Best PRTG Alternatives Shortlist
Here’s my shortlist of the best PRTG alternatives:
Monitoring your network with an all-in-one monitoring platform can be challenging, especially when your current tools don't quite meet your needs. You may be using PRTG and finding that it doesn't align with your team's specific requirements or lacks certain features.
In my experience, finding the right network monitoring solution can significantly ease your workload, reduce downtime, and improve overall performance. That's why I've researched and tested various PRTG alternatives to help you discover the best fit for your business.
In this article, you'll find unbiased reviews of top alternatives, focusing on their unique features and benefits. Whether you're looking for better scalability, specific industry compliance, or enhanced user experience, I'll guide you through the options. Let's find the network monitoring software that best supports your team.
What Is PRTG?
Paessler Router Traffic Grapher (PRTG), often referred to as PRTG Network Monitor, is a monitoring tool designed to help you track your network's health and performance. IT monitoring professionals and network administrators generally use PRTG for its ability to provide detailed insights into network traffic and system uptime. Features such as real-time monitoring, customizable alerts, and detailed reporting support your need for efficient network management. PRTG can provide valuable insights that will help your systems run smoothly, but there are alternatives.
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Best PRTG Alternatives Reviews
Below are my detailed summaries of the best PRTG alternatives that made it onto my shortlist. My reviews offer a detailed look at the key features, pros and cons, integrations, and ideal use cases of each tool to help you find the best one for you.
Pulseway is a remote monitoring and management tool used to oversee and control IT systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux environments, performing key functions such as real-time monitoring, remote control, and automated IT tasks.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Pulseway offers remote IT management, allowing your team to monitor and manage systems even when you're not on-site. It provides real-time alerts and notifications, ensuring you're always informed about system performance, and its remote desktop feature lets you control devices directly from your mobile device or computer.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include patch management, which keeps your systems up to date with the latest security patches. Pulseway also offers asset tracking, allowing you to keep an inventory of your IT assets. Its reporting capabilities provide insights into system performance and usage patterns.
Integrations include ConnectWise, Autotask, Zendesk, Slack, PagerDuty, Datto, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- IT task automation
- Remote desktop access
- Live system status updates
Cons:
- Better with Windows than macOS or Linux
- Dated web UI
Nagios XI is an enterprise-grade monitoring tool used by IT professionals to oversee networks, systems, and applications. It provides vital functions such as performance tracking and alerting to ensure system reliability.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Nagios XI offers customizable dashboards that let your team tailor the interface to display the information that's most important to you. Its advanced reporting features allow for detailed insights into network performance. The tool's ability to manage multiple environments from a single console is ideal for complex setups. Additionally, its proactive alerting system helps you address issues before they impact users.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include an intuitive web interface that simplifies navigation and monitoring. Nagios XI also offers capacity planning, which helps forecast future infrastructure needs based on current data. Its advanced user management system provides role-based access, ensuring team members see only what's relevant to them.
Integrations include AWS, Microsoft Azure, VMware, Docker, Slack, Twilio, Jira, ServiceNow, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Responsive support
- Proactive alerts
- Flexible monitoring
Cons:
- Limited out-of-the-box features
- Demanding initial implementation phase
Datadog is a cloud-based monitoring platform used by IT and DevOps teams to observe infrastructure and applications. It performs key functions, including infrastructure monitoring, application monitoring, performance tracking, and security management.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Datadog excels in providing cloud-based observability, making it ideal for teams using cloud services. Its infrastructure monitoring and application performance tracking ensure in-depth visibility. The platform's security features help safeguard your applications and data. Additionally, Datadog's incident response tools help resolve issues quickly.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include log management, which helps you keep track of application logs for better insights. Datadog also offers real user monitoring to track user interactions with your applications. Its workflow automation tools enhance operational efficiency by automating repetitive tasks.
Integrations include AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Docker, Slack, PagerDuty, Jira, ServiceNow, GitHub, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Polished dashboard and user interface
- Cloud integrations
- Unified metrics, logs, and traces
Cons:
- Feature depth can feel overwhelming
- Pricing grows quickly with usage
Zabbix is an open-source monitoring tool used by IT professionals to monitor networks, servers, and applications. It performs key functions such as tracking performance metrics and alerting users about system issues.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: As an open-source solution, Zabbix offers scalability for organizations of all sizes. It offers features such as distributed monitoring, which is ideal if your business has complex network environments. The ability to customize alerts and reports aligns well with the need for specific monitoring capabilities, and the fact that it's open source allows your team to tailor the tool to your unique requirements.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include template-based monitoring, which simplifies setup by allowing you to apply predefined templates to various devices. Zabbix also provides a flexible alerting system that lets you configure alerts based on your criteria, and its capacity for distributed monitoring means you can manage multiple sites from a single interface.
