Azure Network Watcher vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Microsoft and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.3, while SolarWinds is ranked #30 with an average rating of 7.8. Microsoft holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 12 Azure Network Watcher reviews

670 Views
630 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

835 Views
802 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and Azure Network Watcher compete in the network monitoring solutions category. Azure Network Watcher appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and comprehensive capabilities, which justify its cost.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides essential network monitoring capabilities, focusing on ease of use and core functionality. It excels in intuitive navigation and quick setup. Azure Network Watcher offers comprehensive diagnostic tools, seamless integration with Azure services, and advanced analytics, making it ideal for more complex network environments.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could enhance its feature set for more complex requirements and expand integration capabilities. Improved scalability would also benefit larger operations. Azure Network Watcher might improve in terms of user-friendliness for those less acquainted with Azure services and offer simplified pricing structures. A more straightforward initial configuration could also enhance its accessibility to a broader audience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is typically easy to install with straightforward customer service options, making it suitable for simple setups. Azure Network Watcher, integrated within the Azure platform, requires familiarity with Azure services but benefits from extensive support and documentation. Its deployment may be more suited to users with existing Azure expertise, catering to complex setups.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor frequently offers a more accessible initial setup cost, appealing for budget-conscious scenarios. Azure Network Watcher may have a higher initial investment but offers strong ROI due to its deep insights and comprehensive feature set, making it potentially more cost-effective for large-scale deployments.

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

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. SolarWinds Network Device 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

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

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 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.6%
Azure Network Watcher	0.4%
Other	99.0%

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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Vijay Samant

Assistant Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Monitor network utilization and manage bandwidth efficiently with live monitoring and reliable fault management capabilities

I use SolarWinds Network Device Monitor for monitoring network utilization, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and downtime. It also assists in incident management SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides live monitoring capabilities, which are very useful. Its fault management capabilities are…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."

"It provides good visibility."

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

"I like the visibility."

"The solution is stable."

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

"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."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"The solution and its interface are elaborate and fully integrate all monitored items for easy analysis and troubleshooting."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it can alert you when a device is not working."

"I like the mapping that you could do and the dashboards were very pretty."

"SolarWinds is flexible and works with multiple vendor devices."

"The deployment process is quick."

"The alerts we are getting when we start losing connection access have been helpful."

"The alerting functionality in SolarWinds Network Device Monitor helps us stay informed during off-hours by sending alerts if our main links or devices are impacted, allowing us to quickly address any issues."

"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports. We are configuring the reports, and the first reports are only about the devices. We are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."

"User experience could be improved."

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

"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."

"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."

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

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."

"If everything were in the package so that everything was ready to go out of the box, that would be ideal."

"SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could improve by being more user-friendly. The network has so many features which make it difficult to find how to configure how to use it. It is not simple to customize."

"In terms of price, it could be less expensive."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"It would be beneficial if SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could provide a feature to monitor CRC errors specifically on individual interfaces rather than the entire device. This would help in detecting intermittent issues and packet drops on main links more accurately, especially when there are CRC errors. It's important for us to be aware of these issues to avoid any voice quality problems or interruptions on our MTS links."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"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."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"The product is expensive."

"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

University

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

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	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

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

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for impro...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 20% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 16% of the time

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 15% of the time

ThousandEyes vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 9% of the time

Checkmk vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

October 2025

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

September 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

Network Device Monitor

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

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

September 2025

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