CA App Synthetic Monitor vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

Broadcom and Progress Software are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. Broadcom is ranked #73, while Progress Software is ranked #34 with an average rating of 8.0. Broadcom holds a 0.5% mindshare in APM, compared to Progress Software’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

CA App Synthetic Monitor

Read 3 CA App Synthetic Monitor reviews

1,518 Views
1,503 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

WhatsUp Gold

Read 25 WhatsUp Gold reviews

13,110 Views
3,540 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

CA App Synthetic Monitor

WhatsUp Gold

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

WhatsUp Gold and CA App Synthetic Monitor compete in network and application monitoring. WhatsUp Gold has an advantage in pricing and support, while CA App Synthetic Monitor leads in advanced features.

Features: WhatsUp Gold offers robust network monitoring, comprehensive visualization tools, and solid functionality. CA App Synthetic Monitor provides advanced synthetic monitoring, detailed alerting system, and features suitable for complex environments.

Room for Improvement: WhatsUp Gold needs better scalability, third-party tool integration, and enhanced mobile accessibility. CA App Synthetic Monitor could improve user experience in setup, configuration, and reporting intuitiveness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WhatsUp Gold is praised for its straightforward deployment and supportive customer service. CA App Synthetic Monitor, despite a more challenging deployment, offers comprehensive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: WhatsUp Gold is noted for competitive pricing and high ROI for small to mid-sized businesses. CA App Synthetic Monitor, although more expensive, justifies its cost with advanced features.

To learn more, read our detailed CA App Synthetic Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

CA App Synthetic Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

August 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

CA App Synthetic Monitor

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

73rd

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WhatsUp Gold

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

34th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (21st), Server Monitoring (14th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (17th), Configuration Management (20th), Log Management (39th), Cloud Monitoring Software (25th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of CA App Synthetic Monitor is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WhatsUp Gold is 1.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
WhatsUp Gold	1.3%
CA App Synthetic Monitor	0.5%
Other	98.2%

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

reviewer2286675

System Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

A reliable solution for SSL offloading and to encrypt outside traffic

If you are responsible for monitoring the logs in F5, it isn't very easy. The format is complicated compared to different vendors. For example, Fortinet and Cisco have feasible formats for sending and fetching logs. Suppose I'm monitoring the logs and everything, and when I am retrieving logs from F5, I want to know whether it is regular traffic or any abnormality is happening. The logs itself is not user-friendly. It may not give you a clear way of what's happening. You have to go through different websites and work on it. You have to waste so much time on it.

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Erik Cheng

Technical Manager at Quan Hung Gourmet

Efficient monitoring with detailed customization, yet complexity remains

The best feature of WhatsUp Gold is the automatic generation of topology and its integration with virtualization and wireless. I have used the automated device discovery with this topology feature. The interactive map feature helps me manage the topology because sometimes we cannot draw the topology correctly, so we need to manually edit the connections. The alerting system is very tunable and customizable, but it's a little complicated to use. Many customers cannot manage it by themselves and need support from us, the provider. We always use the dashboards in the SOC, where we constantly display a dashboard or multiple dashboards. This allows us to know immediately if the connection or bandwidth is full or if the connection is broken.

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

"Each had strengths in one area or another, but CA covered the majority of our needs end-to-end."

"From our experience, it really helps managers in measuring application SLAs and viewing historical performance data."

"We no longer have to manually search for problems because we are alerted when something in the network goes down."

"The solution effectively monitors network devices and servers."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"The tool's most valuable feature is the visibility it offers of everything in the network and infrastructure."

"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of resources."

"Overall, we have been satisfied with the functionality of the product."

"It handles the basics of monitoring."

"The user interface is good enough."

More WhatsUp Gold pros

Cons

"The RBMS component is limited as you can only record using Internet Explorer."

"Pricing makes little sense. We had examples where it would be cheaper to have two basic accounts than one intermediate."

"Integrations with other devices. I want to have a product that has full integration with my active directory so I can track user activity. I want to track my complete user activity, so I'm looking for a product to implement in the near future, which will have full integration with my network and active directory users. It became very difficult to track user activity."

"The pricing for this solution has gone up quite recently, which has led some of our customers to buy an alternative product."

"This product should add other options for monitoring. It does not currently meet the broader needs of the banking industry in the version we have deployed."

"Setting up WhatsUp Gold is complicated and not easy because it requires managing SNMP and many complex settings in the devices it's monitoring, and fine-tuning it to fit our needs is also not very easy."

"The licensing model could be improved. Right now, the levels are too far apart. This causes the solution to be more expensive than it needs to be."

"Regional product team support is not very good."

"The price could be improved. When we first started using this product, the company was new. The prices were very low then, in comparison with HP OpenView or IBM, but now the policy is too high, relative to the number of devices we have."

"One of the biggest things that made us start to look at another product is we're not able to have an end to end monitoring from a user perspective throughout the system and back to the user. All the monitoring is from inside out, we need something that also can give us from outside in."

