that can be integrated into a development pipeline to provide continuous testing.
  • Dotcom-Monitor A cloud-based testing platform for websites and web services that includes availability checks for REST and SOAP APIs.
  • AlertSite API monitoring and testing tool that allows you to create tests and instant alerts by clicking on elements on your site or application.
  • Postman Simple and powerful REST-based API monitor used by over 10 million developers.
  • AppDynamics Utilizes node-based network mapping to provide live API statuses and enterprise-level reporting.
  • API Science Uses a full-featured REST API and boasts a very quick onboarding time.
  • Bearer Features automatic anomaly detection, and a simple two-minute install, and is easy to use.
  • Uptrends Provides over 209 monitoring locations, an internal API testing feature called Private Checkpoint, and a step editor for easy workflow visualization.

The Best REST API Monitoring Tools

1. Loggly (FREE TRIAL)

Our methodology for selecting a REST API monitoring system

We reviewed the market for REST API monitoring packages and analyzed the tools based on the following criteria:

  • A dashboard that interprets activity data into easy-to-understand graphs
  • A system of alerts with customizable thresholds
  • Behavior baselining and anomaly detection
  • User accounts to allow controlled team member access
  • Analysis tools
  • A free trial or a demo system to enable a risk-free assessment
  • Good value for money, represented by a flexible tool that is able to monitor many systems, not just REST APIs

With these selection criteria in mind, we looked for monitoring systems that are easy to install and set up and will provide thorough tracking of REST API activities.

The Loggly API monitor leverages the SolarWinds cloud network to monitor your app’s performance data and entire system activity across the entire stack. Loggly’s clean dashboard allows you to quickly recognize problems and eliminate them before they start impacting your services.

Key features:

  • Proactive alerting and easy to filter logs
  • Collaborative custom dashboards for intuitive dev meetings
  • Anomaly detection
  • Flexible pricing
  • Easy to read graphical reporting

The dashboard is fully customizable but comes with pre-built views to monitor your services KPIs and usage statistics. Loggly really begins to shine in larger, more complex environments with it’s graphing and time-series data. In just a few clicks you have a bird’s eye view of your most-used services, API errors over time, and about a dozen or so other usage statistics.

When it comes to collaboration, Loggly leads the way with its simple dashboard sharing. This feature ensures everyone is on the page during dev meetings quickly and efficiently. In the sharing options, you can set the controls to manage who can edit and manage the overlays.

As Loggly monitors your environment it begins proactively scanning through your logs. Outside of standard alerting, Loggly has built-in anomaly detection which learns what normal patterns look like over time and bring any deviations to your attention. This is especially useful for tracking down suspicious events and fixing problems that otherwise wouldn’t have triggered an alert.

You can try Loggly and all of its features on a 14-day free trial. Loggly has a flexible four-tiered pricing plan that can fit most if not all environments. The single-user version of Loggly is a completely free tool, and the small business package starts at $79.00 (£64.70) per month for three users.

Pros:

  • Powerful anomaly detection that works upon deployment
  • Multiple formats for data visualization and reporting
  • Proactive alerting templates ensure critical issues aren’t getting missed during onboarding
  • Completely free for single users
  • Dashboards are built with teams in mind, featuring collaboration tools

Cons:

  • SSO needs modernizing

2. Sematext Synthetics (FREE TRIAL)

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SolarWinds Loggly is great for proactive monitoring and troubleshooting using logs. DevOps integration and data reporting make this one of the most robust & perfect tools on the market. It’s fast and scalable for any size organization.

Start 14-day Free Trial: loggly.com

OS: Cloud, Browser interface

Sematext is a package of system monitoring tools that are delivered from the cloud. Being an external service, testing from several servers around the world is possible. Businesses that want to test how their websites and new features appear to users in different locations through this feature.

  • HTTP or browser-based checks
  • Pay-as-you-go option
  • Multiple test launch locations

The synthetic modeling feature of the Sematext system will repeatedly run the APIs in the site through browsers or even send HTTP requests to isolate testing of specific APIs over and over again. If an error is encountered in the performance of the API, an alert gets raised, notifying the system administrator of the monitored website.

