AppNeta by Broadcom vs Azure Network Watcher comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Broadcom and Microsoft are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Broadcom is ranked #63, while Microsoft is ranked #46 with an average rating of 8.0. Broadcom holds a 0.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to Microsoft’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

AppNeta by Broadcom

Read 17 AppNeta by Broadcom reviews

4,803 Views
3,842 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

2,673 Views
2,620 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

AppNeta by Broadcom

Azure Network Watcher

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

AppNeta by Broadcom and Azure Network Watcher compete in network performance and monitoring solutions. Azure Network Watcher is perceived to have the upper hand due to its extensive features that justify the cost and offer deep insights into network infrastructure.

Features: AppNeta provides comprehensive end-to-end network performance insights, robust application performance monitoring, and clear visibility over business-critical applications. Azure Network Watcher offers deep integration with Azure's suite, provides advanced diagnostics and network monitoring capabilities, and comprehensive traffic analytics attractive for Azure ecosystem users.

Room for Improvement: AppNeta could enhance its integration capabilities, expand its feature set for more advanced diagnostics, and improve scalability for larger enterprise networks. Azure Network Watcher might consider simplifying its user interface, offering more customizable reports, and reducing the learning curve for new users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AppNeta is known for straightforward on-premise or hybrid cloud deployment, supported by responsive customer service easing the adoption process. Azure Network Watcher benefits from seamless integration with Azure, offering a cloud-based approach backed by comprehensive Microsoft support resources.

Pricing and ROI: AppNeta is chosen for its attractive pricing model and efficient ROI, providing significant value at competitive costs. Azure Network Watcher, although pricier, is seen as an investment justifying with extensive features and deeper network insights, offering substantial ROI for Azure-focused enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed AppNeta by Broadcom vs. Azure Network Watcher Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AppNeta by Broadcom vs. Azure Network Watcher

September 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AppNeta by Broadcom

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

63rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Monitoring Software (45th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (16th), DX NetOps (3rd)

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

46th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of AppNeta by Broadcom is 0.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
AppNeta by Broadcom	0.8%
Other	98.7%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Cliff Chapman

Architect at Linkstatus Ltd

Excellent support, easy configuration, and a reliable tool to know what the problem is and where the problem is

They should try and make diagnostics run a bit quicker. When the problem occurs on a network, AppNeta runs automatic diagnostics on the end-to-end path. The path it was testing only to the destination, it now runs the same test to all of the devices and all the intermediate devices. Depending on the number of intermediate devices, it can take several minutes to run. If we're trying to find or diagnose a problem that only lasts two or three minutes, it may be that the diagnostics is still running by the time the problem is cleared. The only thing, which I have also mentioned to AppNeta in the past, is that there should be much faster and much more lightweight diagnostics, which can be completed within 30 seconds or one minute, rather than in 5 to 10 minutes. Currently, when we have short-duration problems, we use a different tool, but we only use that different tool for short-duration problems. With AppNeta, as long as the problem exists for more than a few minutes, such as within 10 to 15 minutes, we can normally tell where the problem is. However, most of the problems that we deal with are intermittent. They're very rarely a permanent condition that needs to be addressed. That makes it more difficult to troubleshoot. We would look to see at least two or three events and hope they show the same results to raise our confidence that we've actually found the problem, rather than just a problem.

Read full review

PrashantSarmalkar

Enterprise Architect at ATOS

Monitoring traffic has improved cost control and threat visibility across network flows

The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on getting better analytics and foundation models for proactive monitoring through AI models. While these capabilities exist, they are still in beta version. Azure Network Watcher should improve to match the capabilities that Google is targeting from an analytical point of view. Azure Network Watcher needs to improve foundation models in terms of AI-specific features and analytics, which are still evolving. This may take some time, but within one or two years, these improvements should reach a nine rating.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We have peace of mind that our redundant circuits are fully operational and ready to take VoIP calls if they are needed."

"The tool allows us to ensure the capacity, bandwidth, and packet loss of our VPN-based WAN within our thresholds end-to-end, and it is different from SNMP/NetFlow-based monitoring, which we also make use of."

"It has helped us to see issues or problems rather than having a customer report them."

"Technical support is exceptional. They are very available, willing to work with our technicians and engineers and very open to providing training to understand their product more thoroughly."

