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 8.7, while SolarWinds is ranked #27 with an average rating of 7.9. Nagios holds a 1.9% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.8% 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

4,463 Views
3,749 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

1,335 Views
1,295 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Nagios Core

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 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 (11th)

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios Core is 1.9%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.8%, up from 0.5% 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	1.9%
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.8%
Other	97.3%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Husham Yaqoob

Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group

Monitoring solution provides comprehensive visibility across IT infrastructure

The good thing about Nagios Core is it covers everything. Everything in the IT domain, you can monitor anything. You can even monitor printers, the ports of printers, Core workstations, and storage. You can monitor the workflow Core and the utilization of computes. If you want to grasp everything of your IT equipment on a single interface, you can use Nagios. It's the best one. It provides dashboards, and you can also configure your emails and alerts with it. If something is critical, you can configure it to notify via emails. It has a very handy dashboard, providing live alerts and visibility for everything.

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Sorin Gogean

IT Infrastructure Senior Network Technician at Autoliv

Offers some features but needs better customization and analysis tools

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for improvement. The features are not as customizable as we would prefer, but they are workable. If configured properly, you can perform a drill-down analysis. However, I have not used this feature much for our infrastructure on the network side.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"Dashboard provides monitor of total assets."

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

"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."

"The application performance monitoring feature is valuable."

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

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

"The most valuable feature depends on the project. It's great if you need to check to ensure a service is running 24/7. I can use the full solution for free, and it's flexible. If I need to add a dashboard, I can integrate it with Nagios. Cloud synchronization is wonderful."

More Nagios Core pros

"Since our devices are spread out across the world, we can see the status of these devices without having to send someone physically to a remote location, which saves money."

"The alerting functionality in SolarWinds Network Device Monitor helps us stay informed during off-hours by sending alerts if our main links or devices are impacted, allowing us to quickly address any issues."

"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."

"The deployment process is quick."

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

"There are vital features of auto-plugin core ports"

"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Network Device Monitor ten out of ten."

"The solution and its interface are elaborate and fully integrate all monitored items for easy analysis and troubleshooting."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"The UI is a little outdated and graphics could be displayed in a better way."

"The dashboard and monitoring features could be improved."

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

"I would like to see more training videos."

"The tool needs to improve the integrations."

"Nagios Core does not have a graphic display."

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

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

More Nagios Core cons

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."

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

"The security could always be improved."

"It would be beneficial if SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could provide a feature to monitor CRC errors specifically on individual interfaces rather than the entire device. This would help in detecting intermittent issues and packet drops on main links more accurately, especially when there are CRC errors. It's important for us to be aware of these issues to avoid any voice quality problems or interruptions on our MTS links."

"Integration with different tools, such as ServiceNow and Excel, can be improved."

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

"It should provide user-friendly page"

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Nagios Core is a cheap solution."

"It's free."

"We are using the free version."

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

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

"We have saved a lot of time, money, and effort in reducing disaster times, which is owed to Nagios quick alerting."

"Most the plugin features are free."

"Nagios Core is free to use."

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"The product is expensive."

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

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

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

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

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

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

"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

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

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 primary use case for Nagios Core?

I was a senior system administrator. I've been using Nagios Core for more than ten years now. It can be used to monitor hosts, such as machines, and monitor services of any kind. I'm using it to mo...

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?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

See all answers

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

Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

January 2026

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

January 2026

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

December 2025

Free Report: Nagios Core vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

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