Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Netwrix Auditor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 9, 2024

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

Netwrix Auditor
Ranking in Active Directory Management
3rd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
GRC (10th), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (33rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (18th)
SolarWinds Server and Appli...
Ranking in Active Directory Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (16th), Server Monitoring (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Active Directory Management category, the mindshare of Netwrix Auditor is 13.5%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 1.0%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Active Directory Management
 

Featured Reviews

Mohamed Tantawy - PeerSpot reviewer
Can track every admin action in large environments and includes AI modules to detect and prevent unauthorized changes
The initial setup of Netwrix Auditor was straightforward. Some functions require agents while others are agentless, simplifying implementation. It consumed minimal server and client resources, and the wizard-based console made it simple to deploy with the help of architectural teams. All required ports were in place, and they covered all critical services and databases effectively. I would rate the easiness of the initial setup as a nine out of ten. The deployment of Netwrix Auditor took around three weeks, mainly due to the preparation of the environment and servers. The deployment process involved actions such as preparing virtual servers and building databases. Once deployed, it took only about a week to complete. Third-party consultants assisted us with deployment. Only one or two engineers were needed for deployment and maintenance, which could be handled remotely with minimal complexity.
Subhajit Nag - PeerSpot reviewer
The component and cable monitoring features are good, but the interface is slow
SolarWinds' interface is slow, and this is a global concern. Every SolarWinds user complains about the sluggishness. The response is slow. If you browse from one page to another, you have to wait. Our company is a massive user with plenty of licenses, so the performance issues could be due to the load per license. Ten thousand components can be mapped under one license. So SolarWinds needs to take care of the speed problem. It cannot be this slow. That is a huge complaint. Otherwise, the tool is good. It should also be easier to upgrade SolarWinds. AppDynamics is harder to deploy but easier to upgrade. So AppDynamics takes a lot of time and effort to install, but you can upgrade it in minutes. SolarWinds is the opposite. It's easy to deploy, but upgrades take forever. To date, nobody can complete it on time, so the production environment is sitting idle. The upgrade time matters because you only install the solution once, but you'll need to upgrade the solution repeatedly over the life of the product. A complex installation isn't an issue, but I mind if the upgrade takes too long because it's already in production.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Netwrix provides features that no other solution on the market does."
"I am impressed with the tool's reporting feature and notifications."
"The most valuable features of Netwrix Auditor are its affordability compared to similar products and its comprehensive monitoring of admin activities."
"It maintains audit logs for the duration of time that you wish, as long as you have the storage capacity to do so."
"The most valuable feature is the real-time monitoring."
"I have found user behavior analysis and the ability to run risk assessments important features. Additionally, the interface and online documentation are very good."
"What I find the most valuable about Netwrix Auditor is the way it shows risk. The reports are very clear."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is its powerful monitoring capabilities."
"The more valuable feature of this solution is the Exchange feature."
"It is simple to implement and can provide fairly decent Windows-based monitoring, beyond simple SNMP. It is great for monitoring newbies and smaller shops."
"SSL Certificate Monitoring and Expiry Alerting"
"This product can monitor application environments no matter where they reside and provides capabilities for deep insight into infrastructure."
"The product integrates with Remedy."
"The most beneficial aspect of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is its ability to monitor at the application level."
"It's good at monitoring system-specific things like ports, services."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvements when it comes to the licensing."
"I expect usability features to become more refined over time. I'm interested to see how it evolves and continues to improve."
"An improvement would be if there was an another way to manage the logs besides email because it's not so practical."
"The Linux compatibility of this solution could be improved."
"There is room for improvement with the introduction of AI functionality."
"If you buy direct, there is a minimum of 150 licenses that must be procured. The price point and barrier of entry is a little bit higher than it would be if you purchased the solution from an authorized reseller partner, rather than buying it and managing yourself."
"When there are issues I would like remediation to be in one place."
"The solution lacks self-service on password reset. It also needs to improve its scalability."
"The setup was complex. We had local support to assist us."
"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."
"The product needs to reduce its price."
"One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules"
"Nodes in Azure are able to be monitored with the use of agents, but this does not apply to cloud service offerings that are not node based."
"Application-based monitoring, such as monitoring within servers like Apache and IIS, has room for improvement."
"It needs time-based functions for monitoring. Some things need to be polled on a specific schedule or only during a specific window."
"For each poller, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor can only monitor up to ten thousand components, which restricts scalability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license for this solution and we are on an annual license. The price is reasonable."
"This solution is reasonably priced. I would rate it a nine out of ten."
"The tool's price is fair."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It is just the standard price, but it can vary depending on the current rate of the dollar."
"Pricing and licensing is fair for what you get. It does have a great bang-for-the-buck appeal."
"We pay around $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 yearly for the solution."
"The solution's price is reasonable. Though it's on the higher side, the tool is worth the money."
"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."
"Nagios XI, WhatsUpGold, Uptime Software, PRTG, Manage Engine, and SpiceWorks are the other tools that have lower pricing and licensing costs. However, they can't compete with SolarWinds when it comes to the features and functionality that SolarWinds can provide."
"SAM is not per server so the pricing model can be deceiving. If you have an enterprise environment, you will quickly exceed your licensing quickly. You should know this before going in."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Active Directory Management solutions are best for your needs.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
38%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Netwrix Auditor?
The most valuable features of Netwrix Auditor are its affordability compared to similar products and its comprehensive monitoring of admin activities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netwrix Auditor?
The pricing of Netwrix Auditor varies based on the number of users and devices in our environment, but it is generally very cost-effective compared to other solutions. We don't pay for licenses sep...
What needs improvement with Netwrix Auditor?
The solution currently meets my needs, but there is room for improvement with the introduction of AI functionality as suggested by the vendor. Additionally, expanding capabilities like database act...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?
There are no specific features or functionality I would like to see improved or enhanced in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor at this time. I have not encountered any missing features or fu...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds SAM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AT&T, SanDisk, Siemens, Verizon, Electrolux, Allianz, Societe Generale
Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite
Find out what your peers are saying about Netwrix Auditor vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.