10 tools, 10 criteria. Each fact links to the vendor’s own page. Choose up to 4 tools.
| Criterion | Vesana Vesana Self-hosted, multi-tenant monitoring with outbound-only agents and collectors. | PRTG Paessler Sensor-based network monitoring on Windows or hosted by Paessler. | Checkmk Checkmk GmbH Infrastructure monitoring with a free open-source edition and commercial editions. | Zabbix Zabbix LLC Open-source monitoring at large scale, self-hosted or as Zabbix Cloud. | Auvik Auvik Networks Cloud-based network management with automatic discovery and topology maps. | Domotz Domotz Cloud network monitoring with a flat price per site. | Icinga Icinga GmbH Open-source monitoring with a free edition and yearly subscriptions. | LibreNMS LibreNMS community Community-built, open-source network monitoring with auto-discovery. | Nagios Core Nagios Enterprises The free, open-source monitoring engine behind a large plugin ecosystem. | Nagios XI Nagios Enterprises Commercial monitoring built on Nagios Core, with a perpetual license. |
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| Getting it running | ||||||||||
| Server setup | One command on Debian or Ubuntu Vesana docs: installation | Windows setup program PRTG manual: install | Package, then omd create and omd start Checkmk docs: setup | Packages from the Zabbix repository, plus a database Zabbix docs: requirements | No server to run (SaaS); collector on site auvik.com: network management | No server to run (SaaS); collector on site domotz.com: MSP | Packages; Icinga DB also needs Redis Icinga DB docs: installation | MariaDB, PHP and web server set up by hand LibreNMS docs: install | Compiled from source Nagios Core quickstart | Install on a clean Linux server; database included nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Remote networks | Outbound only over HTTPS 443; no inbound ports, no VPN vesana.org/product | Remote probe connects to the core on TCP 23560 PRTG manual: remote probes | Server polls agents on TCP 6556; push mode in Ultimate Checkmk docs: agents | Active proxy connects to the server on port 10051 Zabbix docs: proxies | Collector connects outbound only, encrypted auvik.com: system security | Collector on site, outbound only, no port forwarding domotz.com: Domotz Box | Agents and satellites over TLS, port 5665 Icinga docs: distributed monitoring | Documented via VPN (tinc) to remote sites LibreNMS docs: remote monitoring | NRPE or SSH from the server; passive results via NRDP/NSCA nagios.com: Nagios XI | NRPE or SSH; passive via NRDP/NSCA over 80/443 nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Free to try | ✓Up to 25 hosts, 1 tenant, no time limit vesana.org/pricing | ✓Freeware: 100 sensors PRTG manual: licenses | ✓Community edition checkmk.com/pricing | ✓Free software zabbix.com/subscriptions | ~14-day trial auvik.com: network management | ~14-day trial domotz.com: pricing | ✓Forever Free Edition icinga.com/subscription | ✓Free software LibreNMS on GitHub | ✓Free software nagios.org: Nagios Core | ✓Free license: 7 nodes or 100 services nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Cost | ||||||||||
| Public price | €990/year for 150 hosts, incl. 12 months of updates vesana.org/pricing | PRTG 500: $200/month, billed annually paessler.com/prtg/pricing | Pro from €190/month, billed annually checkmk.com/pricing | Cloud from $50/month zabbix.com/cloud | —On request auvik.com: network management | €35 per collector per month domotz.com: pricing | Support from €15,000/year icinga.com/subscription | Free LibreNMS on GitHub | Free nagios.org: Nagios Core | Standard from $2,595 for 100 nodes (one-off) nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Billed by | Hosts; checks and tenants not counted vesana.org/pricing | Sensors paessler.com/prtg/pricing | Monitored services checkmk.com/pricing | Free software; paid support, Cloud by capacity zabbix.com/subscriptions | Billable network devices auvik.com: network management | Collector (one per site), devices unlimited domotz.com: pricing | Yearly subscriptions; hosts unlimited icinga.com/subscription | Free; paid support through partners librenms.org | Free nagios.org: Nagios Core | Nodes (hosts); services unlimited nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Customers and access | ||||||||||
| Multi-tenancy | ✓Built in; unlimited tenants in paid plans vesana.org/pricing | ~MSP Edition listed; details not stated paessler.com/prtg | ~Optional add-on for Checkmk Ultimate Checkmk blog: new lineup | ~Via user groups and host group permissions Zabbix docs: permissions | ✓Multi-tenant, MSP multi-client dashboard auvik.com: network management | ✓Multi-tenant organizations with RBAC domotz.com: MSP | ~Role-based access; tenant model not described icinga.com/subscription | ~Per-user device permissions (RBAC) LibreNMS docs: authorization | —Not stated by the vendor nagios.org: Nagios Core | ~Users see only granted host and service groups nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| MCP / AI | ✓MCP server, AI account per person, audit log vesana.org/product | —Not stated by the vendor paessler.com/prtg | ✓MCP server, read-only (Pro and up) Checkmk: AI | ✓Official MCP server zabbix.com/features | ~Own AI agents; MCP not stated auvik.com/ai | ✓Vendor-built MCP server domotz.com: MCP server | —Not stated by the vendor icinga.com/subscription | —Not stated by the vendor librenms.org | —Not stated by the vendor nagios.org: Nagios Core | —Not stated by the vendor nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Platform | ||||||||||
| Hosting | Self-hosted vesana.org/product | Self-hosted or PRTG Hosted Monitor PRTG Hosted Monitor | Self-hosted or Checkmk Cloud (SaaS) checkmk.com/pricing | Self-hosted or Zabbix Cloud (SaaS) zabbix.com/cloud | SaaS auvik.com: network management | SaaS (hosted on AWS) domotz.com: security | Self-hosted icinga.com | Self-hosted LibreNMS docs: install | Self-hosted nagios.org: Nagios Core | Self-hosted nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Runs on | Linux (Debian, Ubuntu) vesana.org/product | Windows PRTG system requirements | Linux (RHEL-based, SLES, Debian, Ubuntu) Checkmk docs: setup | Linux and other Unix systems Zabbix docs: requirements | Cloud; on-site collector as OVA, script, Windows service or Docker auvik.com: network management | Cloud; collector on Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, NAS, Docker domotz.com: MSP | Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, SLES and others) Icinga docs: installation | Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL-based) LibreNMS docs: install | Linux nagios.org: Nagios Core | 64-bit Linux nagios.com: Nagios XI |
| Open source | ✕Commercial, perpetual license Vesana docs: license | ✕Commercial license PRTG manual: licenses | ✓Community edition is open source Checkmk docs: setup | ✓AGPLv3 zabbix.com/license | —Not stated by the vendor auvik.com: network management | —Not stated by the vendor domotz.com | ✓Open source icinga.com/subscription | ✓GPLv3 LibreNMS on GitHub | ✓GPL v2 nagios.org: Nagios Core | ✕Commercial, perpetual license nagios.com: Nagios XI |
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✓ yes ~ partly ✕ no — not stated by the vendor