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Azure Network Watcher vs Nagios XI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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

Azure Network Watcher
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
48th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Nagios XI
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (10th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (19th), Cloud Monitoring Software (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.4%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios XI is 3.2%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Madhukar N - PeerSpot reviewer
Helpful database security, good support, and beneficial cloud-native application firewall
We are using Azure Network Watcher for remote access security The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall. It is helpful for securing databases. Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application…
Amir  Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective alerting enhances network monitoring experience with an easy setup
We love Nagios XI due to the fact that JPS Web is very useful. JPS monitors the modem and performs switching, monitoring the computer, and performing switching. We implement some applications and traffic monitoring. The alerting system is very effective. For instance, if we have an alarm on some RAM storage if the traffic is cut or dropped.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."
"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."
"It provides good visibility."
"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is using the gateways with the connections. The monitoring is useful for the logs and application insights into the data. The traffic filtering issues when it comes to deploying those applications are helpful."
"The solution is stable."
"I like the visibility."
"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."
"I can monitor a phone on a desk to very big servers of any company."
"It is an open-source platform with valuable features for performance and stability."
"You want to monitor a specific metric that nobody else has? You can do it even with the most basic of scripting skills, and you can always share it with the vast community of Nagios Exchange."
"The solution is pretty stable."
"The alerting system is very effective."
"Nagios is a custom API manager, and we can expose custom APIs for our integration. This is a great feature."
"The installation is no problem. I've installed Nagios several times."
"I can monitor a software made in-house to software of bigger companies."
 

Cons

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."
"The initial setup and deployment could be improved to be simplified."
"Lacks sufficient security features."
"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application to log activities for in and outbound traffic."
"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."
"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."
"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 is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."
"The reporting structure could be more streamlined."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
"The product does not have SAP monitoring."
"The scalability of Nagios XI is scalable. However, it is not easy to do."
"It can be quite difficult to know which drivers and agents to use when setting up."
"The tool's AI model needs to be fixed."
"The product could be optimized to improve the administrative user experience via the Nagios Core Configuration (NCC) GUI module."
"I would like to see more customization in the network map because it is a bit tricky to use it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."
"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."
"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Nagios XI is open source."
"For the cost of the commercial product and support, and taking into account the open source characteristics of it, I believe it is difficult to a better value."
"The pricing is really cost efficient. The licensing is perpetual and can be renewed very easily."
"The pricing is high with separate licensing for the product and support."
"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $3,000 USD per year."
"We are using the free version of this solution."
"This solution is very expensive, at approximately $5,000 USD when I purchased it, which is why I haven't upgraded my version in several years."
"It is good to contact experts for advice about what is the best solution for your specific infrastructure and enterprise."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
Educational Organization
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nagios XI?
It is an open-source platform with valuable features for performance and stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Network Watcher vs. Nagios XI and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.