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ManageEngine OpManager vs SolarWinds NPM vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of ManageEngine OpManager is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds NPM is 4.4%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WhatsUp Gold is 1.2%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Charles A - PeerSpot reviewer
Reporting features improve operational efficiency while weekend support needs enhancement
Support is moderate and needs improvement, especially during weekends when technicians perform upgrades. During weekends, they need to provide more support to ensure a smooth transition. There is a call for ManageEngine OpManager to scale better in automation and AI functionality. Although the product stability is good, support enhancement is necessary to enable better planning for upgrades and maintenance activities.
Masud Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers alerting service to trigger alerts and easy to manage
For end-user performance monitoring, we like features such as availability of our all devices and device/interface monitoring. We have also used NCM (Network Configuration Manager) for our network. We use the alerting service to trigger alerts based on specific thresholds, like CPU or memory utilization exceeding a certain percentage. There are AI network initiatives in SolarWinds NPM for some lengthy issues. For example, it shows availability reports. But for bandwidth monitoring, it's not very clear how much bandwidth is being consumed. SolarWinds provide real-time bandwidth monitoring. It is not difficult to manage the network with SolarWinds. We have one customer with a satellite location. If we have a large network with, let's say, 43,000 elements, and our current SolarWinds license supports only 30,000, we would need to create another polling engine to accommodate the additional 13,000 elements. It's limited to the polling engine, so we can only support 30,000 elements per engine. So it's only for 30,000, but we have at least 40,000 elements in our network.
Tom Condo - PeerSpot reviewer
If CPU, memory, or disk space is over-utilized, it alerts us immediately via text or email if there is an issue
When it comes to the intuitiveness of the topology mapping feature, our network architect created a vision diagram of our entire network and then created the links tied into the WhatsUp active monitoring to different spots on our topology map. It's one of the more critical functions we do here. We have the map displayed in different places in our room and help desk. We get alerted via emails but we can also see it visually. It does what it says it's going to do. We find this feature very helpful. The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is. All the information is provided. This feature really helps. You can see the correlation between that link and what failed. This feature is very helpful. The interface is fairly intuitive. Some of our users used SolarWinds and Nagios, and WhatsUp is easy in comparison. Once you get set up, the look, feel, and configuration are good. Our network architect had never used it before but he was able to create the Visio and map. It was very simple. He has no problems with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It helps us a lot for monitoring our servers in one console, instead of going to individual servers."
"Some of the most valuable features are the accessibility of the solution and the fact that it is simpler than other products. For example, discovering devices in the network is very simple, making it user-friendly."
"The setup was easy."
"The solution is easy to deploy. It's also easy to manage and monitor the environment. Instead of being reactive, it's proactive."
"Desktop central products feature dashboards that are neat and offer comprehensive information."
"The most valuable feature of ManageEngine OpManager is the management of the virtual machine and the host machine."
"You can put all of your work on there, they'll send you an email or send you a text. That functionality as a network engineer is the one I like the most. I do like the fact that we can schedule reports. That works too because that's a lot fewer spreadsheets that I have to create."
"The uptime and monitoring are valuable to us because we need to monitor the uptime of our services, the memory, and the CPUs."
"For end-user performance monitoring, we like features such as availability of our all devices."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The ability to customize the views and dashboards is nice. SolarWinds also allows us to access the data via the API. That's probably the feature I liked the most."
"We found that it was easy to operate, and it was simple if anyone has entry-level working experience or even if someone is not experienced."
"Reporting tools are a great feature along with the ability to create customized reports for you"
"The solution is easy to install and it takes a couple of hours."
"The product covers our needs for the basic care and feeding of servers, whether they are physical or virtual."
"We can proactively fix historical issues, so we won't face those problems in future."
"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of resources."
"Our local support team provides excellent service."
"I use it on premises to monitor my network database. We monitor the link up/down and use the SNMP traps as well."
"The most valuable feature of WhatsUp Gold is NetFlow and the virtualized maps."
"Auto scanning is most valuable. It looks for rogue devices on your network."
"It is easy to access and discover devices, as well as monitor them automatically. The topology discover is also a useful feature."
"The documentation is very good."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the visibility it offers of everything in the network and infrastructure."
 

