If you write code for a living, the Distill vs changedetection question usually comes down to where you want the checks to run and how much you want to configure. Distill is a browser extension and desktop app with an optional cloud. changedetection.io is open source software you run yourself, or rent hosted. Both target page elements with selectors. This comparison covers how each fits a developer workflow, and where a hosted AI monitor, AyeWatch, is the better third choice.
The quick version
| Distill | changedetection.io | AyeWatch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where checks run | Your browser or desktop app, or Distill cloud | Your server, or their hosted service | AyeWatch cloud |
| How you define a change | Select an element, add conditions | CSS, XPath, JSONPath or jq, plus text filters | A plain-English rule |
| Free option | 25 monitors, 5 in cloud | Free to self-host | 3-run Free Preview |
| Paid from | $15/mo | $8.99/mo hosted | $9/mo |
| Topics and social media | No | No | Web, X, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok |
| Hooks into your own code | Webhook alerts on paid plans | REST API, Apprise | REST API, signed webhooks, MCP server on paid plans |
Prices from each vendor's site, checked October 2026.
Distill for developers
Distill's strength is speed on your own machine. Local monitors in the extension or desktop app can check every 5 seconds and the checks are unlimited. The trade-off is that they depend on that machine being awake. Cloud monitors fix that, but the counting gets detailed: a cloud check is billed in 10-second units, so a slow page that takes 15 seconds to load counts as two checks, and each reCAPTCHA v2 that Distill solves for you counts as 24.
Paid plans add macros, which run actions before a check, plus version history and SMS alerts. Paid plans start at $15 a month with Starter.
changedetection.io for developers
changedetection.io is Apache 2.0 licensed and runs with Docker or pip. It is the most configurable of the three: CSS and XPath selectors, JSONPath and jq for JSON endpoints, browser steps to log in or click through a flow before a check, and notifications through Apprise to 85+ services. It has its own REST API.
The cost of that control is upkeep. You run the container, keep it patched, and look after the headless browser. The hosted plan at $8.99 a month removes the server work and includes a real Chrome browser and up to 5,000 watches. In both cases the rules are still text and selectors, so a redesign can break a watch the same way it breaks a Distill monitor.
Where AyeWatch fits
Both tools above make you describe where the change will appear. AyeWatch asks what the change is. You paste one or more URLs and write a rule such as "alert me when a new version is published or a breaking change is announced; ignore typo fixes to older entries". AyeWatch reads each new version of the page against that rule and sends a short written summary when it matches.
For a developer, the parts that matter:
- No selectors to maintain. A markup change on the target site does not break the monitor.
- An API on every paid plan. Create, list, update and delete topics from your own code, and receive
topic.updatewebhook events signed with HMAC-SHA256. - An MCP server at
https://ayewatch.ai/api/mcp, so an AI agent can create or pause monitors for you. - Channels per monitor. Push and feed on every plan; email, Slack, Discord and webhooks on paid plans.
- Topics as well as pages. Watch a library's changelog and the Reddit and X discussion about it in the same account.
Paid plans start at $9 a month, and the time you would spend fixing broken selectors goes into building on the webhook instead.
Which one to pick
- Pick AyeWatch if you want hosted monitors that survive redesigns, an API and webhooks to wire alerts into your own tools, and topic coverage beyond single pages.
- Pick changedetection.io if your data must stay on your own server, or a watch has to log in and click through a flow first. AyeWatch is hosted only and watches public pages.
- Pick Distill if you want one value checked every few seconds from a machine that is always on. Its local checks are faster and more exact than either alternative, and free.
Moving your monitors
Neither Distill nor changedetection.io exports into AyeWatch. For each monitor, paste the URL into AyeWatch and turn the selector and condition into one sentence. Related URLs can share a monitor and a rule. AyeWatch's side-by-side with Distill lists the feature differences, and the API is documented from the AyeWatch site.