The API checks can be calibrated to repeat on failure just to work out whether the error that was first encountered was a transmission problem or if the API itself is faulty. This double-check reduces the number of false alarms raised by the synthetic modeler.

The Sematext service is charged for by subscription with rates starting at $29 per month. There are two plans called Standard and Pro and there is also a Pay-As-you-Go option that costs $2 per HTTP monitor or $7 per browser-based monitor. All three plans are available on a 30-day free trial.

  • Robust alerting that supports both internal and external monitoring

  • Flexible subscription pricing as well as a pay-as-you-go option

  • Supports test launch locations to deploy changes in a sandbox environment

  • Well built alert system with multiple triggers and intelligent alert fatigue features

  • Better SSOs elsewhere in this list

Sematext Synthetics Start 30-day FREE Trial

3. Site24x7 Website Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

Site24x7 Website Monitoring has many website testing features but it has many more functions that make it a great choice for those looking for an API monitor. The system also monitors servers and applications and it doesn’t matter where those servers are or where the applications are resident.

  • Monitoring of website and services
  • Availability checks on APIs
  • Application stack showing dependencies
  • Server resource monitoring

This monitoring system creates an application stack mapping that identifies the dependencies between applications and services. This stretches down to the resources of the supporting servers. The hosting servers don’t need to be in the same location in order to be included in the server monitoring functions of the Website Monitoring tool.

REST APIs often provide access points to microservices that are notoriously difficult to monitor. The Website Monitoring system is able to test the availability of those microservices. If you are tracking problems with the performance of your mobile apps or websites, the fact that a microservice has stopped working could give you the reason for that problem.

The reassurance of API performance is a great support system for DevOps teams that need to know the availability of black-box functions during bug fixing and testing. The Website Monitor is able to support the development of sites and mobile apps.

Site24x7 is a subscription service and it is available in four editions: Starter, Pro, Classic, and Enterprise. You can get a 30-day free trial to test whether it will work well for your business.

  • Streamlined cloud deployment makes monitoring multiple sites easy from a single dashboard

  • Unique ability to monitor microservices and troubleshoot issues quickly

  • Built with DevOps teams of all sizes in mind

  • Four simple pricing plans that fit virtually any size company

  • Dependency mapping is useful for larger more complex site structures

  • Ample free trial period

  • Information on interface can be overwhelming

Site24x7 Website Monitoring Start 30-day FREE Trial

4. ManageEngine Applications Manager (FREE TRIAL)

ManageEngine Applications Manager makes REST API monitoring extremely simple. You won’t find any overly complicated options or fancy features, this proper monitoring tool is perfect for those who just need to see the data.

  • Full product suite focused on managing and performance testing all cloud-based applications for larger environments
  • Intuitive phone app for both iPhone and Android that gives you powerful monitoring on the go
  • Faster API testing tool and authentication with OAuth 2.0
  • Advanced reporting, live status view, and SLA management

In a simple chart, you can monitor and examine your service’s uptime, processing time, and name resolution speed in one dashboard. Applications Manager utilizes OAuth 2.0 for authentication across endpoints, which means fast and secure insights into your API transactions.

Although the UI isn’t the most intuitive on our list, you can still expect powerful features such as anomaly detection, root cause analysis, and SLA management. ManageEngine Application Manager does a superb job of giving you a holistic view of all of your organization’s applications and cloud environments at a top-level view. This same level of detail is even carried over in the APM phone app which is available for both iPhone and Android.

You can download and trial the software completely free for 30 days. Pricing for ManageEngine Applications Manager starts at $945.00 per year, per user.

  • Root cause analysis helps streamline troubleshooting

  • Leverages 0Auth 2.0 for faster more secure connections to API transactions

  • Has great SLA management, built with larger operations in mind

  • Integrates well with third-party vendors as well as other ManageEngine products

  • Ample free trial

  • May not be the best option for startups or very small dev teams

ManageEngine Applications Manager Download 30-day FREE Trial

5. Sauce Labs API Testing

Sauce Labs produces a range of application testing services from its cloud platform. The API Testing system is one of its services. This package is useful for development teams that are developing APIs and also those that are developing applications that integrate APIs.