Cons

"What I'd like ManageEngine OpManager to improve on is artificial intelligence. In particular, the machine learning feature should be integrated with the sensor flow. Doing this will give leverage, especially when you look at other products such as the Cisco DNA Center. When a switch goes down, I should be able to build on the correlation of other physical devices it's connected to so that I can integrate that with my CA CMDB. The ManageEngine OpManager team needs to draw a long-term roadmap where that feature becomes an integral part of the solution because right now, machine learning in ManageEngine OpManager is a long process. The solution doesn't have MLS search and I want to see ML being developed and applied for CA CMDB to greatly reduce the burden of tying everything. For example, if I have a data center switch that goes down now, I should know what server it's connected to, and when that switch goes down at twenty-four ports, I would get twenty-four alerts for different devices plugged in. I should be able to make a correlation that the major problem lies in the switch and not with the twenty-four elements connected to that switch. That is where machine learning should come into play and the ManageEngine OpManager AI should indicate "This is where the root of your problem is." It could be difficult, but this is a feature that should be improved or added to the solution."
"WMI and SNMP integration with the domain controller should be seamless"
"We encounter challenges in monitoring cloud services. I would also appreciate it if there was someone available to walk you through the documentation."
"The solution is a bit difficult to configure. There are quite a number of configurations and plugins that you must handle early in the process."
"ManageEngine OpManager can improve by having better updates for critical issues."
"If you have a ton of devices, it might slow down a bit."
"I would like to see more enhancements made to the product."
"The licensing for this solution is not straightforward and should be improved."
"Being able to detect devices that are trying to connect wirelessly would make using this solution much easier."
"This solution would benefit from expanding on the capabilities within the API."
"I would like to see integration with antivirus or other security endpoint solutions."
"SolarWinds NPM needs to increase its elements. One polling engine can only support 10,000 elements then it becomes slow. There are limitations even if you have the full SLX version license."
"The integration needs to be improved."
"The integration with the APIs and the web servers deployed can definitely be improved."
"We'd like to see a bit more automation in the future."
"The solution's network discovery and node addition processes need more work."
"The new release cadence needs to be improved. It takes a while for them to add new features and functionality. There should be a quicker turnaround with new versions."
"Users want SMS available via Whatsapp Gold. They don't want to go through third party SMS servers. The solution should work to make this possible."
"Regional product team support is not very good."
"Importing the maps and being able to customize them could be easier."
"The product is old and not updated."
"The initial setup of WhatsUp Gold is a medium range of difficulty levels. However, if it is your first time it could be difficult."
"WhatsUp Gold should work on real-time monitoring and configuration management. If they succeed in doing this, the solution will cover all the network troubleshooting aspects and will be a benefit."
"The point system is not clear and clarity around this would improve our understanding of the system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We had perpetual licenses. The cost was around 36,000 for OPManager, and then you'd have the yearly maintenance fee of 2,000 or 3,000."
"It is not really expensive; it is nominal licensing."
"We have a standard license for ManageEngine OpManager. We purchased the license for one year and now we are upgrading it soon."
"It is reasonably priced."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The initial cost is low and the add-ons are reasonable."
"The solution is highly affordable"
"In terms of pricing, I would rate it a two out of five. It was expensive."
"Our customer reports that the solution is somewhat costly and licensing is a bit complicated."
"I think that the cost has risen, but the functionality and versatility is way above other products."
"USD $15,000 annually for maintenance."
"The pricing is very expensive for SolarWinds. That's a huge disadvantage for it."
"The price is more expensive than some other products, such as ManageEngine."
"It is relatively inexpensive compared to other products in the same category."
"We pay for SolarWinds NPM yearly. We buy it and then we renew it, but it's not subscription-based. I don't remember the value exactly, because it's my manager who manages pricing, but we pay $60,000 per year for all the solutions. Pricing will also depend on the number of devices. We have a lot of devices."
"SolarWinds NPM is very expensive, and we pay ten thousand yearly."
"This is a well priced solution."
"There are some subscription charges that are quite heavy. I need to pay for support every year and these charges can be quite expensive. Aside from the initial cost for the tool, you need to pay additionally for support."
"The most valuable feature is the cost compared to other solutions."
"The pricing can be on the expensive side when considering competing products."
"The tool's price is reasonable. WhatsUp Gold is cheaper than SolarWinds."
"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 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."
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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
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
5%
Educational Organization
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine OpManager?
The pricing was okay. However, it has been increasing a lot lately. The product is not worth the money.
What needs improvement with ManageEngine OpManager?
Support is moderate and needs improvement, especially during weekends when technicians perform upgrades. During weeke...
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
It actually depends on the exact purpose or kind of devices (network devices, servers, something else). Some tools ar...
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
We are partners with SolarWinds and we sell a lot of Network management to large enterprises also because of scalabil...
What do you like most about WhatsUp Gold?
The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network is...
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 fir...
What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?
Improvements are needed in integration, especially for WhatsApp call and messages. Our region heavily uses WhatsApp M...
 

Also Known As

OpManager
Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bonita, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Galaxy, Fiserv Credit Union Division, Universitas 21 Global, ERP Suites LLC
Microsoft, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, and MasterCard
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Auvik, SolarWinds and others in Network Monitoring Software. Updated: July 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.