Free IT Tool
Uptime Calculator
Convert SLA uptime percentages to actual downtime. Estimate the cost of downtime for your business. Match uptime targets to system criticality. The most complete SLA calculator online, built for IT professionals by Echoflare.
SLA Uptime to Downtime Converter
Drag the slider or click a preset below to see exactly how much downtime each SLA level allows.
Allowed Downtime at 99.9%
Per Year
8h 45m
hours
Per Month
43m 28s
minutes
Per Week
10m 4s
minutes
Per Day
1m 26s
seconds
Cost of Downtime Estimator
What does downtime actually cost your business? Enter your revenue and team size to see the financial impact at your current SLA level.
$0
Cost per hour of downtime
$0
Annual cost at current SLA
$0
Saved by moving to 99.99%
Insight: The cost of downtime is almost always higher than the cost of better infrastructure. If moving from 99.9% to 99.99% saves $X/year, that budget is better spent on redundancy than on recovery.
System Criticality Advisor
Not every system needs five nines. Select your system's criticality level to see the recommended uptime target, typical cost range, and what infrastructure is required to achieve it.
Tier 4
Non-Critical
Internal tools, dev environments, file archives. Downtime is inconvenient but does not stop business.
99% target
Examples: Internal wiki, test servers, shared drives
Infra needed: Single server, basic backup, business-hours monitoring
Tier 3
Business Important
CRM, project management, HR systems. Downtime slows work but has workarounds.
99.5% target
Examples: Salesforce, Jira, HRIS, ERP (non-manufacturing)
Infra needed: Redundant storage, daily backup, 24/7 monitoring, defined RTO under 4 hours
Tier 2
Business Critical
Email, ERP production, cloud apps. Downtime directly impacts revenue and operations.
99.9% target
Examples: Exchange/M365, Odoo production, primary database, VoIP
Infra needed: HA cluster or DRaaS, 15-min backup RPO, immutable backup, 24/7 NOC, RTO under 1 hour
Tier 1
Mission Critical
Customer-facing apps, payment systems, healthcare records. Minutes of downtime cause significant financial or safety impact.
99.99%+ target
Examples: E-commerce, payment gateway, patient records, SCADA
Infra needed: Multi-region active-active, real-time replication, automated failover, air-gapped backup, sub-5-min RTO
Reverse Calculator
Know your allowed downtime? Enter it here and we will tell you the SLA percentage you need.
minutes
=
99.9%
Required SLA
SLA Comparison Table
The "nines" explained with real-world context
| SLA % | Name | Downtime/Year | Downtime/Month | Typical Use | Cost Tier |
|---|
Need better uptime for your business?
Echoflare designs business continuity and managed hosting solutions with defined SLA targets. We build the infrastructure to match your uptime requirements.
Understanding SLAs and Uptime
What is an SLA?
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a client. The uptime percentage defines the maximum allowed downtime per period. For example, 99.9% uptime means no more than 8 hours and 45 minutes of downtime per year.
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a client. The uptime percentage defines the maximum allowed downtime per period. For example, 99.9% uptime means no more than 8 hours and 45 minutes of downtime per year.
The Nines
IT professionals refer to uptime in "nines." Two nines = 99%. Three nines = 99.9%. Four nines = 99.99%. Five nines = 99.999%. Each additional nine requires exponentially more infrastructure investment, but also reduces downtime by a factor of 10.
IT professionals refer to uptime in "nines." Two nines = 99%. Three nines = 99.9%. Four nines = 99.99%. Five nines = 99.999%. Each additional nine requires exponentially more infrastructure investment, but also reduces downtime by a factor of 10.
Planned vs Unplanned Downtime
Most SLAs distinguish between planned maintenance windows (scheduled patching, upgrades) and unplanned outages. Ask your provider whether their SLA percentage includes or excludes planned maintenance.
Most SLAs distinguish between planned maintenance windows (scheduled patching, upgrades) and unplanned outages. Ask your provider whether their SLA percentage includes or excludes planned maintenance.
Cost vs Benefit
The jump from 99.9% to 99.99% costs significantly more because it requires redundant infrastructure, automated failover, and multi-region deployment. Use the Cost Estimator above to determine if that investment is justified for your business.
The jump from 99.9% to 99.99% costs significantly more because it requires redundant infrastructure, automated failover, and multi-region deployment. Use the Cost Estimator above to determine if that investment is justified for your business.
RTO and RPO
SLA uptime is only half the picture. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is how fast you recover. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is how much data you lose. See our business continuity page for more on RTO/RPO planning.
SLA uptime is only half the picture. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is how fast you recover. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is how much data you lose. See our business continuity page for more on RTO/RPO planning.