  • Cloud based
  • Checks underlying microservices
  • Integrates into workflows
  • Suitable for DevOps

The testing system tracks underlying microservices and includes them in testing for the applications that rely on them. The system is fast and it is designed to be useful for agile development scenarios where partial changes occur with each release.

This tool can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to create automated testing as part of a workflow and channel back issues through bug trackers, updating project management software as the units passes onto the next step or cycles back for rework. The testing service carries on through the API’s release and continues to watch over live performance.

The Sauce Labs package includes a Test Composer in which new test scenarios can be created. It is also possible to bring in test cases built in other systems, such as Swagger, OpenAPI, and Postman Collections. The Sauce Labs service is resident in the cloud and it is able to operate in conjunction with other development lifecycle support tools either on your site or on other cloud platforms.

Sauce Labs functions run in the cloud and you integrate them into your workflows with an API. So, this is an API to test APIs. You can assess the Sauce Labs system on a 28-day free trial.

  • Implements continuous testing from development through to operations

  • Identifies and tests supporting microservices

  • Integrates into workflows by orchestrating with other project management tools

  • No self-hosted option

6. Dotcom-Monitor

Dotcom-Monitor is a SaaS platform that tests availability and response times of websites and Web services. Among the packages offered by Dotcom-Monitor that one that is directly capable of examining API performance is the Web Services Monitoring plan.

  • Constant availability tests
  • 30 test locations
  • Additional web tests available
  • Alerts forwarded by voice message, SMS, or email

The Web Service Monitoring package issues availability tests from 30 locations around the world – you check which sites are used for your testing plan. The tests can be issued through an Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox browser. The APIs that this service can reach can be written in REST, SOAP, with JSON, or XML.

Tests can be run periodically from one minute to three-hour intervals. The results of each test are stored on the Dotcom-Monitor server for analysis and are also displayed in the system dashboard. The Dotcom-Monitoring service will store performance metrics for three years, so you can get a long-term perspective on your API performance assessments.

If any test fails, the Dotcom-Monitor service rechecks before raising an alarm. You can specify in the settings of the Dotcom-Monitor system that alerts should be forwarded as voice messages, SMSs, or emails. This means that you can be made aware of system outages even when you are off the clock.

Another service from Dotcom-Monitor that would be of interest to eCommerce enterprises is its Web Pages plan, which checks on response times of website pages and their elements. The Web Applications service would also be of use. That allows you to create your own tests and step through code as it launches. The Internet Infrastructure module tests server and network availability and the Load/Stress Testing service challenges the capacity of your Web servers. You can get a 30-day free trial of all of the Dotcom-Monitor services.

  • Wide range of API support (REST, SOAP, JSON, ect)

  • Alerting options include email, SMS, and push notifications, ensuring compatibility with practically any team communication system

  • Offers web page monitoring that focuses on improving speeds on e-commerce sites

  • Only available as a SaaS

7. AlertSite

AlertSite provides some of the most comprehensive REST API monitoring on the market. AlertSite has a unique and flexible approach to monitoring. Instead of being bogged down by a sea of alerts, AlertSite utilizes technology that monitors both the API layer as well as the UI for functionality, application performance statistics, and availability.

  • Codeless monitor creation in just a few clicks
  • Monitors on both the API and UI level
  • Tracks a breadth of relevant data with immersive charts and graphs
  • Manage both reporting and SLA compliance

With clear application performance metrics at your disposal, you won’t have to play detective to determine if you’re getting another false alert again. AlertSite API monitoring solution lets you create alert monitors straight from a GUI interface without any coding needed.

DejaClick, one of my favorite features in the product, allows you to select the elements on the site you want to monitor in just a few clicks. DejaClick pulls the API data collection from the backend and begins the monitoring process seamlessly. You can even use clicks from user traffic to create specific scripts on the fly, all without having to crack open a command line.

AlertSite is compatible with all modern versions of Windows. Pricing for AlertSite starts at $199.00 (£162.97) per month and scales with your monitoring needs. You can try a free one-month trial of AlertSite to see if it’s a good fit for your REST API monitoring needs.

