HTTP vs TCP Monitoring — What’s the Difference (and Why You Need Both)
When setting up uptime monitoring, one of the most common questions is: should I use HTTP or TCP checks? Both are useful — but they test different things. Understanding the difference helps you build a more reliable monitoring setup that truly reflects your users’ experience.
What Is HTTP Monitoring?
HTTP monitoring sends a real web request to your site — just like a browser would. It checks for a valid response code (e.g., 200 OK), measures load time, and ensures your website or API is actually responding.
- Best for: Websites, APIs, web apps
- Checks: HTTP status code, content match, response time
- Example: Detecting if
https://yourstore.comis online and serving pages
What Is TCP Monitoring?
TCP monitoring checks if a network port is open and accepting connections. It doesn’t load a web page — it simply verifies that the underlying service (like web, mail, or database) is reachable.
- Best for: Mail servers, databases, or custom backend services
- Checks: TCP handshake success
- Example: Confirming port 25 (SMTP) or 3306 (MySQL) is responding
Key Differences
| Feature | HTTP Monitoring | TCP Monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Checks Web Response | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Tests Specific Ports | 80 / 443 (default) | Any port (e.g. 22, 25, 3306) |
| Detects Content Errors | ✅ Yes (via content match) | ❌ No |
| Detects Firewall Blocks | Partially | ✅ Yes |
| Useful for API Testing | ✅ Perfect | ⚙ Optional |
When to Use Each
- Use HTTP monitoring to make sure your website or API actually loads and returns the right content.
- Use TCP monitoring to confirm that the underlying service (like mail or DB) is reachable and not blocked by a firewall.
Why You Need Both
Imagine this scenario: your website responds to ping and TCP checks, but returns a 500 Internal Server Error to users. TCP says it’s “up,” but your customers can’t use it — only HTTP monitoring can detect that.
On the other hand, if your firewall blocks port 443, your HTTP checks will fail, but a TCP test will reveal the exact cause.
Pro tip: Use both HTTP and TCP checks together for a complete picture of uptime and root-cause visibility.
For Beginners and Business Owners
If you’re not deeply technical — think of it this way:
- HTTP monitoring asks “Is my site working for visitors?”
- TCP monitoring asks “Is my server or service online?”
By combining both, you protect your business from hidden downtime and get clearer alerts when something goes wrong.
Conclusion
Relying on only one type of check can miss critical issues. With UptyBots, you can easily combine HTTP and TCP monitoring to cover every layer of your uptime stack — from connection to content.
Start monitoring smarter — explore tutorials or choose a plan and set up both types in minutes.