NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs Nagios Core comparison

Nagios and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nagios is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.3, while NETSCOUT is ranked #36 with an average rating of 10.0. Nagios holds a 2.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Nagios users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NETSCOUT users who would recommend it.

Nagios Core

Read 51 Nagios Core reviews

3,994 Views
3,475 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Read 6 NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE reviews

668 Views
621 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Nagios Core

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nagios Core and NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE are competing products in the network monitoring category. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE seems to have the upper hand due to its superior features and advanced functionalities, making it a compelling choice for its price.

Features: Nagios Core offers extensive plug-in support, flexibility in monitoring a wide range of network services, and competitive pricing. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE provides real-time visibility, comprehensive analytics, and advanced functionalities giving detailed insights into network performance.

Room for Improvement: Nagios Core could improve by simplifying its deployment model, enhancing customer support, and integrating more analytics capabilities. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE may focus on reducing initial costs, expanding plug-in support, and increasing flexibility in its deployment options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nagios Core's open-source deployment can be complex yet is backed by a robust community for technical assistance. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE offers streamlined deployment with dedicated customer service, making it appealing for organizations seeking quicker setup and ongoing support.

Pricing and ROI: Nagios Core's open-source model allows for lower upfront costs but may involve longer setup times and higher maintenance efforts, impacting ROI. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE, although more expensive initially, provides better ROI through efficient setup, usability, and comprehensive analytics.

To learn more, read our detailed NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core

September 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

Nagios Core

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (11th)

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

36th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios Core is 2.5%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nagios Core	2.5%
NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE	0.4%
Other	97.1%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Nishith-Vyas

Tech Lead at STL Digital Limited

Valuable reporting and alert system with room for PDF export improvements

The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak. It should be generated automatically with minimal human intervention and should be exportable as a PDF. Besides that, an integrated PDF export feature for reports is necessary. Also, the alert mechanism and graphing mechanism need to be integrated properly into Nagios Core. Currently, integrating these requires advanced Linux knowledge. Integration of more visualization tools like Grafana and Prometheus for better graphing and visualization is also recommended.

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Leandro Di Maria

Gerente De Ventas at internet winds ag

Offers real-time monitoring capabilities, which help businesses optimize their operations

The tools are part of managed environments, but when the capabilities of the routers need to be increased, we use NETSCOUT to manage things at an international level. The tool's user interface is okay. It would be great if the tool could provide alerts during attacks in Spanish. In the next release, if the traffic analysis could send our company an alert before an attack starts, it would be even better. Before an attack starts, seeing the traffic behavior and activities would be great. The tool should also share alerts since it is an area where the product has certain shortcomings.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services."

"Nagios monitors our servers, so we know if anything goes wrong and can solve the problem before it happens."

"The most valuable feature of Nagios Core is the ability to check the availability of the server for network connectivity. Additionally, the interface is good."

"Alert calls occur anytime a service goes down or a matrix is difficult and that helps us to quickly restore service and transfer work."

"Key features include the GUI interface, its notification capabilities, and the real-time reporting."

"I like that it's very simple to install, easy to manage and deploy, and easy to use for monitoring."

"It is fairly easy to set up, and we can monitor pretty much everything we want to."

"Nagios Core integrates with tools like Splunk, Datadog, or Dynatrace. It is usually used as a feed to provide more technical information about devices or hosts to another system."

More Nagios Core pros

"The most valuable features of this solution are monitoring and maintaining traffic queuing, as well as seeing who is using the bandwidth."

"I like the single pane of glass view because it presents everything in one window, obviously. You can see it all. With a quick glance, you get a pretty good snapshot of what's going on in a particular situation."

"The most valuable feature of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is the network troubleshooting analysis. You can pinpoint an issue before it could shut down the network."

"The solution's technical support team consists of good engineers and technicians."

"This is a very reliable and complete solution for troubleshooting and monitoring environments."

"I like the single pane of glass view. I like being able to go to one place instead of having to hunt around for everything."

Cons

"The mapping is a little hard."

"The dashboard should be improved."

"The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved."

"We're using the free version, which limits us in terms of the things that we can do. If we had the paid version, a lot of our issues would probably go away. For example, we can't isolate instances that are being built or updated with the production ones. When they're being built, on Nagios, they're showing in red. It'd be nice to be able to partition those off until they're all green, and then we can bring them into the environment. This is probably because we've got the free version and not the paid version. If we went for the paid version, it would probably allow us to do exactly what we want to or remove the restrictions that we have, but if we are able to isolate instances in the free version, it would make life much easier."

"The core version is no match for the XI version."

"There is room for improvement in the graphics."

"The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak."

"Nagios Core does not have a graphic display."

More Nagios Core cons

"They require a lot of manual effort as traffic flows, networks, and formal times change."

"Before an attack starts, seeing the traffic behavior and activities would be great. The tool should also share alerts since it is an area where the product has certain shortcomings."

"Usability is the area with the biggest room for improvement. We've found that with NETSCOUT, while it's a fantastic product, the usability is a major factor because there are just way too many clicks. It's obvious, from our experience, that the people who are developing the product aren't using it."

"The GUI interface and dashboards could be more attractive to the customer."

"In terms of additional features, I would like to see better event notification. Right now, we put in an email address to receive an alert and it receives every event and every alert that comes out. We need something a little more granular."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"We are using the free version."

"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."

"It's free."

"We are using the free version of Nagios Core."

"Nagios Core is an open source solution, and there are no licensing fees."

"The Nagios Core (PNP4Nagios + Core) is free and can be setup by Netadmin within a few hours. The only additional cost is the cloud server."

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"Cost is contracted on a yearly basis. There is no additional cost beyond the standard licensing."

"The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive."

"The price of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is high. The other solutions are less expensive but we cannot depend on the other solutions, they are not as stable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Government

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nagios Core?

What I like about Nagios Core is that it helps me ensure everything is running smoothly by checking the status of hosts and services.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios Core?

Nagios Core is a free and open-source product. We don't charge for the product itself, but we charge for the man-hour costs related to installation, configuration, ongoing operation, and maintenance.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Nagios Core?

The dashboard should be improved. It's very simple. I don't have a very clear or specific suggestion. You can change the skin of the dashboard, however, it's good for me.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

I use the solution in my company to analyze international traffic.

See all answers

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Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Checkmk vs Nagios Core

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 29% of the time

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Compared 28% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

ScienceLogic vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 14% of the time

OP5 Monitor vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 14% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

September 2025

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

September 2025

Download NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE product report

Also Known As

No data available

nGeniusPULSE

Overview

This is IT infrastructure monitoring's industry-standard, open-source core. Free without professional support services.

Nagios

NETSCOUT’s nGeniusPULSE delivers the visibility needed into today’s evolving IT eco-system to ensure the availability, reliability, and performance of your mission-critical business services across your multi-cloud environment, from wherever users need access.

NETSCOUT

Sample Customers

Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel

Banco Votorantim

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core

September 2025

Free Report: NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core

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