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Cisco DNA Center vs PRTG Network Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco DNA Center enhances efficiency by reducing configuration time, despite licensing costs, with positive but varied ROI evaluations.
Sentiment score
6.9
PRTG Network Monitor boosts efficiency and cost savings by automating monitoring, preventing issues, and consolidating data for fast ROI.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco's DNA Center support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for slow responses and challenges with complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.9
PRTG Network Monitor support is responsive, with online resources available, but improvements are needed for complex queries and remote assistance.
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
Tutorials are available so I can manage any issue with PRTG Network Monitor easily.
The setup process is well-documented, making it easy to deploy.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco DNA Center is highly scalable, effectively supports small to large networks, but licensing costs can be high.
Sentiment score
7.3
PRTG Network Monitor offers scalable network monitoring with remote probes, supporting small to enterprise environments despite potential high-sensor performance issues.
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
On a scale of one to ten, scalability is rated as 9.5.
You can install them in each network, even if they are not connected, and it works.
PRTG Network Monitor has the ability to scale and add new devices.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco DNA Center is generally stable, with some users reporting occasional bugs and needed updates affecting stability.
Sentiment score
7.9
PRTG Network Monitor is stable and reliable, with performance issues typically linked to setup, maintenance, and configuration.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco DNA Center needs better integration, user-friendliness, and support, with pricing, scalability, and compatibility issues impacting its effectiveness.
PRTG Network Monitor requires enhancements in performance, cloud integration, user interface, and affordability to meet user demands effectively.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
PRTG Network Monitor can sometimes be too detailed and cluttered at the beginning, making it heavy to use.
They previously had a perpetual model, which meant that you bought a license and if you missed the end of the time, it still worked; you just lost the possibility of some upgrades.
They need to improve application performance monitoring, error tracing mechanisms, and log management.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco DNA Center is costly, justified for enterprises, challenging for mid-market, with SaaS and promotions occasionally aiding affordability.
PRTG Network Monitor provides flexible pricing and comprehensive features, appealing to enterprises with various budget and monitoring needs.
It's not too high, nor too low, but it's reasonable.
The prices are very high for PRTG Network Monitor.
Pricing is by the number of devices, not by sensor.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, security, AI-driven insights, and automation, enhancing network control and operational efficiency.
PRTG Network Monitor offers rapid deployment, scalability, detailed insights, cost-effective licensing, and real-time monitoring, ensuring high customer satisfaction.
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
PRTG Network Monitor already provided me with 100 free sensors, which is enough for my network monitoring.
PRTG Network Monitor is easy to set up. Within a few minutes, it is operational.
It is advantageous because it can be deployed on-premises.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
PRTG Network Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), Cloud Monitoring Software (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.2%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed  Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
Noman-Saleem - PeerSpot reviewer
Detects suden changes but significant pricing concerns affect the effectiveness of network traffic troubleshooting
We use PRTG Network Monitor for monitoring traffic on interfaces and the behavior of network traffic. If there are sudden changes in traffic or any configuration issues, we can sort them out using PRTG. It's very helpful for troubleshooting and monitoring traffic utilization on our interfaces…
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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
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
We have utilized the software-defined access (SDA) feature of Cisco DNA Center. The AI-driven needs enhancements and Integration and unification of visibility and monitoring to include other areas ...
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...
What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?
The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?
The pricing is in the middle. It's not too high, nor too low, but it's reasonable.
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Network Monitor and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.