Nagios Core vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor 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 #30 with an average rating of 8.0. Nagios holds a 2.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Nagios users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% 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 Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

781 Views
750 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Nagios Core

SolarWinds Network Device M...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and Nagios Core compete in network monitoring solutions. Nagios Core is generally seen as having the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and customization flexibility, while SolarWinds is favored for its ease of use and support.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is known for easy setup, real-time network performance monitoring, and user-friendly alerts with a polished dashboard. Nagios Core offers open-source flexibility, extensive customization options, and a wide range of monitoring features, making it appealing for those seeking in-depth customization.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds can improve in areas like advanced customization, integration capabilities, and scalability for larger enterprises. Nagios Core could benefit from simplified deployment, enhanced user interface, and more accessible support options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is praised for its quick and straightforward deployment process and strong customer support. Nagios Core's deployment is more complex, requiring technical expertise, but it allows for deeper customization.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor offers competitive pricing, making it attractive to smaller organizations seeking immediate returns, supported by comprehensive customer service. Nagios Core, being open-source, presents cost-effective initial setup and potential for long-term savings with its customization capabilities.

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

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

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 Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

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 Device Monitor is 0.6%, up from 0.6% 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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Vijay Samant

Assistant Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Monitor network utilization and manage bandwidth efficiently with live monitoring and reliable fault management capabilities

I use SolarWinds Network Device Monitor for monitoring network utilization, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and downtime. It also assists in incident management SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides live monitoring capabilities, which are very useful. Its fault management capabilities are…

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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 solution's most valuable feature is that it offers proper alerting capabilities."

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

"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."

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

"Provides timely notifications."

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

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

"Dashboard provides monitor of total assets."

More Nagios Core pros

"The alerts we are getting when we start losing connection access have been helpful."

"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports. We are configuring the reports, and the first reports are only about the devices. We are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it shows you the utilization of devices to allow you to take proactive action before something goes down or reaches the saturation point. You can take proactive action to fix the problem before it occurs."

"In terms of general network monitoring features, I find SolarWinds Network Device Monitor very flexible and comfortable to use. The software itself is extremely useful when it comes to monitoring how our data moves between different networks and environments."

"You can create an attractive dashboard and create a hierarchy."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"SolarWinds is flexible and works with multiple vendor devices."

"This product proactively tells us about issues before the users notice."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"The initial setup process could be easier."

"I would like to see more training videos."

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

"Cloud monitoring is an area for improvement because there aren't too many plugins available."

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

"The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved."

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

"There is room for improvement in the graphics."

More Nagios Core cons

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"The solution should have AI-powered issue-resolving capabilities"

"The reporting feature needs improvement because we are unable to configure reports that were included during initial implementation."

"SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects."

"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."

"If everything were in the package so that everything was ready to go out of the box, that would be ideal."

"In terms of price, it could be less expensive."

"When an organization's network grows, the complexity of the dashboard becomes an area of concern where improvements are required."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's free."

"We are using the free version."

"Nagios Core is free to use."

"It's free."

"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."

"Most the plugin features are free."

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

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"The product is expensive."

"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor should include automatic diagrams in its network solutions. Additionally, there is a challenge with having to add an additional polling engine after 10,000 element...

See all answers

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

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ScienceLogic vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 25% of the time

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 22% of the time

FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 20% of the time

Checkmk vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 10% of the time

ThousandEyes vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

July 2025

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

June 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

Network Device Monitor

Overview

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

Nagios

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

July 2025

Free Report: Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

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