Azure Network Watcher vs PRTG Network Monitor comparison

Microsoft and Paessler GmbH are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.3, while Paessler GmbH is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.9. Microsoft holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Paessler GmbH’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Paessler GmbH users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 12 Azure Network Watcher reviews

670 Views
630 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

PRTG Network Monitor

Read 112 PRTG Network Monitor reviews

7,889 Views
5,365 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

PRTG Network Monitor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

PRTG Network Monitor and Azure Network Watcher compete in the network monitoring category. PRTG holds an advantage in providing extensive on-premise and hybrid cloud monitoring capabilities, while Azure Network Watcher stands out with its robust cloud-native integrations.

Features: PRTG Network Monitor offers rapid deployment, extensive scalability, and a comprehensive sensor library that functions without requiring extensive customization. It's recognized for its proactive alerting across diverse infrastructures and uses intuitive dashboards. Azure Network Watcher's strength lies in its seamless integration with Microsoft Azure environments, featuring powerful troubleshooting tools like packet capture and flow logging, making it ideal for businesses invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: Users have noted that PRTG Network Monitor could improve its data visualization and offer more templates for streamlined usage. There's also room to enhance the desktop app user experience, while its cost can be a barrier for smaller businesses. Azure Network Watcher could incorporate a wider array of diagnostic tools and better open-source integrations, reducing reliance on third-party solutions for comprehensive monitoring.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PRTG Network Monitor is praised for a simple setup process supported by comprehensive online resources, minimizing frequent technical support needs, though real-time support can be limited. Azure Network Watcher, optimized for Azure environments, naturally simplifies deployment, though its documentation could be enhanced for better user interaction.

Pricing and ROI: PRTG Network Monitor provides a cost-effective solution for mid-sized businesses but the expense rises in large-scale settings. Licenses can be expensive for businesses needing more than basic features. Azure Network Watcher is cost-efficient for enterprises deeply tied to Microsoft, yet may be costly for smaller businesses. Both tools contribute to ROI with effective network management, albeit with different focal areas: Azure's cloud-based capabilities versus PRTG's adaptability for mixed settings.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. PRTG Network Monitor Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. PRTG Network Monitor

September 2025

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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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

47th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

PRTG Network Monitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

112

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (5th), Cloud Monitoring Software (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
PRTG Network Monitor	4.1%
Azure Network Watcher	0.4%
Other	95.5%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at Capgemini

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

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madhan kumar hs

software engineer at Capgemini

Alerting precision has reduced incident response times and improved department-level network visibility

The auto-pause sensor during the maintenance window is good without any false alerts, and it prevents me from getting flooded with alerts during planned maintenance, helping department heads understand their own network usage better. It has reduced incident response time by giving clearer ownership of each alert, ensuring alerts go to the proper recipient. SNMP testers and auto-pause are among the best features of PRTG Network Monitor, which is particularly useful for different departments such as HR and finance, where alerts can be filtered accordingly. The alerting features and dashboard of PRTG Network Monitor are very helpful, especially in our industry. However, the dashboard can look cluttered on smaller screens, which is one negative aspect. PRTG Network Monitor has impacted us positively; we have stopped getting flooded with alerts during planned maintenance or unplanned outages. Compared to others, this gives specific alerts very quickly and helps department heads understand their own network usage better, thus reducing incident response time so that each alert has clear ownership.

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 use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."

"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."

"It provides good visibility."

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

"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."

"I like the visibility."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"I can create my own program sensor. This means I can add extra monitoring capabilities into the already fundamentally strong foundation."

"The most valuable feature is the notifications. As long as you spend time and think about what and when you want to be notified, it's always accurate. It is always there. I find things out before my Internet provider."

"PRTG Network Monitor is a very stable product."

"We like the alerting system, the SNMP monitoring and the customization of the bandwidth."

"PRTG Network Monitor has positively impacted my organization as we are not seeing any critical issues or major impacts for our applications, our servers, and our networks nowadays."

"PRTG has improved our visibility and response time to issues related to remote sites."

"I can customize the port as per my need and the real-time monitoring feature that is already provided to me."

"It improves the status of my infrastructure, from networking devices to real-time machines."

More PRTG Network Monitor pros

Cons

"User experience could be improved."

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

"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."

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

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"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."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"We would like to monitor certain aspects of the user experience. We should be able to analyze the cause of end user experience, bad or good, so we can do some research and development on our own."

"This solution is a good product so far, but I haven't been using it long enough to know how it could be improved."

"There are some vendor-specific sensors in PRTG Network Monitor, particularly for older hardware, that don't always provide consistent results."

"Maybe in the future there will be room for improvement, but currently, there is nothing pressing that I can think of"

"In a very few cases, customers want more detailed reports, which we cannot meet."

"The free version only gives us 100 free sensors to use. It would be nice if there was double that."

"The thing that we do struggle with a bit is in the historic data. If I want look over 30 days, because it averages out onto one graph, you can't zoom in and drill down information."

"Dashboards can look cluttered on smaller screens, and the UI can feel crowded when there are hundreds of sensors in one group."

More PRTG Network Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

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

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The pricing is not too bad. It's not massively expensive, and the ability to upscale or even downscale licenses every year is brilliant for us."

"PRTG Network Monitor is very expensive."

"We pay for a perpetual license and we have a support fee."

"The price was pretty good, very competitive."

"The ability to use the base version with 100 free sensors is great. The cost on other packages can be very reasonable."

"Because we are only on the free version, we have a limited number of sensors. Therefore, we are not monitoring as much as we want to be to obtain historical information."

"All monitoring system is close to the same pricing scheme."

"If you're looking for a cost effective software I’d suggest this product."

More PRTG Network Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

University

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	45

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Network Watcher?

I like the visibility.

See all answers

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

Azure Network Watcher is affordable from the perspective of basic costing. It doesn't cost too much at this point unless you are requesting customizable detailed matrices. For the default configura...

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What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

PRTG network monitor is one of the best tool i have ever used for the monitoring. It have auto discovery option. it avoid the configuring the device in PRTG. It automatically discover the device an...

See all answers

What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?

The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for PRTG Network Monitor is that it is reasonable.

See all answers

Comparisons

ThousandEyes vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 22% of the time

Nmap vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 21% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 17% of the time

More Azure Network Watcher Competitors

Zabbix vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

PRTG Enterprise Monitor vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

Centreon vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

LibreNMS vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 4% of the time

More PRTG Network Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

PRTG Network Monitor

October 2025

Download PRTG Network Monitor product report

Overview

Azure Network Watcher is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

Microsoft

PRTG Network Monitor runs on a Windows machine within your network, collecting various statistics from the machines, software, and devices which you designate. PRTG comes with an easy-to-use web interface with point-and-click configuration. You can easily share data from it with non-technical colleagues and customers, including via live graphs and custom reports. This will let you plan for network expansion, see what applications are using most of your connection, and make sure that no one is hogging the entire network just to torrent videos.

To monitor a large IT environment, it's important to be able to scale PRTG up. Paessler PRTG Enterprise Monitor includes all the proven capabilities of PRTG Network Monitor, which are enhanced by exclusive ITOps Board for a service-oriented, central overview of multiple PRTG servers.

Paessler GmbH

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Jameson Bank, Sidnix, RungeICT, MedicalAnimal, Truck-lite, GamingGrids, The Covell Group, Forsythn County Schools, NetMass, Musgrove Park Hospital, Lanes Health, Columbia Southern University, Vodafone, Intrust Bank

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. PRTG Network Monitor

September 2025

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