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Nagios XI vs ObserverLIVE comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 XI
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (9th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (16th), Cloud Monitoring Software (21st)
ObserverLIVE
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
107th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios XI is 2.4%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ObserverLIVE is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Nagios XI2.4%
ObserverLIVE0.3%
Other97.3%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Emmanuel Appiah Boateng - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Simplifies setup and requires user interface enhancement
Nagios XI is easy to install, which sets it apart from other open-source solutions I've tried. Typically, setting up a monitoring system on Linux involves cloning files from GitHub, building it, and installing many dependencies, but with Nagios XI, it wasn't like that. Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
M
IT manager at Mannai
Seamless packet analysis, deep visibility, and end-to-end network monitoring
We have experience with the VIAVI solutions, specifically the ObserverLIVE platform, which we use for network performance monitoring VIAVI helps by providing deep visibility on packet analysis end-to-end, which assists in identifying issues quickly and efficiently. VIAVI is very strong when it…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Nagios XI is stable."
"Nagios is stable and it's easy to use the monitoring software, which is why we chose this product."
"The solution is pretty stable."
"Overall, it's a powerful system."
"Nagios is an open source monitoring tool for monitoring network services, with easy installation, a user-friendly and configurable interface, and the ability to monitor disk space, CPU utilization, memory usage, host availability, NFS availability and many other things, making it widely used in IT markets."
"You want to monitor a specific metric that nobody else has? You can do it even with the most basic of scripting skills, and you can always share it with the vast community of Nagios Exchange."
"We love Nagios XI due to the fact that JPS Web is very useful."
"Our infrastructure is now under monitoring proactively and we don't have to wait for complaints from the customers or internal operation team to inform regarding any issue with the service."
"VIAVI is very strong when it comes to packet analysis, especially with SDN, ACI, and Cx."
 

Cons

"The reporting part should be made simpler. While we can obtain all the reports we need, we always have to create work-arounds to get them."
"The product does not have SAP monitoring."
"I think that the community needs to concentrate development to get a standard GUI (Adagios is a side project) and gives the user a better notification system."
"Technical support is an area that needs improvement. It is not available 24/7."
"The PNP4Nagios plugin not working easily with XI is an issue for me, because some open source monitoring plugins do not work out of the box. But in the end, you learn to live with it."
"From an alerting point of view, some graphics and metrics don't work properly with Nagios XI as they do with Checkmk."
"There are stability issues if you have a large number of hosts and services."
"It's in need of more standard plug-ins."
"VIAVI needs to include a Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP) for end-to-end monitoring solutions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Nagios XI is open source."
"It is good to contact experts for advice about what is the best solution for your specific infrastructure and enterprise."
"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $3,000 USD per year."
"The pricing is really cost efficient. The licensing is perpetual and can be renewed very easily."
"Nagios XI is an expensive solution."
"This solution is very expensive, at approximately $5,000 USD when I purchased it, which is why I haven't upgraded my version in several years."
"Licensing costs are reasonable."
"The pricing is high with separate licensing for the product and support."
Information not available
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
What is your primary use case for Nagios XI?
I normally use Nagios XI for our servers. It's not particularly used for network equipment, however, I use it for monitoring our server performance, including CPU, memory, data, and services runnin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ObserverLIVE?
The price is reasonable. I would rate it nine out of ten for cost-effectiveness.
What needs improvement with ObserverLIVE?
VIAVI needs to include a Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP) for end-to-end monitoring solutions. Currently, it lacks the ability to measure the health and status of devices such as switches ...
What is your primary use case for ObserverLIVE?
We have experience with the VIAVI solutions, specifically the ObserverLIVE platform, which we use for network performance monitoring.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Exmark Manufacturing, Foskor, US Deptartment of Veteran Affairs
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, SolarWinds, Auvik and others in Network Monitoring Software. Updated: May 2026.
896,942 professionals have used our research since 2012.