  • Uniquely monitors both the API and interface for performance issues, user experience, and backend functionality

  • Simple element selection tool lets even non-technical users pick site elements to monitor

  • Simple pricing that is affordable for nearly all teams

  • Compatible with only Windows

  • Interface is lacking visual monitoring features

  • Could support team collaboration better

8. Postman

It should come to no surprise that Postman made it on the list. With more than 10 million developers using Postman, it’s one of the most popular REST monitoring and performance testing applications available and is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. A large reason why Postman is so popular is due to its simple UI and ease of use. In addition to functional API testing, Postman can be a simple yet powerful way for application monitoring and services.

  • Free tool to use, flexible pricing for additional features
  • Simple user interface
  • Wide variety of alerting options and integrations
  • Multi-regional monitoring

In just a few clicks you can create a monitor that will trigger an alert based on a number of preset or customized variables. Postman also features multi-region monitoring gives you additional flexibility and insight when it comes to monitoring your services on a global scale.

When you set up a monitor it essentially runs as a test script. When that script fails you have a number ways you can be altered outside of just your dashboard and email. Postman has a wide variety of integrations and can alert you through Slack, HipChat, or PagerDuty.

Postman makes API monitoring solutions available to anyone and is fully accessible under the free plan. The free plan does have its limits and starts requiring an upgrade when you hit 200 parallel runs on a single monitor.

The good news is, Postman Team pricing starts at just $12.00 (£9.83) a month and scales with your monitoring needs. Their pricing model also contains a unique “pay-as-you-go” system which allows you to purchase 1000 API calls for $0.75 (£0.61), or 50,000 pre-purchased API calls for $20.00 (£16.38) a month. You can download the free app to get going.

  • Completely free

  • Large supportive community with over 10 million users

  • Allows for alerts to be setup through a simple workflow

  • Integrates well with popular tools such as Slack, and PagerDuty

  • Has a paid team version for more collaboration features that starts at $12.00

  • Can be quite technical and complicated for new users

  • Lacks a number of automation features

  • Limited reporting capabilities

9. AppDynamics

AppDynamics is a powerful API monitor that’s part of the Cisco product suite. You’ll all of the powerful features and insights you’d expect for a Cisco product inside of AppDynamics. Real-time data visualization is some of the best and most concise in the market. Is one dashboard AppDynamics has everything you need, and nothing you don’t.

  • Enterprise-level API and cloud monitoring
  • Monitor services through node-based network maps
  • Detailed business performance data insights and reporting
  • AI-powered API troubleshooting and diagnostics

With its node and tier-based visualizations, you can easily see where a problem is, and exactly what web services it will impact down the line. In a few clicks, you can select any node or call in progress to drill deeper down and get further information on its current status, past performance monitoring, and availability.

AppDynamics is backed with AI root cause analysis that works in the background to not only detect problems but diagnose them proactively. Appdynamics is powerful, and in my opinion best suited for larger cloud-based environments.

You can start a free 15-day trial of AppDynamics with no credit card required. Pricing for AppDynamics API monitoring starts at $3300.00 (£2702.58) a year.

  • One of the best live visualizations for REST monitoring

  • Root cause analysis quickly assists technicians and improves over time

  • Features are designed to be as proactive as possible and minimize downtime

  • Enterprise focused

  • Great user interface

  • Trial could be longer

  • Annual price may be out of budget for smaller teams

  • Could use more tutorials or training to flatten the learning curve

  • Functionality is likely overkill for smaller operations

10. API Science

API Science was built specifically to serve and monitor REST-based API services. Like many of the list API monitors, you can expect a stunning interface and easy to access analytics from the reporting dashboard. API Science boasts quick and efficient onboarding, meaning less time setting up your account, and more time digging into the data that keeps your customers happy.

  • Simple and flexible pricing
  • Easy to navigate analytics and reporting
  • Fully featured REST API
  • Fast onboarding procedure

From the monitoring dashboard, you can quickly monitor your own APIs, as well as any third-party APIs your entire systems rely on. In addition to creating your own custom monitors, there are a number of pre-configured sample monitors to get up and running right away.

