Kentik vs NetBrain comparison

Why PeerSpot?

The compared Kentik and NetBrain solutions aren't in the same category. Kentik is ranked #13 in NMS , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 1.6% mindshare in the category. NetBrain is ranked #18 in NT , and holds a 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Kentik users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of NetBrain users who would recommend it.

Kentik

Read 22 Kentik reviews

7,962 Views
6,927 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetBrain

Read 6 NetBrain reviews

4,687 Views
609 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Kentik

NetBrain

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Kentik and NetBrain based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, SolarWinds, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software.

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Network Monitoring Software

September 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

Kentik

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (13th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (7th)

NetBrain

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (18th), Network Automation (6th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Kentik is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.6%, up 0.9% compared to last year.
NetBrain, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 3.3% mindshare, up 2.8% since last year.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Kentik	1.6%
Zabbix	3.6%
SolarWinds NPM	3.6%
Other	91.2%

Network Monitoring Software

Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
NetBrain	3.3%
Wireshark	19.1%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	8.3%
Other	69.3%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Gcecilio

Network Engineer at a media company with 51-200 employees

Traffic insights have reduced transit costs and support secure, direct connections with providers

The best features that Kentik offers are the ability to identify traffic end-to-end and to know which transit is used, if it goes through any other transit, to see the entire flow, from the subscriber to the content provider and vice versa, from the content provider to the subscriber.I can also determine whether it is symmetric or asymmetric traffic, and if it goes through any provider that has some kind of bottleneck. That is very important. Regarding the security part, which is also possible to handle through Kentik, you can configure it in a way that makes the network more secure and reduces the amount of dirty traffic or attacks received. Kentik has had a high positive impact on my organization. Besides the cost reduction, it has been possible to perform troubleshooting more effectively, and also regarding DDoS-related attacks. In addition to cost reduction, we had a more reliable connection. Since the moment we identified that it was possible to have a direct connection with content providers like CDN77, Cloudflare, and Akamai, we established a direct connection there through a PNI with these content providers, making the network less dependent on an IP transit provider.

Read full review

Deborah Gamelin

Vice President at Asset Track for Cloud, LLC

Good monitoring and troubleshoot capabilities, improves overall network traffic visibility

In my organization, we had 130,000 network devices that needed to be brought into the solution and mapped. NetBrain can handle the scale but the engineers that manage those devices have to go in and update all of them to allow NetBrain permission to poll them. It can get a little stressful for everybody when you're trying to roll out new stuff when you've got other issues that have to be addressed with other devices. In some cases, our devices had no automation at all. One example is the Cisco 3650. Right now, if you went through the inventory list, you see that we have different versions running. Some are on one version, whereas others are on another version. The problem with upgrading them is that they need to be done overnight because we don't want to disrupt any network traffic during business hours. Consequently, it could take us years to upgrade the versions before we can even get them onto these new tools. This may be an internal issue but it's a big one when you have a lot of devices. Even if you had 10,000 devices, it's still an issue. You have to consider the compatibility of the device against the tool, and being able to use certain commands to upgrade it.

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

"Monitoring operational efficiency is easy."

"Kentik has had a positive impact on my organization in terms of our network visibility because we leave our dashboard on a display screen, where the entire engineering team can see it."

"One of the valuable features is the intuitive nature of building out reports, and then triggering actions based on specific metrics from those reports. It has a really good UI and the ability to surface data through the reporting functions is pretty good. That's helped a lot in the security space."

"Kentik has had a high positive impact on my organization; besides the cost reduction, it has been possible to perform troubleshooting more effectively, and also regarding DDoS-related attacks."

"I really love the Data Explorer. I use it all the time to go in and craft exactly what I need to see. I'm able to then take that story and explain it to the executives. I've done that a couple of times and it is helpful."

"Overall, I would give Kentik nine out of ten stars."

"I can say that I am so happy with this platform because it is very useful for us."

"Technical support is second to none."

More Kentik pros

"Chain management is a good feature. I don't get it on other solutions."

"NetBrain is a very simple tool."

"NetBrain is faster, better and level sets the engineering technical sets."

"Enables maps to be drawn out."

"This product has good network monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities."

"This tool is exactly what we wanted and needed."

"Other advice to users considering the solution would be: go with NetBrain."

"Once it's up and running and you don't have the strange requirements I had, and you just want some basic maps, it'll work."

More NetBrain pros

Cons

"Version 4 of the platform is good and going in the right direction."

"We asked for a way, regarding the potential networks that exist, to hook Kentik up with external tools like peering DBs to correlate things together and see what we can do... This is all in the [next] beta now."

"Sometimes it's difficult to order the dimensions correctly when trying to make Sankey flow diagrams."

"I would like to see them explore the area of cost analysis."

"Sometimes, the tool has complications, so we must deal with the additional support from the tool's end."

"I believe they're already working on this, but I would love for them to create better integrations from network flow data to application performance — tracing — so that we could overlay that data more readily. With more companies going hybrid, flow logs and flow data, whether it be VPC or on-prem, matched with application performance and trace data, is pretty important."

"I've checked out the V4 version of the interface and it's still a little bit clunky for me to use. I still go back to the old interface. That's definitely one that they still need to work on. It doesn't seem like everything that you get in the V3, the older interface, is there. For instance, I was trying to add a user or do the administrative tasks in V4, and I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to do that."

