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Checkmk vs Zabbix comparison

Checkmk and Zabbix are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Checkmk is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.6, while Zabbix is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. Checkmk holds a 3.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to Zabbix’s 11.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Checkmk users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zabbix users who would recommend it.
Checkmk
Read 9 Checkmk reviews
  • 4,453 Views
  • 3,785 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Zabbix
Read 107 Zabbix reviews
  • 24,036 Views
  • 14,422 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

Zabbix and Checkmk are both open-source monitoring solutions competing in the network, server, and application monitoring category. Zabbix appears to have an upper hand due to its flexible and comprehensive feature set.

Features: Zabbix is known for its flexibility, auto-discovery, and scalability. It supports features like Low-Level Discovery and provides extensive integration options. Checkmk is valued for its automatic discovery capabilities and its ability to integrate seamlessly with other systems.

Room for Improvement: Zabbix users often desire enhancements in its reporting functions, user-friendly interface, and support for modern workloads like containers. Improvements in automation and integration are also suggested. Checkmk could enhance its integration capabilities and make its documentation more user-friendly to improve accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zabbix offers flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, but non-experts may find the setup complex. Its community support is appreciated, though less direct than Checkmk's structured support services. Checkmk stands out for its easy on-premises deployment and effective setup process.

Pricing and ROI: Zabbix is an open-source platform with no licensing fees, allowing significant cost savings, particularly for large-scale deployments, and generally offers a high ROI due to its comprehensive features. Checkmk is considered affordable, with its enterprise edition's cost being justified by the features and support offered compared to other solutions. Both products offer highly cost-effective solutions with significant value.

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Buyer's Guide
Checkmk vs. Zabbix
July 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

Checkmk
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
8th
Ranking in Server Monitoring
5th
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
14th
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zabbix
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
1st
Ranking in Server Monitoring
1st
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
1st
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Checkmk is 3.8%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 11.7%, up from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Zabbix11.7%
Checkmk3.8%
Other84.5%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Paolo Sala - PeerSpot reviewer
A reasonably priced tool for system and application monitoring
The main room for improvement is in the solution's presentation and the integration area. In our company, we use the integration capabilities from ServiceNow. We also have another big monitoring solution in place in our company, which is Dynatrace. At the moment, there doesn't exist an out-of-the-box integration for Dynatrace. I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most. The only implementation of Checkmk that allows high availability is the virtual appliance that has the option for the availability of a different box. Otherwise, you have to find a way to implement it manually with some custom solution, which could be an improvement.
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B Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables seamless global client monitoring with reliable remote connectivity
I use the solution to provide a perfect environment for remote connectivity with my clients. Many tools that I require for system maintenance are included. I can easily monitor all of my clients throughout the world I did not give much thought to it, however, improvements could be made to Zabbix.…
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

"Overall, from one to ten, I rate Checkmk a nine."
"Checkmk helps me compare data and foresee issues."
"The alerting system in Checkmk really works properly."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Checkmk was built on a platform that was user-friendly, and I could build my charts easily."
"I really like the auto-discovery feature."
"It's versatile, scalable, and easier to use compared to other solutions like Nagios and OMD."
"The most valuable features of Checkmk are its resource monitoring, infra monitoring, and log factor configuration."
More Checkmk pros
"The solution's design has recently changed and it is visually pleasing with more color, for example, there is blue, black, and white."
"The most valuable features of Zabbix are flexibility and a single interface for different types of monitoring."
"I have found that the reporting feature in Zabbix is most valuable. Additionally, the solution has given us bandwidth options, we are able to see where problems are. For example, we noticed a problem that occurred because of a bad interface going in the wireless VLAN."
"Simple network monitoring that is easy to install and manage."
"The most valuable function for me is the auto-discovery of interfaces in devices. When you integrate devices into the tool, it automatically finds the interfaces, which is very helpful for my job. Integration and configuration run smoothly in my experience with Juniper and Aruba devices."
"The initial setup, while not simple, is easier than other products."
"There is a problems page that shows us every warning or problem that occurs on our VMs globally. The map screen is also really useful because this is something that was missing. I don't know every other tool in the market. So, I don't know if this is a good point of only Zabbix, or other tools are also doing it, but from my point of view, this is the most useful page that I use, along with the problems page that efficiently lists the problem, recovery time, ending hours, starting hours, and so on."
"The initial setup was very quick. The first time it was long because I didn't know it yet. I was only using Windows. The first time was very difficult because of the operating system."
More Zabbix pros
 

