NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs Nagios Core comparison

Nagios and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nagios is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.2, while NETSCOUT is ranked #31 with an average rating of 10.0. Nagios holds a 3.0% 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

4,161 Views
3,242 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Read 6 NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE reviews

636 Views
401 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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core

April 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

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (13th)

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

31st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios Core is 3.0%, up from 3.0% 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

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

"The reporting structure and the feature set are valuable to me."

"It has made the life of the network operations staff more proactive in managing the resources of the infrastructure. It prevents disasters long before they can take place."

"We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script."

"Dashboard provides monitor of total assets."

"Provides timely notifications."

"Other products are good but from the configuration point of view Nagios is really very lightweight. The price is really good in my opinion. Another important thing is that my Nagios engine still works with Dual core 8GB ram for the last 10 years."

"The good thing about Nagios Core is it covers everything."

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

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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

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

Cons

"It is a bit slow due to latency."

"It's not that easy to install the product itself. Also, the UI is a bit hard for regular users to navigate through."

"There is room for improvement in the graphics."

"The initial setup process could be easier."

"The mapping is a little hard."

"The scalability needs improvement, it's not scalable at this time."

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

"I would like to see a sensor that shows the traffic of a user and what they're doing on the network."

More Nagios Core cons

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The enterprise version has technical support. The version we are using is free."

"Nagios Core is free to use."

"The product is cheaply priced."

"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."

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

"Most the plugin features are free."

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

"The solution is expensive."

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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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

Comparisons

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Compared 26% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Centreon vs Nagios Core

Compared 9% of the time

OP5 Monitor vs Nagios Core

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 34% of the time

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Compared 28% of the time

Flowmon vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 23% of the time

Checkmk vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 15% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

April 2025

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

April 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

April 2025

Free Report: NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs. Nagios Core

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