More WhatsUp Gold cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It is per device, per year. The pricing is very clear. If you have a service agreement, you get all of your major upgrades and minor upgrades. It was under $10,000 to go all-in with all of the different add-ons for it."

"The tool's price is reasonable. WhatsUp Gold is cheaper than SolarWinds."

"The choice of version depends on the number of points, or devices, that you want to monitor, and this makes the product expensive."

"The price of WhatsUp Gold is good."

"Pricing is reasonable compared to other products."

"There is a license needed to use WhatsUp Gold."

"This is a well priced solution."

"I'm not sure, but it's expensive. We don't pay any additional fees."

More WhatsUp Gold pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WhatsUp Gold?

Clients find the licensing calculator confusing, but we simplify this for them by collecting relevant information first. The licensing is based on devices, providing better cost-effectiveness than ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?

It would be great if WhatsUp Gold could add features that simplify management with AI, as it is currently too complicated to manage.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WhatsUp Gold?

My use case for WhatsUp Gold includes all device availability checks, bandwidth usage, CPU, and memory usage, as well as alarm notifications.

See all answers

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Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

NinjaOne vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

ScienceLogic vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2026

Download CA App Synthetic Monitor product report

Buyer's Guide

WhatsUp Gold

July 2026

Download WhatsUp Gold product report

Also Known As

CA ASM

No data available

Overview

CA App Synthetic Monitor provides proactive monitoring of web applications and services to ensure performance and availability. It allows businesses to identify and resolve problems before they impact users.

By simulating user interactions and analyzing application performance, CA App Synthetic Monitor enables businesses to maintain optimal service levels. This cloud-based solution offers a comprehensive view of application health through real-time monitoring and alerts, facilitating quick identification of performance bottlenecks and outages. It helps IT teams enhance user experience by predicting potential issues and optimizing resource allocation. Its flexibility and scalability cater to a range of business needs.

What are key features of CA App Synthetic Monitor?

Real-Time Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of web applications to detect issues quickly.
Global Reach: Simulate user transactions from multiple locations worldwide.
Custom Alerts: Set up customized alerts for specific performance thresholds.
Detailed Reporting: Access in-depth analysis of application performance metrics.
Scalability: Easily scalable to match growing business demands.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Improved User Experience: By identifying issues early, end-users encounter fewer disruptions.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces downtime-related costs through early detection and resolution.
Enhanced Reliability: Ensures application reliability and reduces service outages.
Time Saving: Automates performance checks to save time for IT teams.

Industries such as e-commerce, finance, and IT services implement CA App Synthetic Monitor to ensure their software systems remain performant under various conditions. For e-commerce, it assures checkout processes run smoothly. Financial sectors use it to guarantee secure and reliable transaction handling. IT services leverage its capabilities to maintain service level agreements, ensuring customer satisfaction in digital interactions.

Broadcom

WhatsUp Gold stands out with its comprehensive network monitoring, dynamic mapping, and real-time alerts, offering essential tools for managing extensive IT infrastructures.

WhatsUp Gold provides robust capabilities in network visibility through dynamic mapping and NetFlow analysis. The platform's interactive topology aids in pinpointing issues effectively. Auto-discovery ensures complete network device tracking. While offering an intuitive interface and integration with Cisco ServiceNow, users find server performance monitoring useful for incident handling. However, improvements are anticipated in application monitoring and Active Directory integration. The pricing model and customization options leave room for enhancement. Despite these, users benefit from its integrated dashboards for immediate device health checks and network updates, making it beneficial for large-scale infrastructure management.

What features does WhatsUp Gold offer?

Network Monitoring: Provides continuous oversight of network components
Dynamic Mapping: Offers visual representation of network topology
NetFlow Analysis: Delivers insights into bandwidth utilization
Threshold Alerts: Notifies users upon reaching set performance thresholds
Auto-Discovery: Detects devices automatically for complete network coverage

What benefits should users expect from reviews?

Comprehensive Visibility: Enhanced understanding of network elements
Real-Time Monitoring: Immediate insights into network and device status
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive solution suitable for expansive networks
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies the management of complex networks

Organizations in sectors like telecommunications, education, and healthcare utilize WhatsUp Gold for their network monitoring needs. Telecom companies track switches and routers, educational institutions manage bandwidth usage, and healthcare facilities monitor device availability to ensure seamless operations.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

Lexmark

Artoni Trasporti, Austin Independent School District, Banca Marche, Burke County North Carolina, Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine, Clayco, Community Integrated Care, Desca, Deutsche Bergbau, Flexi-Van, Gropper, Hamleys, Hammonds Furniture, Knowledge IT, Idras S.P.A., Sibeg, Swann Engineering, Trivium Lindenhof

Buyer's Guide

CA App Synthetic Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

August 2026

Free Report: CA App Synthetic Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

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