Cons

"If an alert is generated for a specific pattern in the log, and if Checkmk catches that log, it will stay there even after the alert is resolved."
"It is easy for tech-savvy people, but newcomers might find it intimidating."
"In Checkmk, the documentation can probably be improved a bit more."
"Checkmk does not allow running scripts at varying intervals."
"The main challenge for us is that we're moving from Nagios to Checkmk, and we're still getting used to the new way of working."
"Checkmk does not work too easily with the PowerStore. I use a PowerShell script as Checkmk runs on Linux and a Windows system, connecting with the Checkmk agent."
"I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
More Checkmk cons
"Zabbix isn't very good at automation just yet."
"I think the reporting part of Zabbix can be improved in terms of more user-friendly graphics to display the collected data. Many simple users who don't know how to use Zabbix properly might get confused by the reporting, although at the same time it is very versatile for my company."
"Even though it’s such a powerful monitoring system, it would be more helpful if it had a flexible UI."
"Zabbix is powerful, but it is difficult to understand initially. There are many things that can be improved, but we might not be using Zabbix to its fullest extent. The software has more features than we need."
"The main problem with Zabbix is that you have to spend time writing templates for all of the products that you have."
"I have experienced stability issues approximately five or ten times."
"Zabbix claims that there is an auto-discovery process but my team member was facing difficulty and was told that it's not really automatic, and there are some manual steps."
"The event correlation could be better."
More Zabbix cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Checkmk is cheaper compared to other enterprise products."
"The product is affordable."
"Checkmk is a fairly reasonably priced solution."
"This is an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."
"It is open source. If you want to have a subscription or official support, you can pay for it. They have different plans, which are not that expensive. The plans are based on per monitoring server, not per monitored equipment. So, it is not at all expensive, and you can also live without the support if you want a cheaper option."
"We’re using the free version, which covers all our current needs."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"It's free software released under the GNU/GPL license."
"We pay the subscription for support by year."
"It is worth every cent to pay or even study to do your own installation."
"It’s free of cost."
More Zabbix pricing and cost advice
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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…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise34
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Checkmk?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Checkmk?
I will get more information about Checkmk when the proof of concept is done. It's going to be before the summer. There will be a report about the tool and a recommendation to use it. So far, it loo...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Checkmk?
Checkmk ( /products/checkmk-reviews ) is a monitoring tool, so that's what I will use it for. Right now, it's not in production, but it's in a proof of concept phase. It looks good, so probably, du...
See all answers
What do you like most about Zabbix?
The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?
If you want to save costs, you can use Zabbix.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Zabbix?
The reporting is lacking because this is an open-source tool, and nowadays, management's expectation is that the reports should be of high quality and every information should be presented in a con...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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LibreNMS vs Checkmk
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Icinga vs Checkmk Logo
Icinga vs Checkmk
Compared 7% of the time
PRTG Network Monitor vs Checkmk Logo
PRTG Network Monitor vs Checkmk
Compared 5% of the time
Centreon vs Checkmk Logo
Centreon vs Checkmk
Compared 4% of the time
Nagios Core vs Checkmk Logo
Nagios Core vs Checkmk
Compared 4% of the time
More Checkmk Competitors
LibreNMS vs Zabbix Logo
LibreNMS vs Zabbix
Compared 9% of the time
Icinga vs Zabbix Logo
Icinga vs Zabbix
Compared 6% of the time
NetXMS vs Zabbix Logo
NetXMS vs Zabbix
Compared 4% of the time
Centreon vs Zabbix Logo
Centreon vs Zabbix
Compared 4% of the time
Nagios XI vs Zabbix Logo
Nagios XI vs Zabbix
Compared 4% of the time
More Zabbix Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Checkmk
August 2025
Checkmk reportDownload Checkmk product report
Buyer's Guide
Zabbix
August 2025
Zabbix reportDownload Zabbix product report
 

Overview

Checkmk provides a comprehensive monitoring solution designed to streamline IT infrastructure management with features like auto-discovery, custom checks, and effective alerting.

Checkmk serves as a powerful tool for organizations managing large networks of servers, databases, and network appliances across multiple locations. It simplifies monitoring tasks with features like auto-discovery, custom scripting, and Slack integration. Users benefit from its resource monitoring capabilities and scalability, although there are areas for improvement, such as alert acknowledgment and greater usability. It supports both Linux and Windows environments, enabling effective oversight of IT infrastructure. The growing body of documentation enhances its adaptability in complex settings.

What are the key features of Checkmk?
  • Auto-Discovery: Identifies new hosts and applies monitoring rules automatically.
  • Custom Monitoring Checks: Tailor checks for databases and specific applications.
  • Slack Integration: Receive downtime alerts directly in Slack channels.
  • Automation for Scripts: Streamline repetitive tasks with scripts.
  • Effective Alerting System: Offers timely notifications on network activities.
What benefits can users expect?
  • Resource Efficiency: Saves time on configuration with automated features.
  • Scalability: Easily adapts to growing network and system requirements.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Suitable option for budget-conscious users.
  • User-Friendly Setup: Easy to configure, reducing the learning curve.

Industries deploying Checkmk frequently utilize it for monitoring IT infrastructure, including servers and network appliances, to manage proactive issue identification and compliance. Companies employ it in the proof of concept phase or for ongoing monitoring, covering hosts, services, and custom application metrics.

Checkmk

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software that provides real-time monitoring and alerting for servers, networks, applications, and services. 

It offers a wide range of features including data collection, visualization, and reporting. 

With its user-friendly interface and customizable dashboards, Zabbix helps organizations ensure the availability and performance of their IT infrastructure.

Zabbix
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba
Buyer's Guide
Checkmk vs. Zabbix
July 2025
Free Report: Checkmk vs. Zabbix
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