Nmap vs Zabbix comparison

Nmap and Zabbix are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nmap is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.6, while Zabbix is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. Nmap holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to Zabbix’s 5.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Nmap users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zabbix users who would recommend it.

Nmap

Read 22 Nmap reviews

2,129 Views
1,937 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zabbix

Read 108 Zabbix reviews

24,126 Views
14,476 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Nmap

Zabbix

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

Zabbix and Nmap compete in the open-source network monitoring category. Zabbix has the upper hand in monitoring capabilities, while Nmap is superior in network scanning.

Features: Zabbix offers automated network and item discovery, a scalable system, and extensive alerting options. It provides customization and integrates easily with various platforms. Nmap provides robust network scanning features, real-time reporting, and security vulnerability identification. It effectively identifies network service vulnerabilities and open ports.

Room for Improvement: Zabbix requires better reporting and more intuitive dashboards. It needs enhanced SLA and capacity planning features. Nmap could benefit from a graphical user interface, faster scanning speeds, and a broader feature set under its free license.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Zabbix and Nmap operate on-premises. Zabbix offers community-driven support with commercial service options. Its comprehensive guides and community expertise aid deployment. Nmap lacks organized support, relying on community contributions for guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Both Zabbix and Nmap offer free open-source solutions. Zabbix users may invest in support for smoother implementation and maintenance. Nmap provides essential scanning capabilities at no charge, appealing to cost-conscious users.

To learn more, read our detailed Nmap vs. Zabbix Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. Zabbix

February 2026

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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

Nmap

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

19th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zabbix

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

108

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (9th), Server Monitoring (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nmap is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 5.7%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zabbix	5.7%
Nmap	0.7%
Other	93.6%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

MoshiurRahman Khan

CEO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Improves network monitoring and offers insights into traffic, including VPNs

The real-time reporting feature of Nmap is particularly valuable. It generates detailed reports on the source and destination IP addresses, the protocols used, and the types of traffic. This feature is crucial for law enforcement agencies to monitor and analyze network connectivity effectively. It also has traffic analysis. For example, assessing bandwidth usage and configuring the tool to track specific types of traffic is crucial. Unlike SolarWinds, which requires configuration for this, Nmap has built-in functionality that allows it to check all 4,000 computer ports. It identifies the type of traffic each port is using and can easily generate reports on network communications between computers, whether there are 100 or 1000 in the network.

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KamranBhatti

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

Helps reduce response time but has room to improve customization complexity

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The real-time reporting feature of Nmap is particularly valuable. It generates detailed reports on the source and destination IP addresses, the protocols used, and the types of traffic."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its scripts. These scripts prove beneficial when security features may obscure or block connections. Nmap helps identify vulnerabilities across different systems, including web servers and various server types."

"The most valuable feature of the solution for security audits stems from the fact that it serves as a powerful tool with the ability to scan a large number of ports."

"Nmap's performance is great, and I've never noticed any issues in this respect. It really doesn't put a heavy load on the machine when using it."

"The initial setup was simple."

"Nmap is mostly helpful during compliance checks. We run the scanner to see how many devices are on our network and find vulnerabilities in those that aren't compliant. We also use it monthly to scan our network and identify devices that aren't connected properly. This helps us detect any issues related to the operating systems of these devices."

"Nmap has a powerful command line tool and a set of diagnostic features."

"The most important function, according to me, is the capability to use some arguments in the scanning. The solution's capability to go figure and do a deep dive, discovering information on specific aspects."

More Nmap pros

"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of virtual machines."

"Zabbix is good for discovery."

"Zabbix is both stable and scalable."

"It provides high scalability, alerting, notification, templating, and end-to-end security."

"Zabbix is very easy to implement."

"Zabbix is an excellent performance monitoring tool."

"The overall functionality of Zabbix is very good. The monitoring of bank applications that Zabbix provides is great. The information is displayed on a dashboard that is easily viewed."

"The most valuable feature is service assurance."

More Zabbix pros

Cons

"The solution is not that easy for a beginner to learn."

"The challenge often lies in finding suitable courses and professional resources."

"The solution should increase the number of features under a free license."

