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Nagios XI vs VMware vCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.6
Nagios XI enhances efficiency and time management but concerns about increased costs affect ROI perception across organizations.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware vCenter boosts ROI by streamlining operations, reducing costs, enhancing scalability, and improving energy savings and security.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Nagios XI support is mixed; praised for responsiveness but criticized for high cost, complex licensing, and delayed responses.
Sentiment score
7.4
VMware vCenter's customer service is mixed, with calls for quicker, knowledgeable support and better documentation and root cause analysis.
The technical support is good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Nagios XI is scalable for small to medium environments but faces challenges in large infrastructures and cloud adaptability.
Sentiment score
8.3
VMware vCenter is praised for its scalability and efficiency in managing large infrastructures, despite some preferring Nutanix.
If the user interface isn’t presenting data well, it becomes difficult to manage when scaling.
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate its scalability as ten.
The scalability is good in vCenter.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Nagios XI is stable, but large deployments may experience performance issues, database problems, and minor network dependencies.
Sentiment score
4.8
VMware vCenter is highly reliable, with strong stability and minimal disruptions, even in complex environments like banks.
It is very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Nagios XI's interface is outdated, lacks scalability, needs better cloud integration, APIs, automation, and improved documentation.
VMware vCenter faces pricing confusion, management challenges, and needs improvements in support, security, scalability, and cloud capabilities.
Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
The GUI could be improved. It's a bit too basic.
The licensing model has shifted, leading to higher costs, particularly for smaller organizations.
Better redundancy options can be achieved by using multiple vCenter machines.
The personal portal is difficult to navigate.
 

Setup Cost

Nagios XI provides cost-efficient enterprise-level monitoring with reasonable pricing, appreciated for its features and open-source options.
VMware vCenter's high costs and complex licensing, especially post-Broadcom acquisition, concern smaller businesses despite larger enterprises finding value.
We are using the free, open-source version.
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions.
The licensing model now requires purchasing 96-core solutions, even if fewer cores are needed, adding to the cost burden.
 

Valuable Features

Nagios XI provides customizable, flexible, and scalable IT infrastructure monitoring with real-time alerts and extensive plugin support.
VMware vCenter enhances centralized management and virtualization with features boosting efficiency, scalability, and integration, reducing downtime significantly.
Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
The alerting system is very effective.
High availability is employed so if an ESXi server is down, the VM is supported on another ESXi on other servers.
VMware vCenter is excellent for managing and monitoring hypervisors, specifically with features like live migration, storage vMotion, and host vMotion.
Troubleshooting is easy, and it is possible to detect noncompliance configurations, minimizing costs.
 

Categories and Ranking

Nagios XI
Ranking in Server Monitoring
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (16th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (19th), Cloud Monitoring Software (20th)
VMware vCenter
Ranking in Server Monitoring
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Nagios XI is 6.4%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vCenter is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Amir  Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective alerting enhances network monitoring experience with an easy setup
We love Nagios XI due to the fact that JPS Web is very useful. JPS monitors the modem and performs switching, monitoring the computer, and performing switching. We implement some applications and traffic monitoring. The alerting system is very effective. For instance, if we have an alarm on some RAM storage if the traffic is cut or dropped.
Muhammad Fahad - PeerSpot reviewer
Great for live migration and storage management with simple deployments
I am using vMotion for live migration and storage migrations. I can use vCenter for both now. In vCenter, I can easily manage storage and move it from one server to another, which is beneficial for the environment. If any server is down, I can utilize the storage for different servers. I can easily manage from anywhere. Deployments are simple, and optimization can improve security management. Troubleshooting is easy, and it is possible to detect noncompliance configurations, minimizing costs. The deployment does not require high-cost human resources. I use a single dual machine for multiple VMs. This offers many benefits compared to physical servers or machines.
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857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Educational Organization
34%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nagios XI?
It is an open-source platform with valuable features for performance and stability.
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 do you like most about VMware vCenter?
The filtering capabilities also enhance scalability by optimizing resource allocation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vCenter?
The initial package for VMware vCenter is not less than $10,000, which can be prohibitive for smaller organizations. The licensing model now requires purchasing 96-core solutions, even if fewer cor...
What needs improvement with VMware vCenter?
The main issue with VMware vCenter is its pricing and licensing model. The licensing model has shifted, leading to higher costs, particularly for smaller organizations. Additionally, the transition...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
1. Amazon 2. Apple 3. ATT 4. Bank of America 5. Cisco Systems 6. CocaCola 7. Dell 8. ebay 9. Facebook 10. Google 11. HP 12. IBM 13. Intel 14. JPMorgan Chase 15. LinkedIn 16. Microsoft 17. Netflix 18. Oracle 19. PayPal 20. SAP 21. Siemens 22. Tesla 23. Toyota 24. Twitter 25. Visa 26. Walmart 27. WeWork 28. World Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Nagios XI vs. VMware vCenter and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.