Integrations include Grafana, VMware, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes, Slack, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Real-time alerts
- Templates to speed up device onboarding
- Open-source licensing keeps costs low
Cons:
- Setup and configuration can be challenging
- Steep learning curve for new users
ThousandEyes is a network intelligence platform that monitors network performance and user experience by performing functions such as real-user and synthetic monitoring.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: ThousandEyes offers real-user monitoring, providing visibility into user experiences across your network. Its synthetic monitoring capabilities simulate user interactions to identify potential issues before they affect performance, and its detailed path visualization helps you understand how data travels across the internet. The tool's cloud and SaaS monitoring features ensure that your services remain reliable and efficient.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include path visualization, which helps you trace the journey of data packets through the network. ThousandEyes also offers internet outage detection, alerting your team to disruptions affecting your service. Its cloud monitoring capabilities allow you to track the performance of your cloud-based applications.
Integrations include Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Splunk, PagerDuty, Slack, AppDynamics, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Advanced analytics
- Detailed path visualization
- Real user monitoring
Cons:
- Lacks detailed documentation
- Cost escalates with more locations
LibreNMS is an open-source network monitoring tool for monitoring network performance and managing devices. It performs key functions such as automatic network discovery and alerting for network changes.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: LibreNMS provides automatic network discovery, helping your team quickly identify and monitor new devices as they connect to the network. Its alerting system notifies you of any changes or issues, supporting proactive network management. The tool's open-source nature allows you to customize it to fit your specific needs, and its scalability makes it suitable for networks of all sizes.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include customizable dashboards that let you tailor the interface to display relevant data for your team. LibreNMS also supports multiple authentication methods, providing flexibility in user access management, while its graphing capabilities offer visual insights into network performance over time.
Integrations include RANCID, Collectd, SmokePing, InfluxDB, ElasticSearch, Slack, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Visual graphing capabilities
- Scalable for large networks
- Automatic device discovery
Cons:
- Business-grade support is limited
- Less effective for modern telemetry
Obkio is a cloud-based network performance monitoring tool used by IT professionals and organizations to ensure optimal network performance. It performs key functions, including synthetic monitoring and tracking network metrics, such as packet loss, latency, and bandwidth.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Obkio focuses on synthetic network monitoring, providing end-to-end visibility across LAN, WAN, and cloud environments. It offers features such as ICMP monitoring and speed tests that help diagnose network issues efficiently. The tool's SD-WAN and VoIP monitoring capabilities ensure detailed performance insights. Additionally, Obkio's user-friendly interface and real-time monitoring make it accessible for teams looking to optimize their network.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include synthetic traffic simulation, enabling proactive network performance assessment. Obkio also offers network device monitoring through SNMP polling, providing detailed insights into device performance. Its visual traceroute feature helps you quickly identify and troubleshoot network issues.
Integrations include AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Cisco Meraki, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- WAN-friendly synthetic testing
- Modern interface
- Quick to deploy and use
Cons:
- Limited advanced features
- Narrower scope than full observability
Auvik is a cloud-based network management software for monitoring and managing network infrastructure. It performs key functions such as automated network topology mapping and real-time monitoring to ensure optimal network performance.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Auvik provides automated network mapping, helping your team visualize the network's structure and identify changes, while its real-time monitoring capabilities keep you informed about network performance and potential issues. The tool's traffic analysis feature lets you understand network usage patterns, and its alert system notifies you of anomalies so you can respond quickly.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include configuration backup, which ensures you have a copy of your network settings in case of failure. Auvik also offers network performance monitoring, providing insights into bandwidth usage and device health. Its remote management capabilities allow you to troubleshoot issues without being on-site.
Integrations include ConnectWise, Autotask, ServiceNow, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Meraki, AWS, VMware, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Traffic analysis
- Real-time monitoring
- Automated network mapping
Cons:
- Focused on network management only
- Limited customization options
New Product Updates from Auvik
Auvik Introduces New Integrations and Alert Improvements
Auvik introduces a ServiceNow CMDB integration, improved alert notification management, and a new monday.com SaaS Ops integration. These updates help IT teams improve visibility, streamline alert workflows, and maintain accurate asset and license data. For more information, visit Auvik's official site.
Checkmk is a monitoring tool used by IT operations teams to monitor the health of their infrastructure. It performs key functions such as monitoring servers, networks, and applications to ensure system uptime and performance.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Checkmk provides scalable infrastructure monitoring, making it suitable for organizations with growing IT environments. It offers features such as auto-discovery, which help your team quickly identify new devices and services on the network, and customizable dashboards that let you tailor the interface to display relevant metrics. Checkmk supports a wide range of monitoring plugins, enhancing its flexibility.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include threshold-based alerting, which notifies your team when performance metrics exceed defined limits. Checkmk also provides detailed reporting capabilities for insights into long-term trends and performance. Its distributed monitoring feature allows you to manage multiple sites from a single interface, ensuring extensive oversight.
Integrations include Nagios, Prometheus, Grafana, Elastic Stack, PagerDuty, Slack, Microsoft Teams, AWS, Azure, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Supports many plugins
- Tailored visualization boards
- Scalable for growing environments
Cons:
- Initial configuration can be complex
- Requires technical expertise
Site24x7 is a cloud-based monitoring solution used by IT and DevOps teams to monitor websites, servers, and applications. It performs key functions such as tracking real user experience and providing synthetic monitoring to ensure optimal performance.