"They should deliver Playtech's username and password."

"Since I started using Nmap, it has been completely based on the command prompt and I think it would help other users if they implemented a decent GUI as well."

"One of the drawbacks of the standard Nmap utility is that it does not come with a graphical user interface, unlike a number of other open-source alternatives such as Zenmap."

"It takes a bit of time to get familiar with the solution and its options."

"The solution's initial setup could be better."

More Nmap cons

"Zabbix is powerful, but it is difficult to understand initially. There are many things that can be improved, but we might not be using Zabbix to its fullest extent. The software has more features than we need."

"The reports are not great and should be improved."

"There is a bit of a learning curve during installation."

"The networking monitor is not too easy to work with."

"For us, the initial setup was complex"

"The only issue we have had with Zabbix is when we decided to make an update or upgrade."

"There are areas of improvement. The database grows really fast. So, when you install Zabbix, you have to deal with some issues, like the database. We become pretty big very fast."

"The stability could be better."

More Zabbix cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an open-source solution. Commerically, only the support service is available."

"The solution is open source so it is free."

"I am using the free version of Nmap."

"Nmap is an open-source and free product."

"The solution is free of cost."

"Nmap is open source software, which suits us well because we are a manufacturing company and not an IT company, for example. If we were an IT company, we would probably need to pay for extra support or instead go for another software solution. But as it is, we don't have any need for high-end troubleshooting tools."

"The product's pricing is fine. The licensing options for Nmap include perpetual licenses and volume-based licenses. For perpetual licenses, once you purchase it, there's no need to invest in renewals. And for volume-based licenses, enterprise companies can use it multiple times based on the number of users or devices they need to scan. It's a pay-as-you-go model, similar to how you pay for what you use."

"The solution is free of cost, but there are specific services that we have to buy."

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

"It's free software released under the GNU/GPL license."

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

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

"There are no licenses."

"Its licensing is fair. It seems to be much cheaper than others."

"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."

"Zabbix is open-source so if one wishes to implement it in-house, they must have qualified professionals to set up and optimize databases, Linux/Unix OS, PHP, Apache, and depending on what is monitored, a full-stack network and systems administrator may be needed."

"My manager is very happy because it doesn't cost anything."

More Zabbix pricing and cost advice

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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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

University

Retailer

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nmap?

Nmap is mostly helpful during compliance checks. We run the scanner to see how many devices are on our network and find vulnerabilities in those that aren't compliant. We also use it monthly to sca...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nmap?

I am using the free version of Nmap.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Nmap?

Nmap is used for network scanning to map the network, identify devices, and assess their status. It helps determine open ports and services running on a particular endpoint or server within an ente...

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What do you like most about Zabbix?

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

See all answers

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 providing everything free of cost. Zabbix is economical, and you can install it...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zabbix?

The potential and customization is a little difficult because you have to learn scripts. I think Zabbix needs to improve the customization better. At present, I am satisfied with the functionality ...

See all answers

Comparisons

LiveNX vs Nmap

Compared 9% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Nmap

Compared 8% of the time

Domotz Pro vs Nmap

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Nmap

Compared 8% of the time

Meraki Dashboard vs Nmap

Compared 7% of the time

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Checkmk vs Zabbix

Compared 8% of the time

LibreNMS vs Zabbix

Compared 7% of the time

Icinga vs Zabbix

Compared 5% of the time

Centreon vs Zabbix

Compared 4% of the time

Nagios XI vs Zabbix

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nmap

January 2026

Download Nmap product report

Buyer's Guide

Zabbix

January 2026

Download Zabbix product report

Overview

Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, but works fine against single hosts. Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems, and official binary packages are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. In addition to the classic command-line Nmap executable, the Nmap suite includes an advanced GUI and results viewer (Zenmap), a flexible data transfer, redirection, and debugging tool (Ncat), a utility for comparing scan results (Ndiff), and a packet generation and response analysis tool (Nping).

Nmap

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.

Zabbix

Sample Customers

Lockheed Martin, Eastern Bank Boston, Perspecta, Harris Corporation, Discovery Communication

1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. Zabbix

February 2026

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