PagerDuty has long been a leader in incident management, but the landscape is evolving. Modern engineering and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams need more than just basic alerting; they require comprehensive platforms that automate workflows and facilitate deep collaboration.
Many teams are now exploring PagerDuty alternatives because of high costs, platform complexity, and a need for more flexible, integrated solutions [1]. This is where a leading alternative like Rootly enters, purpose-built for modern reliability practices.
Why Teams Are Looking for PagerDuty Alternatives
The search for different on-call and incident management platforms is driven by a few key factors that impact a team's efficiency, budget, and ability to improve.
The High Cost of PagerDuty
One of the main reasons teams look for alternatives is PagerDuty's pricing model. Costs can escalate quickly, especially for growing teams or those needing advanced features. Many essential functions are locked behind more expensive plans, which can start at $21 per user per month and easily exceed $41 per user for capabilities many teams consider standard [2].
A Need for Deeper Integration and Automation
The market is shifting toward tools that fit smoothly into existing workflows, particularly within chat platforms like Slack [3]. Teams want to automate repetitive incident management tasks to reduce manual work and resolve issues faster. While PagerDuty offers integrations, its workflow can feel disconnected compared to Slack-native tools that manage the entire process from a single interface.
Desire for a Unified Incident Management Lifecycle
Modern teams need a single platform that handles the entire incident lifecycle, from detection and alerting to response, resolution, and learning. Using separate tools for alerting, communication, and post-incident reviews creates friction and risks losing valuable insights. A unified platform ensures data is consistent and makes it easier to apply lessons from one incident to the next.
Head-to-Head: Rootly vs. PagerDuty
Here’s a direct comparison of Rootly and PagerDuty, focusing on the key areas that matter most to engineering teams.
On-Call Management and Alerting
- PagerDuty: It's a powerful and established tool for on-call scheduling and alert routing. Its long history makes it a trusted choice for complex alerting needs.
- Rootly: Rootly not only integrates perfectly with PagerDuty for alert management but also serves as a complete replacement with its own on-call scheduling and alerting solution. This gives teams the flexibility to use Rootly with PagerDuty or consolidate into a single platform.
Incident Response and Workflow Automation
- PagerDuty: It has automation capabilities, but they can require significant setup and may not feel natural for teams that spend most of their time in Slack.
- Rootly: This is where Rootly stands out. It excels at automating the entire response process directly within Slack—from creating channels and pulling in responders to launching runbooks and updating stakeholders. Its powerful automation is a key reason it earns a high score of 9.4 out of 10 from users on TrustRadius [4].
Post-Incident Learning and Analytics
- PagerDuty: Offers post-mortem features and analytics to review incident data.
- Rootly: Focuses on automating post-incident learning with automatically generated timelines and customizable retrospective templates. With Rootly's analytics and reporting, teams can easily track key metrics like Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR) and identify trends to proactively improve their systems.
Comparing the Top PagerDuty Alternatives
While Rootly and PagerDuty are key players, the market includes several strong competitors. It's helpful to see how some of the top incident management tools compare to understand the landscape.
Feature
Rootly
PagerDuty
Opsgenie
incident.io
On-Call Scheduling
✅ Yes, native solution available
✅ Yes, core feature
✅ Yes, core feature
✅ Yes, native solution available
Workflow Automation
✅ Advanced, code-free automation
✅ Yes, requires configuration
✅ Yes, with an Atlassian focus
✅ Yes, Slack-focused
Slack Integration
✅ Deep, native integration
✅ Yes, functional integration
✅ Good, best with Jira
✅ Deep, native integration
Post-Incident Analytics
✅ Automated timelines & metrics
✅ Yes, in higher-priced tiers
✅ Yes, integrated with Jira
✅ Yes, focused on Slack data
Pricing Model
Flexible, value-based
Per user, tiered
Per user, tiered
Per user, tiered
Rootly: The Automation-First Platform
- Best for: Modern engineering organizations focused on reducing MTTR and improving reliability through automation.
- Rootly offers deep integrations with over 70 popular tools, including Jira, Datadog, and GitHub, making it a central hub for all incident management activities [5].
Opsgenie: The Atlassian Suite Alternative
- Best for: Teams heavily invested in the Atlassian ecosystem (Jira, Confluence).
- It provides robust alerting that connects directly to Jira Service Management. However, as Atlassian sunsets the standalone version, many teams are now looking for more flexible Opsgenie alternatives [6].
incident.io: The Slack-Centric Competitor
- Best for: Slack-centric teams that want to standardize their response process within chat.
- Its native Slack functionality is a major draw, allowing teams to manage incidents without switching between different applications.
Other Notable Platforms
Other tools like Better Stack and Splunk On-Call are also noteworthy in the alert management software space, each with its own strengths [7]. The best on-call software for your team will ultimately depend on your specific needs and workflows.
How to Choose the Best Incident Management Platform for Your Team
Follow these steps to make an informed decision and find the right tool.
Evaluate Your Current Workflow
Take a look at your current incident management process.
- What are the biggest pain points?
- Where does manual work slow your team down?
- Do you primarily communicate in Slack?
Answering these questions will help clarify which features are most important for you.
Prioritize Automation and Integration
Choose a tool that integrates with the technology you already use, from monitoring services to ticketing systems. Automation is key to freeing up valuable engineering time and reducing the risk of human error during stressful incidents.
Consider Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Look beyond the per-user monthly fee. The true cost of a platform includes the time saved through automation, the cost of downtime you avoid, and the long-term value of continuous improvement. A cost-effective solution delivers a clear return on investment by making your team more efficient and your systems more reliable [8].
Conclusion: Why Rootly is the Top PagerDuty Alternative for Modern Teams
While PagerDuty is a capable tool, its traditional approach may not be the best fit for fast-moving, cloud-native teams. The modern need for speed, collaboration, and learning requires a more integrated and automated solution.
Rootly stands out as the superior choice for organizations that value deep automation, seamless Slack integration, and a commitment to learning from every incident. By unifying the entire incident lifecycle into a single platform, Rootly empowers teams to resolve issues faster and build more resilient systems.
Ready to see how Rootly can transform your incident response? Book a demo or start your free trial today.