"Since we implemented it, we've seen multiple performance improvements, which in turn results in increases in revenue and efficiency."

"With one of our federal customers, we deployed these throughout their network and found multiple cases of misconfigured routers and NICs, which allowed the customer to move to a VOIP solution."

"No other company has been able to match AppNeta's capability at the same price point."

"We get complete, hop-by-hop visibility into the internet and we can know how much latency is taking place from one hop to another. That way, we know whether a particular hop belongs to the ISP, or that it is something owned by our own client's office, or is something to do with the SaaS network."

More AppNeta by Broadcom pros

"It provides good visibility."

"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"I like the visibility."

"This is a stable system providing stable performance."

"My advice to others looking into using Azure Network Watcher is to go for it, as you'll have the tool by default when you're subscribed to Azure VNet."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"The solution is stable, there are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze, it's reliable."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

Cons

"Cloud monitoring could be better. That's one of the biggest pain points for me. I have shared this feedback with them multiple times, but they're limited to some extent. That's one area where I've seen a problem."

"I would like to see the following improvements in accessibility: The ability to see the details concerning incidents and their reasons right on the graph, the ability to open those events right from the graph, the ability to see the applications being used at that time."

"Instead of integrating with other people, they should expand their interior capabilities."

"I would like to see some advanced dashboard features. It could also be integrated with third-party tools. For example, an integration with a reporting solution would be helpful. Out-of-the-box, there are few dashboards or reports. What it does have is useful, but there should be additional dashboards."

"An area of improvement would be to move back towards what AppNeta used to have directly before the Broadcom acquisition."

"It needs more improvements in monitoring of video streaming performance as well as more layers of breakdown in the front end performance."

"Because of the nature of how AppNeta works in terms of using bursts to depict how a network path performs, it is hard to correlate 24 hour performance 100% accurately."

"They should try and make diagnostics run a bit quicker. When the problem occurs on a network, AppNeta runs automatic diagnostics on the end-to-end path. The path it was testing only to the destination, it now runs the same test to all of the devices and all the intermediate devices. Depending on the number of intermediate devices, it can take several minutes to run. If we're trying to find or diagnose a problem that only lasts two or three minutes, it may be that the diagnostics is still running by the time the problem is cleared. The only thing, which I have also mentioned to AppNeta in the past, is that there should be much faster and much more lightweight diagnostics, which can be completed within 30 seconds or one minute, rather than in 5 to 10 minutes."

More AppNeta by Broadcom cons

"I still use Wireshark and Azure Network Watcher to get the required data. My team captures the traffic from Azure Network Watcher, downloads it, then imports that traffic into Wireshark to get more details on the number of hits and replies, for example. If you can do that on Azure Network Watcher and have Wireshark built-in, that would make Azure Network Watcher better. If Azure Network Watcher has that functionality where you won't need a third-party tool to get what you need, that would be helpful. I'm also expecting more from Azure Network Watcher. It's more complex than knowing how the IP flows from its source to the destination. The tool also needs more open-source features, such as having some built-in Wireshark that improves monitoring for customers. Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging. Is it one hundred percent an Azure issue? Is it a peer issue? You don't get complete information from Azure Network Watcher, so you must use other tools and depend on your strategies to resolve a specific issue. If more features could be added in the next release of Azure Network Watcher, specifically ones you can find on open-source tools, then that would be a plus point for the tool."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."

"There are some occasional downtimes, but these were based on Azure-specific issues."

"User experience could be improved."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's worth the money."

"We typically don't get involved in the commercial side, but the list price is probably something like $3,000 for a small probe. However, that gives all of the features that the probe can do, whether or not you use them. In the old days, up until two or three years ago, each of the separate features was a separately licensable module so that you could add things that you wanted, and you didn't have to add things that you didn't want. They've changed all that now, and everything the probe can do is a part of the base license."

"I find the solution's price to be fairly good."

"Broadcom software is always a little expensive because they provide quality."

"AppNeta by Broadcom is not expensive."

"I inherited this from a different version, and I haven't yet gone through a renewal because we had purchased three years upfront. So, to me, that still remains to be seen. Once it comes up for renewal, we'll see what happens. Especially because now it is Broadcom, it is going to change anyway."

