Nagios Core vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager comparison

Nagios and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nagios is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5, while SolarWinds is ranked #107. Nagios holds a 2.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Nagios users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Nagios Core

Read 51 Nagios Core reviews

4,590 Views
4,039 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Read 2 SolarWinds Network Automation Manager reviews

494 Views
168 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Nagios Core

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nagios Core and SolarWinds Network Automation Manager are solutions in the network monitoring and automation category. SolarWinds holds the upper hand with its superior features, despite potentially higher costs.

Features: Nagios Core offers strong open-source monitoring capabilities, customizable alerts, and an extensive plugin library allowing flexibility. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager provides advanced automation tools, comprehensive reporting, and integration capabilities, delivering a robust enterprise solution.

Room for Improvement: Nagios Core could improve by simplifying its manual configuration process, enhancing community support, and streamlining its deployment for complex environments. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager would benefit from reducing its higher pricing structure, increasing support for non-enterprise settings, and improving scalability for smaller organizations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nagios Core offers a flexible deployment model requiring technical expertise for setups, supported by its community. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager provides a streamlined deployment process with professional assistance, ensuring smoother customer service and thorough onboarding thanks to detailed documentation.

Pricing and ROI: Nagios Core is a cost-effective solution due to its open-source nature with low initial setup costs, suitable for budget-conscious projects. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager involves higher upfront investments but justifies these with its comprehensive features and the potential for greater ROI in large-scale environments.

To learn more, read our detailed Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

July 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

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (9th)

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

107th

Average Rating

5.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Automation (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios Core is 2.8%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is 0.1%, up from 0.1% 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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Giulio Valeri

Owner at SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SRL

Threat detection failures, poor technical support, and expensive

We use the solution to manage all of our customer's systems. We monitor and decide if everything is okay and if not, we do changes when needed. For example, if there is a need to change the antivirus software we can automate the process and install the new one. There are scripts within the software…

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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 notifications are definitely one of the most valuable features of Nagios Core. We know what to look for and what to expect when things are down."

"The most valuable feature is the performance parameters of the system."

"I like the way the solution sends alerts and how it keeps on escalating them."

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

"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."

"Nagios Core is stable."

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

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

More Nagios Core pros

"The solution offers so many great resources, it makes them a powerhouse in the market."

"The installation is easy."

Cons

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

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

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

"It would be nice if the company offered a sales or contract manager that was dedicated to our company so that we would have some sort of link to Nagios, and if we had issues or questions, we'd be able to contact them directly."

"Nagios Core can improve the graphical interface, it would make things a little easier."

"I believe Nagios Core will need to provide an option for big data platforms in the future."

"t was a little hard to get our setup represented in the configuration."

"Nagios Core could improve by adding a user interface. If you want the user interface you have to use Nagios XI."

More Nagios Core cons

"The price could be a bit lower."

"We did not like SolarWinds because it was not able to communicate between UPSA and our accounting system. They should have better integration."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's free."

"The solution is expensive."

"Lessening the price point would be an improvement."

"We are using the free version."

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

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

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

"The product is cheaply priced."

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"The price of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is fair. However, it is more expensive than ConnectWise."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

11%

Educational Organization

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

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.

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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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Comparisons

Icinga vs Nagios Core

Compared 25% of the time

Nagios XI vs Nagios Core

Compared 16% of the time

Zabbix vs Nagios Core

Compared 12% of the time

Centreon vs Nagios Core

Compared 8% of the time

Checkmk vs Nagios Core

Compared 5% of the time

More Nagios Core Competitors

NetBrain vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 86% of the time

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 14% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

June 2025

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

June 2025

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Automation Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds NAM

Overview

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

Nagios

Scale environments from 1,000 to tens of thousands of nodes with comprehensive performance, traffic, WAN, and switch port monitoring, automated change and configuration management, and IP address management in an integrated network automation software solution.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel

Maalem Financing Company, School City of Hammond

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

July 2025

Free Report: Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

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We monitor all Network Monitoring Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.