Nagios XI vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs Zabbix comparison

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Nagios XI

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Nagios XI, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor, and Zabbix based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Broadcom, Tanium and others in Server Monitoring.

To learn more, read our detailed Server Monitoring Report (Updated: March 2026).

Server Monitoring

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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:

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Nagios XI is 5.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 3.3%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 13.4%, down from 26.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Zabbix	13.4%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	3.3%
Nagios XI	5.8%
Other	77.5%

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Emmanuel Appiah Boateng

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.

Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility

NikhilKalwint

Technical Specialist at ServiceIO

From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

Helps reduce response time but has room to improve customization complexity

KamranBhatti

Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

We are not working on simple standalone solutions like Kaspersky DDoS Protection or Hybrid Cloud Security. Once you understand Zabbix, then it is easy to customize those web pages and graphs for our customer use. It is fully automated to your requirements. Zabbix is working fine with no issues, and I am satisfied with it. We have combined Zabbix and SolarWinds. The integration works fine, and it is easy to integrate Zabbix with the IT environment. We were trying to purchase MDR (Managed Detection and Response), but we are not working on that. I don't have real experience with MDR. We are using Falcon software for that. We are working with Falcon Complete, not with Sandbox. We are not using Kaspersky for business or cloud protection. For that, we are using Zabbix CrowdStrike Falcon Complete solution. I have given this review an overall rating of 8.

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"If you are a mid-sied company with an eye on expansion, this solution is very good."

"The most valuable features of Nagios XI are you can customize it based on your use case and requirements. It is flexible and easy to integrate with our systems. You can customize the solution by adding additional features using code."

"The features I've found the most useful are the plug-ins, the fact that you can connect almost everything to it."

"The most valuable feature is the dashboard, where I can have a single screen that provides a summary for hundreds of servers."

"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of processes."

"Overall, it's a powerful system."

"Though I downplayed the administrative NCC GUI, this is by far the strongest aspect of the Nagios XI product."

More Nagios XI pros

"The features like trends, capacity planning, recommendations, and diagnostics are the main items I focus on for added value."

"As I mentioned in one of the other points: "Simplicity at its best"."

"This feature from Solarwinds SAM helped us to monitor and alert whenever the SSL cert is going to expire on the server to avoid any downtime of the services running on the server specially on ADFS platform where we have Video conference, Webex, Office 365 and single sign-on services."

"SolarWinds SAM has significantly improved our workflow by allowing us to develop a comprehensive knowledge base of known errors and automate responses to specific alerts."

"One of the most valuable features are the reports, they're pretty good, and the ease of installation and customization for the client is another feature that we value."

"The most valuable feature is application monitoring."

"We manage SolarWinds ourselves without outsourcing its services."

"SolarWinds SAM has provided us with dynamic thresholds based on historical trends and requirements. The threshold gets configured automatically, so it's no longer necessary to configure it manually every time."

"We use Zabbix to monitor our organization's IT infrastructure and workstations. We don't use Microsoft Intune since it's expensive. The tool's real-time alerting system has proved crucial for us, particularly when a new device joins a network that is not one of our own devices. It notifies us about the presence of this new device, allowing us to investigate further. Additionally, it alerts us about disk usage, memory usage, and the software installed on the machine."

"It has good graphs of what is going on within the operating system."

"I really love Zabbix because it has a lot of functions and works well."

"Zabbix is a cost-effective solution. We're a small organization with a few dozen devices to monitor, and it was available for free. We can see what we need. We haven't done an in-depth analysis on it, but we're currently okay with the product."

"The flexible licensing model is one of the solution's most valuable aspects. It really allows for great flexibility for companies."

"The flexibility of this solution is amazing."

"The alerting systems are very good in Zabbix, and it has helped us to reduce time for reaction."

"The integration capabilities and APIs are the best part."

More Zabbix pros

Cons

"The product uses the backend as Perl and could be modified to a more lightweight solution like what's being offered by other vendors."

"The pricing has recently risen. I know they've changed what is covered under the license, however, it doesn't change the way we use it and adds nothing to our experience, and yet we now have to pay more."

"There's no convenient way to manage notes as the only way is to manage them through the database."

"The technical support is variable - sometimes I get answers, but most of my tickets go unanswered."

"Nagios XI isn't really good for scaling, in my experience."

"Nagios XI can improve its GUI for users with a new look."

"The scalability of Nagios XI is scalable. However, it is not easy to do."

"We are implementing our hybrid cloud strategy, and it will most likely not be suitable for monitoring our public cloud assets."

More Nagios XI cons

"PerfStack can be made more effective. I am sure SolarWinds already has a plan for the same in coming versions."

"One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules"

"Mapping interactions between systems."

"The product does not explain why a problem occurred."

"In terms of the dashboards on offer, they should work to improve them. The types of dashboards that you get in terms of the graphs on offer aren't ideal right now."

"Mapping interactions between systems."

"SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor could improve by having a cloud version. They have an observability platform but it still needs to be maintained by us."

"SAM AppInsight for SQL: The ability to ignore fragmentation of specific indexes."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

"In terms of user-friendliness, large maps could be more interactive. We should be able to click on some areas and move some objects."

"It would be helpful if they translated the documentation to Cyrillic languages."

"I am having difficulties connecting it to Grafana, as well as some of the other plugins like Kibana."

"For us, the initial setup was complex."

"There are not too much documentation or manuals. We found the tutorials very easy to understand but do not go deep enough in the use of Zabbix."

"It's OK for me as is, but some frontend improvements would be nice."

"The performance reporting could be improved."

"There are some features of Zabbix that are not good for reporting. The DX Spectrum solution has better reporting."

More Zabbix cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Nagios XI is an expensive solution."