"The small probe is probably around $3,000 and the very large probe that they make for massive data centers might be $50,000 or $60,000. It's a subscription model, so the payment is per year."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

15%

Construction Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Financial Services Firm

23%

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What open source tool can one use to measure bandwidth from one's upstream service provider?

One I am looking closely at is AppNeta. They have an appliance that can digest the flow and do a better job than Netflow. The other one we are using is ExtraHop. This has both a Datacenter Hig...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AppNeta by Broadcom

October 2026

Download AppNeta by Broadcom product report

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

October 2026

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Overview

AppNeta by Broadcom specializes in providing comprehensive network visibility with features like end-to-end testing and proactive monitoring. It delivers insights into network performance across multiple environments, aiding in efficient troubleshooting and issue resolution.

AppNeta by Broadcom empowers businesses to manage network performance across cloud and on-prem environments. It facilitates seamless transitions such as SD-WAN and SaaS, offering insights into user experience and application performance. With capabilities like synthetic transactions and load testing, users can quickly isolate performance issues, ensuring robust connectivity in voice and video applications. Though the service is robust, there is room for optimizing diagnostic speed, improving navigation documentation, and reducing non-critical alerts. Enhancements such as advanced dashboard features and efficient deployment options for asymmetrical links would greatly benefit users.

What features define AppNeta?

End-to-end Network Path Testing: Analyzes complete network pathways to ensure seamless data flow.
Synthetic Web Transactions: Simulates user interactions to test application performance.
Packet Captures: Provides detailed insights into data packets for precise troubleshooting.
Proactive Monitoring: Continuously oversees network health to preemptively manage issues.
Cloud-based Management: Facilitates network oversight from remote locations with ease.

What benefits should users evaluate?

Comprehensive Network Visibility: Ensures detailed insights into network performance and bottlenecks.
Efficient Troubleshooting: Quickly identifies and resolves network issues, minimizing downtime.
Robust Alerting: Provides timely notifications to manage potential disruptions swiftly.
User-friendly Interfaces: Simplifies navigation and management of network oversight tasks.

AppNeta by Broadcom is broadly implemented across industries to monitor and optimize network performance, particularly in domains relying heavily on voice and video communication. Organizations leverage its capabilities to ensure seamless operation during digital transitions and to support robust IT infrastructure, adapting rapidly to varied network demands.

Broadcom

Azure Network Watcher provides advanced network monitoring capabilities including packet capture, cloud-native firewall, and traffic diagnosis, aiding in VPN troubleshooting and security enforcement with enhanced visibility and alerting features.

Azure Network Watcher is essential for monitoring, diagnosing, and analyzing network traffic. It efficiently handles VPN connection issues and enhances network security by capturing and analyzing traffic to assess performance or latency problems. The tool facilitates traffic flow control, security rule verification, and bandwidth monitoring. Users benefit from its capabilities in diagnosing service connections, offering insights into network activity, and identifying potential threats, crucial for maintaining compliance and efficient network management.

What are the key features of Azure Network Watcher?

Packet Capture: Enables detailed network traffic inspection to troubleshoot issues.
Cloud-Native Application Firewall: Provides enhanced protection for applications running in the cloud.
Traffic Monitoring: Allows for real-time analysis and troubleshooting of network traffic.
NSG Flow Logs & AI-Based Monitoring: Enhances flow control and threat detection.
Alerting & Threshold Configuration: Offers customizable alerts via Azure Monitor for proactive management.

What benefits can users look for in reviews?

Improved Network Security: Helps in identifying and mitigating threats efficiently.
Enhanced Visibility: Provides clear insights into network operations and potential issues.
Compliance Support: Assists in maintaining regulatory compliance with thorough monitoring capabilities.
Effective Bandwidth Management: Facilitates control and optimization of network bandwidth.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Azure Network Watcher is implemented to ensure robust security and compliance, crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. It aids retail and manufacturing sectors in optimizing network performance and maintaining seamless connectivity, supporting their digital infrastructure needs.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Ebay, Citrix, National Instruments, Marriott, AT&T, Bon-Ton, McDonald's, Netflix, PayPal, Uber, QAD

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

AppNeta by Broadcom vs. Azure Network Watcher

September 2026

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