VLClean Plain comparisons of self-hosted media tools

Cinegration vs Notifiarr in 2026

Cinegration and Notifiarr compared for home automation and network monitoring, with Askarr for Radarr and Sonarr requests.

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VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Cinegration and Notifiarr compared for a self-hoster at home: what each does, what each costs, and what to check first.

Cinegration describes itself as Colorado's leading smart home integrator. [1] Notifiarr lists Discord as its current platform, with 27,786 servers. [2] Askarr is a hosted website that works with your existing Radarr and Sonarr. [3] The Free plan costs $0 and allows 10 requests a month. [3] Plus costs $3.99 a month for 50 requests a month. [3] Pro costs $6.99 a month for unlimited requests. [3]

OptionPriceWhat its pages sayAlso stated
Cinegrationnot publishedConnects climate control and energy to cameras, locks and alarms [1]Arvada, CO address [1]; open Mon to Fri 8:30am to 4pm [1]
Notifiarrnot published; excessive use may add fees [2]Monitors services and notifies when they go down [2]Discord platform, 27,786 servers [2]; data stored in the UK [2]
Askarr Free [3]$0 [3]10 requests a month [3]Request history with live status [3]
Askarr Plus [3]$3.99 a month [3]50 requests a month [3]Request history with live status [3]
Askarr Pro [3]$6.99 a month [3]No monthly limit [3]Request history with live status [3]

The short answer

Radarr and Sonarr are the apps that add movies and shows to a home media library, and this page is for people who run them. Cinegration is a Colorado smart home company, and Notifiarr is a site that keeps watch over your network. Askarr is a separate hosted website where you search for a title and request it, and your own Radarr or Sonarr adds it. [3]

Cinegration's pages say it connects climate control and energy management to security cameras, door locks and alarm systems, and the table below shows more. Notifiarr's pages say it monitors services and notifies you when they go down or become unreachable. [2]

What Cinegration, Notifiarr is built for

Cinegration describes itself as Colorado's leading smart home integrator. [1] It is based at 6425 W. 52nd Ave Suite 1 Arvada, CO 80002. [1] Its pages say it runs 8:30am to 4pm on weekdays, its Experience Center is open by appointment only, and its DriverCentral site is called the industry's leading site for third party software. [1] [1] [1]

Notifiarr lists Discord as its current platform, with 27,786 servers. [2] It monitors server health metrics such as memory, CPU, temperatures, SMART, IPMI and RAID status. [2] The personal information it collects is stored or processed in the United Kingdom. [2] Its pages say it plans push, SMS, email, Slack, Telegram and Mattermost notifications in the future. [2]

The facts give little beyond these points about either tool, so check each site's own pages for anything else you need.

What Askarr is built for

Askarr is made by the team that publishes this site. It is a hosted website that works with your existing Radarr and Sonarr. [3]

You search for a movie or show on the Askarr site and request it, and your own Radarr or Sonarr adds it. [3] If you already have a link, you can paste a TMDB, IMDb or TVDB link to find the title. [3]

Askarr says it never connects to your Radarr or Sonarr and never receives their API keys. [3] A webhook from Radarr and Sonarr reports back so the site shows when a title was added and downloaded. [3] You can see your request history with live status. [3]

Each friend who signs up through your link adds 10 requests a month to your limit. [3] You can try the dashboard with a throwaway demo account and sample data without signing in. [3]

Pricing and fees

The facts for Cinegration give no price, plan or fee, so what it charges is not published here. The facts for Notifiarr give no plan price either; its pages say excessive use may incur additional fees or have capacity restricted, and all payments are final because they are for digital services. [2] [2]

Askarr has three plans. [3] [3] [3] The Free plan costs $0 and allows 10 requests a month. [3] Plus costs $3.99 a month for 50 requests a month. [3] Pro costs $6.99 a month for unlimited requests. [3] The Pro plan has no monthly request limit. [3]

No card fee or other charge from a payment service is stated for Cinegration, Notifiarr or Askarr, so that part is not published here.

Setting it up with your server

The facts say nothing about Cinegration connecting to Plex, Radarr or Sonarr, so check its own pages for whether it touches those apps. Notifiarr's pages say it monitors services on your network and notifies you when they go down or become unreachable. [2] Their pages give no steps for connecting to Plex, Radarr or Sonarr, so check each site for how its own monitoring is set up.

For Askarr, nothing is installed; you add Askarr as an import list in Radarr and Sonarr. [3] That is a list Radarr and Sonarr read your requests from, and you add it once. [3]

A bookmark you run on your Radarr or Sonarr page saves the list and webhook there for you. [3] After that, you request a title on the site and your own Radarr or Sonarr adds it. [3] The claims for Askarr do not mention Plex, so check how your library fits.

Things to check before you choose

Start with what your home needs watched. Cinegration's facts cover home automation such as climate and security, and Notifiarr's cover network and server health, so check which matches what you want to manage.

Ask how many people will make requests. Askarr's Free plan allows 10 requests a month, and Plus allows 50. [3] [3] Ask what each service costs to run, since the facts publish few prices. Ask where each keeps your data; Notifiarr's pages say its personal information is stored or processed in the United Kingdom. [2] Ask whether a demo is available before you commit. Askarr offers a demo account. [3]

How to choose

If you want home automation spanning climate, energy, cameras, door locks and alarms, Cinegration's pages say it connects those. [1] If you want to watch server health and be told when services go down, Notifiarr's pages say it does that. [2] The facts give few prices for either, so check each site before deciding.

If you want nothing installed for media requests, Askarr's claims say you only add a list in Radarr and Sonarr. [3] If you want to know what the site can reach, Askarr says it never connects to your Radarr or Sonarr. [3] If you want a request page with status that shows when a title was added and downloaded, its claims cover that. [3]

If you want to look first without signing up, Askarr has a demo account. [3] If you want no monthly request limit, Pro has none and costs $6.99 a month. [3] [3]

Frequently asked questions

Is Cinegration free?

The facts for Cinegration give no price, plan or fee, so what it charges is not published here. Cinegration says its Experience Center is open by appointment only. [1] Check its own pages for a quote before you plan around a total cost, since no price appears in the facts.

How much does Askarr cost?

The Free plan costs $0 and allows 10 requests a month. [3] Plus costs $3.99 a month for 50 requests a month. [3] Pro costs $6.99 a month for unlimited requests. [3] No card fee is stated for Askarr, so that part is not published.

Does Askarr need anything installed?

Nothing is installed; you add Askarr as an import list in Radarr and Sonarr. [3] A bookmark run on your Radarr or Sonarr page saves the list and webhook there for you. [3] The claims do not describe any other setup step.

Can Notifiarr tell you when a service goes down?

Its pages say it monitors services on your network and notifies you when they go down or become unreachable. [2] It also monitors server health metrics such as memory, CPU, temperatures, SMART, IPMI and RAID status. [2] The facts give no price for it, so check its own pages.

Can Askarr see your Radarr or Sonarr?

Askarr never connects to your Radarr or Sonarr and never receives their API keys. [3] A webhook from Radarr and Sonarr reports back so the site shows when a title was added and downloaded. [3] Your own Radarr or Sonarr adds the title. [3]

The Free plan costs $0 and allows 10 requests a month. [3]

Try Askarr

Sources

  1. Cinegration, cinegration.com, read 2026-10-15
  2. Notifiarr, notifiarr.com, read 2026-10-09
  3. Askarr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)

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