Domain Health Monitor
Watches your DNS records and SSL certificate so a lapsed renewal or a bad registrar change never becomes a surprise outage.
A domain health monitor is a different kind of uptime monitor - instead of polling a URL, it watches the hostname itself. It checks DNS records (A/AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS) for unexpected changes or resolution failures, and inspects the live SSL certificate for expiry, issuer validity, and chain validation. These are some of the quietest ways a service goes down: an expired certificate blocks every visitor's browser outright, and a changed DNS record can silently misroute traffic or bounce mail for hours before anyone notices.
How this uptime monitor works
- Add the hostname you want this monitor to watch.
- Choose which DNS record types to check - A/AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, and overall resolution failure - each toggled independently.
- Choose which SSL checks to run - expiry, issuer/CA validity, chain validation, and invalid/self-signed/expired detection - and set how many days before expiry you want to be warned.
- Pick a check interval; Mid and Max plans can set this anywhere from every 6 hours up to weekly, while Free and Entry run on a fixed schedule.
- An unexpected record change, a resolution failure, or a certificate issue triggers an alert the same way as any other monitor.
Domain Health Monitor features
Every feature this monitor supports, and which plan it's included on.
DNS record monitoring
FreeWatch A/AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, and NS records independently, plus overall resolution failure.
SSL certificate monitoring
FreeChecks expiry, issuer/CA validity, full chain validation, and outright invalid/self-signed/expired certificates.
Configurable expiry warning thresholds
FreeSet multiple day-count thresholds (e.g. 30, 15, 7, 1 days before expiry) so you get advance warning, not a same-day scramble.
Tags and groups
FreeOrganize domain monitors alongside your other monitors.
Email and SMS alerts
FreePer team member, per status, open and recovery alerts on every channel.
Webhooks and Slack alerts
FreeRoute DNS/SSL alerts into Slack or any webhook endpoint.
Custom check interval
Mid+Pick any interval from every 6 hours up to weekly, instead of the fixed schedule on lower tiers.
What's free and what's paywalled
- Every DNS record type, every SSL check, and custom expiry-warning thresholds are available on every plan, including Free.
- Check frequency is fixed on Free (weekly) and Entry (daily) - Mid and Max can pick any interval from every 6 hours up to weekly.
- Domain monitors share the same account-wide monitor limit as every other type (5 to 300, by plan).
Frequently asked questions
Is this an SSL monitor, a DNS monitor, or an uptime monitor?
All three, on one monitor. A domain health monitor runs DNS record checks and SSL certificate checks against a single hostname, so you don't need a separate SSL monitor and DNS monitor - and it still alerts and reports exactly like any other uptime monitor.
How far in advance does it warn about SSL expiry?
You set the thresholds - by default 30, 15, 7, and 1 days before expiry - and it alerts again if the certificate is already invalid, revoked, or serving the wrong chain.
Can domain monitoring catch a hijacked DNS record?
Yes - every enabled record type is compared against its expected state on each check, so an unexpected A, MX, or NS change is flagged whether it's a registrar mistake, a lapsed renewal, or a malicious hijack.
How often does a domain monitor run on the Free plan?
Once a week on Free, once a day on Entry. Mid and Max can set any interval down to every 6 hours.