Is WebSite-Watcher free? What the free edition covers
Ten bookmarks, hourly checks and a Windows PC that stays on. Here is when that is enough.
By ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom · Editorial team
· 3 min read
Yes, WebSite-Watcher free exists, and it is a real edition rather than a time-limited trial. Aignes calls it WebSite-Watcher Free and offers it as freeware for Windows with no ads, no nag screens and no account. The catch is in the limits. Here is what you get, what you don't, and the free and low-cost options if those limits get in the way.
What the free edition includes
- 10 bookmarks and one database
- Checks every hour at most, with no custom time settings
- Web pages over HTTP and HTTPS, RSS and Atom feeds, Facebook, X and Instagram pages
- PDF, Word and Excel documents, local files and FTP
- Check macros for password-protected pages
- The filter system, change highlighting, keyword highlighting and keyword alerts
- Bookmark actions such as sending an email
Aignes says the free edition can be used for personal and commercial work.
What it leaves out
Compared with the paid Personal and Business editions, the free one has no import or export, no reports, no Follow-Links, no Cloud Sync, no plugins or scripting, and only a limited AutoWatch. There is no email support. Paid editions raise the bookmark count to whatever your PC can handle and allow checks as often as every second.
What upgrading costs
If ten bookmarks is too few, the next step is the Personal edition at €49 (excluding VAT), but only for private, non-commercial use. A company needs the Business edition at €299 per license. Both include a year of updates; after that, a new version with another year costs half the full price. The license itself does not expire, so you can keep using the version you have.
The limit no edition removes
Every edition runs on Windows and checks only while that computer is on. Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine. Aignes also has a free phone app for Android and iOS, but it checks from the phone itself, with no cloud.
Free and cheap alternatives
| Option | Free part | Runs where |
|---|---|---|
| AyeWatch | Free Preview: 3 lifetime runs, up to 3 topics | Cloud, with web, iOS and Android apps |
| changedetection.io | Free to self-host | Your server, or hosted at $8.99 a month |
| urlwatch | Free, open source | Your machine |
| Distill | 25 monitors, 5 in the cloud | Browser and cloud |
AyeWatch is our pick when the problem is the PC that has to stay on. It checks in the cloud and alerts you only when a change matches a sentence you write, like "tell me when the course adds a weekend session". Be clear on the free part: three runs total, then it stops until you pick a plan. Pro is $9 a month, billed in monitoring credits, so cost grows with how much you watch and how often. Push alerts work on every plan; email and Slack need a paid one.
changedetection.io and urlwatch are free if you are happy to host them.
Distill is free for 25 monitors, though local ones need your browser open.
Three quick examples
- A club's sign-up page, checked hourly. WebSite-Watcher Free handles this well if your PC is on during the day.
- Twenty supplier pages. Past the free limit; you would need a paid edition or another tool.
- A visa appointment page you need to catch at night. The free edition cannot help while your computer sleeps. A hosted monitor can.
So, is it enough?
If you watch ten pages or fewer, once an hour is fine and a Windows PC is always running, WebSite-Watcher Free does the job at no cost. If you need more pages, faster checks or alerts while your computer is off, look at a hosted option. AyeWatch's list of WebSite-Watcher alternatives goes further on each.