Since API Science is REST-based, you can monitor your REST API with their API giving you the flexibility and freedom to build your own custom dashboards, and integrate them into custom applications and consoles.

API Science has straightforward pricing that starts at $29.00 (£23.75) per month for three users and can support up to 100,000 API calls. You can test out API Science for 30 days to see if it’s right for your API monitoring needs.

  • Built specifically for REST API monitoring with no unneeded features or frills

  • Simple UI makes the platform user friendly

  • Straightforward monthly pricing

  • Built more for small to medium-sized teams

  • May lack features needed at an enterprise level

  • Could use more team collaboration features

  • Could use more templates and premade visualizations

11. Bearer

Bearer is an API monitor that has some diverse functionality to help provide automated alerts across different applications. One of my favorite features of Bearer is its simple install. With just one line of code, Bearer can be unpackaged and ready to go without any changes to the code or environment.

  • Separate dashboards for each application
  • Simple two-minute install
  • Easy to understand pricing model
  • Automated anomaly detection

Quickly set up rate limits and trigger incidents defined by whatever SLA or internal requirements you adhere to. Separate dedicated dashboards keep your application monitoring easy to manage and read. You can break down your data collection into separate application metrics, or pull all of the relevant data together into a single report.

Bearer’s fast installation and ease of use make it an easy choice for anyone looking to quickly test out REST API monitoring applications.

All of Bearer’s pricing plans include error tracking, anomaly detection, and performance metrics. You can try Bearer API monitoring for free, or purchase their Pro plan starting at $49.00 per month. Pro plan includes increased log retention, 20 million API calls per month, and up to three user licenses.

  • Built specifically for REST API monitoring with no unneeded features or frills

  • Simple UI makes the platform user friendly

  • Straightforward monthly pricing

  • Built more for small to medium-sized teams

  • Extremely simple and fast deployment

  • May not be the best fit for larger teams

  • Dashboards could use improvement especially for viewing multiple apps in a single view

12. Uptrends

Uptrends is an API monitoring and testing tool with a simple yet powerful step editor that lets you customize your alerts to reflect the user’s exact journey. This gives you full control of the alerts you receive and ensures that your monitoring isn’t just running a simple ping check but actually testing the steps needed to fulfill your service.

  • API monitoring from over 209 locations
  • Simple and competitive pricing
  • Internal API monitoring with Private Checkpoint
  • Intuitive step editor for creating customized alerts

While some API monitors use virtual browsers to test websites in, Uptrends only uses real unsimulated browsers to test your web services and applications. Currently, you can test from Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox. You can easily compare your speeds and performance data side by side with each browser to quickly find bottlenecks and opportunities to improve.

Test your APIs from over 209 different locations across the world. Uptrends also has a unique feature called Private Checkpoints, which allows you to test your APIs from behind your firewall via on-premise virtual machines. This can help identify problems internally such as DNS resolution, or LAN congestion that would otherwise not be visible from the outside.

Under the API monitoring section, you can define assertions that check for each response and ensure you’re getting the correct status codes and responses.

You also have the capability to add authentication to access and test your protected APIs in just a few steps. This mix of attention to detail combined with a drag and drop interface make Uptrends a serious contender and a great choice when looking for REST-capable API monitoring.

You can get started for free with a 30-day trial, or jump right into the Starter package for just $12.02 (£9.84) a month.

  • Simple but effective user interface

  • Uses real browsers rather than simulated browsers for webpage testing

  • Over 200 API testing locations around the world

  • Ample trial period for feature discovery

  • Reporting features could be made easier to use

  • Lacks team collaboration functionality

Choosing a REST API Monitoring Tool

Having a solid API monitoring system is pretty much mandatory for any organization’s environment that runs its own web services. The loss of API functionality could result in thousands of dollars of lost revenue.

While there’s clearly plenty of choices when it comes to filling your REST API monitoring needs, some tools shine brighter than others. I find Loggly to strike the best balance between usability, flexibility, functionality, and price.

AlertSite is a great runner up, with a clean user interface, multiple alerting configurations, and codeless element based testing. Not all monitors may suit your needs so be sure to take full advantage of any free trials that may be available.