Wachete vs changedetection.io, and a third option for developers

Wachete vs changedetection.io is a common comparison for developers because the two sit at opposite ends of the same idea. Wachete is a cheap hosted service you configure in a browser. changedetection.io is open-source software you can run yourself. Both watch pages and tell you when text changes. Below is how they compare on the details developers care about, followed by a third option that solves a different problem: telling you whether the change matters.

The short answer

Pick changedetection.io if you want to own the stack and are happy to maintain it. Pick Wachete if you want a hosted tool with logins, files and history for a few dollars a month. Pick AyeWatch if your real issue is alert noise, or if the changes you care about happen on pages you have not added yet.

Head-to-head

Where each one wins

changedetection.io wins on control. Your data stays on your machine, you can read the code, and selectors give exact targeting. The trade-off is that you run it: a server, updates, a headless browser for JavaScript pages, and your own fixes when a selector breaks after a redesign.

Wachete wins on convenience per dollar. You get a hosted cloud runner, apps for iOS, Android and Windows, number conditions, charts and a signed webhook without touching a server. Its FAQ also says there is no monthly check cap: you pay for the number of pages and the interval.

Both share one limit. A rule is a location plus a text or number condition. When a page changes in a way your rule did not foresee, you either get a false alert or miss the change.

The third option: rules by meaning

AyeWatch drops selectors entirely. You paste one or more URLs and write the rule as a sentence, for example "Alert when the API changelog adds a breaking change or deprecates an endpoint." Each change is checked against that sentence, and when it fits you get a short summary instead of a diff. A redesign that moves the changelog into a new layout does not break the monitor, because nothing in the rule points at a position on the page.

It also covers ground neither tool does. Topic monitors search across more than a billion sources, and social monitors cover X, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. A monitor like "security advisories for the libraries we depend on" can surface a post on a forum or a vendor blog without you listing either.

For integration, paid plans include a REST API to manage monitors, webhooks signed with HMAC-SHA256 that carry the summary, an MCP server, and Slack, Discord and email delivery. Push notifications and the in-app feed are on every plan.

Pricing: the Free Preview gives three lifetime runs with no card, and paid plans start at $9 a month. Paid plans also add webhooks with HMAC signatures, a REST API and an MCP server, so alerts can feed your own scripts or agents.

What AyeWatch does not do

AyeWatch does not list login pages, file tracking, value charts or a self-hosted version. If you need any of those, keep Wachete or changedetection.io for that job. Many developers end up with both: a self-hosted or Wachete watch on the one price field they chart, and AyeWatch for the pages and topics where they only want to hear about real changes.

Quick decision

• I want to run it myself: changedetection.io.
• I want hosted, cheap and good with numbers and logins: Wachete.
• I want fewer alerts that explain themselves, plus web and social coverage: AyeWatch, which you can try without a card.