"The only downside to Kentik, something that I don't like, is that it's great that it shows you where these anomalies lie, but it's not actionable. Kentik is valuable, don't get me wrong, but if it had an actionable piece to it..."

More Kentik cons

"Netbrain must get AWS functionality done."

"It's okay on the value, a bit expensive for just maps, but makes it a lot easier to see things visually and take it from there."

"When I used the installed product before, I wasn't very satisfied with the support."

"The IP interface brief isn't consistent."

"Support needs to improve for the installed product and some of the reporting could be more flexible to provide more complete cataloging."

"The pricing needs to be improved."

"Licensing is based on a per-device basis, which means that it can get very expensive if you have a large number of devices."

"If you're comparing NetBrain as an NDR, I would rate it as a four or five, however, NetBrain has a different aspect of looking at things within the network."

More NetBrain cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is cheaply priced."

"We have an annual contract with Kentik that we renew each year for a set number of licenses. We also have some burstable licenses which we can spin up and spin down, and those are paid as they are used."

"The product is expensive, but less expensive than some of the competition and worth the price."

"Licensing is based on a per-device basis, which means that it can get very expensive if you have a large number of devices."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Media Company

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	10

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kentik?

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been limited because I was not responsible for that in my company, but I have spoken with my boss, and he reported that the licensing mode...

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What needs improvement with Kentik?

Kentik can be improved by enhancing the alerting system, especially the way templates work and the hierarchy of these alerts.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Kentik?

My main use case for Kentik is as a network monitoring system and flow analysis tool. A specific example of how I use Kentik for network monitoring is monitoring devices or services that go down an...

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs NetBrain

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Kentik

September 2026

Download Kentik product report

Buyer's Guide

NetBrain

September 2026

Download NetBrain product report

Overview

Kentik provides real-time visibility into network infrastructure, focusing on monitoring, data visualization, and flow analysis to manage traffic patterns efficiently.

With robust analytics capabilities, Kentik offers insights into BGP peering status, aids in DDoS detection, and allows for detailed telemetry through its intuitive interface. The platform's SaaS nature simplifies operations by eliminating server maintenance concerns. Multi-vendor support and synthetic testing enhance network security and performance by simulating customer scenarios, while its API offers automation for querying and reporting tasks.

What are the key features of Kentik?

Real-Time Visibility: Monitors network infrastructure effectively.
Data Visualization: Offers powerful tools for viewing complex data.
Flow Analysis: Analyzes traffic flow for optimal management.
BGP Peering Insights: Provides in-depth peering status checks.
DDoS Alerting: Notifies about potential DDoS threats.
Data Explorer: Aids in understanding traffic patterns.
Synthetic Testing: Simulates scenarios to enhance security and performance.

What benefits can be found in user reviews?

Automation: Users value the flexibility of its API for automating tasks.
Ease of Use: SaaS model streamlines user engagement, eliminating server maintenance.
Flexibility: Report customization and query settings are highly appreciated.
Enhanced Observability: Telemetry and multi-vendor support increase oversight.

Industries implement Kentik for network monitoring, traffic management, and flow data analysis across both on-prem and cloud setups. It proves valuable for detecting DDoS events, managing peering relationships, and optimizing costs, besides managing CDN configurations and performing synthetic tests in diverse environments.

Kentik

NetBrain offers a comprehensive network automation tool designed to streamline and enhance the efficiency of network management, providing dynamic visibility and facilitating prompt issue resolution through an intuitive platform.

NetBrain allows IT professionals to automate complex network tasks, improving operational efficiency and reducing the likelihood of human errors. Designed with scalability in mind, NetBrain provides dynamic network mapping, instant visibility of network changes, and seamless integration with existing network tools. These capabilities ensure IT infrastructure operates smoothly, thus enhancing productivity and reducing operational costs. NetBrain is widely used by organizations seeking to optimize their network operations and reliability.

What are the key features of NetBrain?

Dynamic Network Mapping: Automatically generates real-time visual maps of network topology.
Runbook Automation: Automates repetitive tasks to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
Incident Diagnosis: Quickly identifies and resolves network issues, minimizing downtime.
Integration Capabilities: Seamless integration with existing network management tools.
Network Change Management: Monitors and documents changes to ensure compliance and avoid conflicts.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in NetBrain reviews?

Reduced Operational Costs: Decreases the need for manual interventions and resource allocation.
Improved Efficiency: Streamlines network operations, saving time and effort.
Enhanced Network Reliability: Proactively addresses network faults, reducing downtime.
Scalability: Supports growing network demands without compromising performance.
Increased Productivity: Provides tools that enable IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

NetBrain is implemented across industries such as healthcare, finance, and telecommunications, where dependable network performance is crucial. In healthcare, it ensures uninterrupted network service for critical applications. In finance, it bolsters security and operational efficiency. Telecommunications firms use NetBrain to handle large-scale networks, reducing the risk of outages and improving customer service.

NetBrain

Sample Customers

Pandora, Yelp, Neustar, Box, University of Washington, Zoom, Tata, and Cogent.

CompuCon, TD Ameritrade, Move Inc.

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2026

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