Observer Apex vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Viavi Solutions and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Viavi Solutions is ranked #110, while SolarWinds is ranked #30 with an average rating of 7.8. Viavi Solutions holds a 0.1% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of SolarWinds users are willing to recommend the solution.

Observer Apex

Read 1 Observer Apex review

241 Views
217 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

831 Views
798 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Observer Apex

SolarWinds Network Device M...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Observer Apex and SolarWinds Network Device Monitor based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Auvik, SolarWinds and others in Network Monitoring Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Monitoring Software Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2025

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Helped 867,445 peers since 2012

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

Observer Apex

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

110th

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Observer Apex is 0.1%, down from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.6%
Observer Apex	0.1%
Other	99.3%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Has good network visibility

The primary use case is for monitoring and troubleshooting. We also use it for security. The correlation of data in Apex helps to get full visibility of the entire enterprise. Apex is where we get the end-user experience score from one to ten. Network visibility is the most valuable feature.…

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Vijay Samant

Assistant Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Monitor network utilization and manage bandwidth efficiently with live monitoring and reliable fault management capabilities

I use SolarWinds Network Device Monitor for monitoring network utilization, bandwidth utilization, uptime, and downtime. It also assists in incident management SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides live monitoring capabilities, which are very useful. Its fault management capabilities are…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Network visibility is the most valuable feature."

"The alerts we are getting when we start losing connection access have been helpful."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is monitoring."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it can alert you when a device is not working."

"I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process."

"Since our devices are spread out across the world, we can see the status of these devices without having to send someone physically to a remote location, which saves money."

"I like the mapping that you could do and the dashboards were very pretty."

"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports. We are configuring the reports, and the first reports are only about the devices. We are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."

"There are vital features of auto-plugin core ports"

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"The pricing and AI can be improved."

"Although I haven't explored all of the features available, I wouldn't mind if the software were made to be a bit more customizable."

"It should provide user-friendly page"

"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"When an organization's network grows, the complexity of the dashboard becomes an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."

"SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's expensive."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"The product is expensive."

"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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

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867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Observer Apex?

Network visibility is the most valuable feature.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer Apex?

It's expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Observer Apex?

The pricing and AI can be improved.

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for impro...

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

ScienceLogic vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 26% of the time

FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 19% of the time

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 18% of the time

Checkmk vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 9% of the time

ThousandEyes vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2025

Download Observer Apex product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

August 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

Network Device Monitor

Overview

Observer Apex offers a smart, search-based launch page that intelligently interprets users’ inputs, guiding them to one of three pre-engineered workflows to solve most IT service issues in less than three steps.

Viavi Solutions

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Capita

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2025

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