"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 high with separate licensing for the product and support."

"For the cost of the commercial product and support, and taking into account the open source characteristics of it, I believe it is difficult to a better value."

"Nagios Core does not have any payment, but Nagios XI requires payment for the license."

"As it is not an agentless tool, I think it is expensive."

"We are using the free version of this solution."

More Nagios XI pricing and cost advice

"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."

"I would advise potential buyers to wait until the end of the quarter, end of year, or other time to place orders. There are actually great deals to be had at those times if your budget cycle can match up."

"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."

"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."

"Price can always be lower. It is neither on the expensive side nor on the cheap side. We have worked with them for a lot of years, so we get a discount due to the size of the installation."

"Pricing and licensing is fair for what you get. It does have a great bang-for-the-buck appeal."

"The price is too high."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

"Zabbix is free but if you use it in production then you have to pay for it."

"There are no licenses."

"We were searching for an open source solution and Zabbix fit the bill because it is free and open source under the GPL license."

"This is an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."

"The solution is free to use but they offer support as a paid service. If you can go read the manuals and do the fine-tuning based on your needs, you do not need to pay anything and you will have a full solution."

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

"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."

"We use the open-source version of Zabbix."

More Zabbix pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Monitoring solutions are best for your needs.

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

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…

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	21

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	56
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	34

Questions from the Community

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 mon...

What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

Identifying the problem statement is easy.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There is definitely room for improvement besides simplifying its setup. As a non-technical person, I believe the dash...

What do you like most about Zabbix?

The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?

I think Zabbix is economical, whereas SolarWinds is expensive. SolarWinds has a lot of secure features, but Zabbix is...

What needs improvement with Zabbix?

The potential and customization is a little difficult because you have to learn scripts. I think Zabbix needs to impr...

SolarWinds NPM vs Nagios XI

Comparisons

DX Spectrum vs Nagios XI

Compared 4% of the time

Compared 4% of the time

SCOM vs Nagios XI

Compared 4% of the time

Opsview vs Nagios XI

Compared 4% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Nagios XI

Compared 3% of the time

More Nagios XI Competitors

Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

Splunk AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

Icinga vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Competitors

Checkmk vs Zabbix

Compared 5% of the time

LibreNMS vs Zabbix

Compared 4% of the time

Icinga vs Zabbix

Compared 3% of the time

Centreon vs Zabbix

Compared 3% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Zabbix

Compared 3% of the time

More Zabbix Competitors

Product Reports

Nagios XI

Download Nagios XI product report

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download Zabbix product report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds SAM

No data available

Overview

Nagios XI provides monitoring of all mission-critical infrastructure components, including applications, services, operating systems, network protocols, systems metrics, and network infrastructure. Third-party add-ons provide tools for monitoring virtually all in-house and external applications, services, and systems.

Nagios XI uses a powerful Core 4 monitoring engine that provides users with the highest levels of server monitoring performance. This high degree of performance enables nearly limitless scalability and monitoring powers.

With Nagios XI, stakeholders can check up on their infrastructure status using the role-based web interface. Sophisticated dashboards enable access to monitoring information and third-party data. Administrators can easily set up permissions so users can only access the infrastructure they are authorized to view.

Nagios XI Benefits and Features

Some of the benefits and top features of using Nagios XI include:

Extensive IT infrastructure monitoring: Comprehensively monitor all of your organization’s infrastructure’s components. Hundreds of third-party add-ons let you monitor virtually any internal application, service, or system.
Proactivity: With built-in, automated trend analysis and capacity planning charts, organizations can plan infrastructure upgrades before legacy systems encounter unexpected issues. IT staff, business stakeholders, and end users are notified via email or SMS with details of the outage so they can begin handling the issue immediately.
Multiple integration options: Numerous available APIs allow seamless integration with in-house and third-party applications. Thousands of community-developed add-ons that extend monitoring and native alerting capabilities as well as custom interfaces are available, allowing you to customize Nagios XI to your company's needs.
Complete visibility: Get a single view of your entire IT operations network and business processes. The Nagios XI dashboards provide at-a-glance access to monitoring information and third-party data. Views give users quick access to the most useful information.
User-friendly interface: Customize the layout, design, and settings for each user’s GUI, providing clients and team members with the flexibility they need. Administrators can easily delegate control over monitoring configuration management, system settings, and more to end users and team members using the built-in web-based configuration interface. A configuration wizard guides users through the process of monitoring new devices, services, and applications without understanding complex monitoring concepts.
Configuration snapshots: Snapshots allow you to save and archive your most recent configurations. Later on, you can revert back to them whenever you like.
Advanced user management: Ensure a secure infrastructure environment by easily setting up and managing user accounts and assigning custom roles with just a few mouse clicks.

Reviews from Real Users

Nagios XI stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its integration options and monitoring abilities, as well as its alerting features.

David P., a senior DevOps engineer at EML Payments Ltd, writes, “We use Nagios as a network discovery tool. We use Nagios to maintain our uptime statistics and to monitor our services. It has allowed us to be much more sophisticated in our monitoring and alerting.”

An IT-OSS manager at a comms service provider notes, “Nagios XI has a custom API feature, and we can expose custom APIs for our integration. This is a great feature.”

Nagios

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers powerful application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros, enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues faster. Do not let slow applications and downtime impact your end-users and business services. Pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack. SolarWinds SAM is affordable and easy to deploy, use, and customize. You can automatically discover your system's environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.

SolarWinds

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software that provides real-time monitoring and alerting for servers, networks, applications, and services.

It offers a wide range of features including data collection, visualization, and reporting.

With its user-friendly interface and customizable dashboards, Zabbix helps organizations ensure the availability and performance of their IT infrastructure.