Why it's a good PRTG alternative: Site24x7 offers detailed real-user monitoring, providing insights into how users interact with your services. Its synthetic monitoring capabilities simulate user interactions to identify potential issues before they affect actual users. The tool's ability to monitor websites, servers, and applications ensures your entire infrastructure remains efficient, while its alerting system keeps you informed of performance issues, enabling quick resolution.
Standout features and integrations:
Features include website uptime monitoring, which ensures your online presence is always available. Site24x7 also offers server performance monitoring, providing insights into resource utilization and health. Its application performance monitoring helps track the response times and throughput of your applications.
Integrations include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, VMware, Docker, Slack, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, PagerDuty, and more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Monitors websites, servers, and apps
- Synthetic user interaction simulation
- Real-time user monitoring
Cons:
- Better for cloud-based environments
- Alerts can require detailed configuration
New Product Updates from Site24x7
Site24x7 Adds Network Security Group Monitoring
Site24x7 introduces Network Security Group monitoring, improving visibility into Azure traffic filtering to help track rule changes and strengthen overall security and compliance. For more information, visit Site24x7's official site.
Other PRTG Alternatives
Here are some additional PRTG alternatives that didn’t make it onto my shortlist, but are still worth checking out:
PRTG Alternatives Selection Criteria
When selecting the best PRTG alternatives to include in this list, I considered common buyer needs and pain points related to monitoring tools products, such as scalability and ease of integration. I also used the following framework to keep my evaluation structured and fair:
Core Functionality (25% of total score)
To be considered for inclusion in this list, each solution had to fulfill these common use cases:
- Network performance monitoring
- Application performance tracking
- Real-time alerting
- Data visualization and reporting
- Device and system health checks
Additional Standout Features (25% of total score)
To help further narrow down the competition, I also looked for unique features, such as:
- Advanced anomaly detection
- Predictive analytics
- Automated network mapping
- Customizable dashboards
- Multi-cloud support
Usability (10% of total score)
To get a sense of the usability of each system, I considered the following:
- Intuitive user interface
- Ease of navigation
- Speed of access to key features
- Availability of mobile access
- Customization options for user experience
Onboarding (10% of total score)
To evaluate the onboarding experience for each platform, I considered the following:
- Availability of training videos
- Interactive product tours
- Use of chatbots for guidance
- Access to webinars and live demos
- Availability of templates for quick setup
Customer Support (10% of total score)
To assess each software provider’s customer support services, I considered the following:
- Availability of 24/7 support
- Access to live chat assistance
- Response time to queries
- Quality of online resources and documentation
- Availability of dedicated account managers
Value For Money (10% of total score)
To evaluate the value for money of each platform, I considered the following:
- Pricing transparency
- Flexibility of subscription plans
- Inclusion of essential features in base plans
- Frequency of updates and enhancements
- Overall cost compared to features offered
Customer Reviews (10% of total score)
To get a sense of overall customer satisfaction, I considered the following when reading customer reviews:
- Overall satisfaction ratings
- Commonly mentioned strengths and weaknesses
- Feedback on customer support experience
- Comments on ease of use
- Frequency of updates and improvements mentioned
Why Look for a PRTG Alternative?
While PRTG is a good choice for monitoring tools, there are several reasons some users seek alternative solutions. You might be looking for a PRTG alternative because…
- You need better scalability for growing networks
- You're looking for more customization options
- Your team needs easier integration with cloud services
- You require more advanced analytics features
- You're seeking a more intuitive user interface
If any of these sound like you, you’ve come to the right place. My list contains several monitoring tools options that are better suited for teams facing these challenges with PRTG and looking for alternative, cost-effective solutions.
PRTG Key Features
Here are some of the key features of PRTG, to help you contrast and compare what alternative solutions offer:
- Network and server monitoring: Provides real-time monitoring for routers, switches, firewalls, and more, ensuring your network runs smoothly.
- Bandwidth monitoring: Tracks bandwidth usage to help you understand network traffic patterns and prevent bottlenecks.
- Customizable dashboards: Offers real-time maps and dashboards that you can tailor to display the most important metrics for your team.
- Alerts and notifications: Sends customizable alerts via email, SMS, or push notifications to keep you informed of any issues.
- Distributed monitoring: Allows centralized monitoring of multiple remote locations and data centers, providing a full view of your entire network.
- Custom reporting: Enables you to create tailored reports to communicate the status of your IT infrastructure effectively.
- SNMP monitoring: Supports SNMP for monitoring various network devices, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of hardware.
- Wi-Fi monitoring: Monitors Wi-Fi networks to ensure reliable connectivity and performance across your wireless infrastructure.
What’s Next:
If you're researching monitoring tools, connect with a SoftwareSelect advisor for free recommendations.
You fill out a form and have a quick chat where they get into the specifics of your needs. Then you'll get a shortlist of software to review. They'll even support you through the entire buying process, including price negotiations.
