Plixer Scrutinizer vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager comparison

Plixer and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Plixer is ranked #74, while SolarWinds is ranked #95. Plixer holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Plixer users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Plixer Scrutinizer

Read 15 Plixer Scrutinizer reviews

1,916 Views
1,437 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Read 2 SolarWinds Network Automation Manager reviews

1,132 Views
657 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Plixer Scrutinizer

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Plixer Scrutinizer and SolarWinds Network Automation Manager compete in the network performance monitoring and management sector. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager has the upper hand with its robust feature set and perceived value.

Features: Plixer Scrutinizer includes in-depth traffic analysis, network visualization, and a focus on security and incident response. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager offers automated configuration management, extensive network mapping, and advanced automation for larger networks.

Room for Improvement: Plixer Scrutinizer can enhance its installation process, expand automation capabilities, and improve integration with third-party tools. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager could lower the initial setup cost, simplify user interface complexity, and provide more flexible pricing options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Automation Manager offers a streamlined setup with strong technical support, making deployment straightforward for larger enterprises. Plixer Scrutinizer requires a more hands-on installation but provides superior post-deployment support with a personalized service approach.

Pricing and ROI: Plixer Scrutinizer is noted for competitive pricing, offering substantial returns on investment through network operation and security cost savings. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager, though carrying a higher initial setup cost, justifies its pricing with higher ROI via its advanced features and automation efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

March 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

Plixer Scrutinizer

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

74th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (12th)

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

95th

Average Rating

5.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Automation (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Plixer Scrutinizer is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Plixer Scrutinizer	0.5%
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager	0.4%
Other	99.1%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Ira Mulyanti

Sales Director at ARGA SOLUSI

An affordable product with great integration capabilities

Plixer Core Platform is a valuable feature and a good software. Plixer Scrutinizer uses NetFlow analysis to monitor whatever is there in a network. Price-wise, Plixer Scrutinizer is not an expensive product. Basically, Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that can integrate with any other brand or product in the market, so it is not an area of concern.

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Giulio Valeri

Owner at SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SRL

Threat detection failures, poor technical support, and expensive

We use the solution to manage all of our customer's systems. We monitor and decide if everything is okay and if not, we do changes when needed. For example, if there is a need to change the antivirus software we can automate the process and install the new one. There are scripts within the software…

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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

"We didn't experience any bugs."

"For security purposes, it is really a very powerful product."

"We didn't experience any bugs."

"It helps us determine what is going on with our Internet and who is hogging it all up, and if we get a real high throughput or a throughput that's going over and getting dropped fairly quickly, we can tell who (or what device) is consuming that traffic."

"One of the most valuable features of Plixer Scrutinizer is the reporting, particularly how easy it is to drill down into the reports. Another valuable feature of the solution is its overall visibility. It's great. I also liked Plixer Scrutinizer in terms of deployment time and that it's very simple to set up. Once you get the appliance set up and connected, the customer starts to see results immediately, versus other solutions where that could take a while."

"It shows us the saturation of the network of devices. It gives us a clear view of the flows in the network to understand, for instance, planning upgrades in the network to get an idea of what's going on the network on traffic flows. It gives us insight, for instance, on what's going on on our VPN Client. There are a lot of things where it provides very helpful information. It also gives us our security reports with quite detailed information on what's going on in the network, and whether there are data exfiltrations and so on."

"Visualization of the network traffic is the most valuable feature. It allows you to drill into information quite quickly."

"I really feel, after reviewing three at one time and knowing some other ones, the bang and performance for the dollars, and the capacity and the flexibility; it's really second to none in those situations."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pros

"The solution offers so many great resources, it makes them a powerhouse in the market."

"We are satisfied with the stability of the solution."

"The installation is easy."

Cons

"There was a price lift because previously the product was privately owned, and now there is some external capital in the organization, so pricing could be lower, though, for Plixer Scrutinizer, there is almost no competition at this price point."

"Knowing that they're coming out with a new user interface, that is an area where there is room for improvement. There are so many variables. They should limit the variables in the user interface and create some classes, like "simple," "novice," and "expert" to narrow down the variables within it."

"The solution creates a visual map of a particular location and how the network flows. You need to spend time to generate all those maps. If they could figure out a way to reduce the time needed to generate the maps, that would be great."

"In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required."

"From what I understand it is that the solution is not very scalable in a high volume traffic environment with a large number of flows."

"Though Plixer Scrutinizer has network detection and response, it's an area that needs just a little more rounding out."

"There is room for improvement around the data that they have on the website about solutions... they should have more templated solutions on their website. Going out and identifying how to do RTP performance with a Cisco router, or how to do application response times in an Arrista data center deployment was where most of the work was... They should spend some more time documenting solutions and putting together white papers."

"They're working on the security areas, so it can provide more insight. What they have is still pretty much IP-concentric. If they were to make it IP and URL, they'd be a little bit ahead on that."

More Plixer Scrutinizer cons

"We now use ConnectWise because while using SolarWinds we were attacked by ransomware. The solution did not protect us."

"We did not like SolarWinds because it was not able to communicate between UPSA and our accounting system. They should have better integration."

"The price could be a bit lower."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay our one-off cost for the licenses, per device, in blocks of 50. And then we pay an annual maintenance fee of about $15,000 Australian, which is, at this point in time, about $9,000 US, for those 250 devices. The upfront costs for the 250-license use, were about $50,000 Australian, which is about $32,000 US."

"It's about €10,000 a year for initial license and yearly maintenance costs. In addition, the hardware costs are about €10,000 once every five years."

"There is a recurring maintenance fee after the initial purchase or if we want the license upgrade."

"We recently bought a license upgrade, so we will integrate more exporters. We upgraded from a 25 exporter license to a 50 exporter license. Therefore, there will be more flows, and this will be an extension. I don't know when we will purchase a faster server, because the server that we have is quite new."

"The licensing cost for Plixer Scrutinizer is in the middle. It's not the cheapest, but it's not the most expensive. Its licensing model is based on how many exporters, how many devices export information to the system. Plixer Scrutinizer has different modules you could add such as the security module which would cost extra."

"We just renewed. The pricing is 5,000 euro per year. This is the final price. All tax (20 percent) is included."

"We have increased the license over time. We have added more licenses as the network has grown."

"There are no extra costs. It's about $8,000 a year. The bang for the buck (cost) is definitely a plus."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pricing and cost advice

"The price of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is fair. However, it is more expensive than ConnectWise."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

University

Government

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Performing Arts

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	8

No data available

Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 8% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 7% of the time

Flowmon vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 6% of the time

LiveNX vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 6% of the time

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NetBrain vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 35% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 9% of the time

WhatsUp Gold vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

Compared 7% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

March 2026

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Automation Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds NAM

Overview

The Scrutinizer incident response system leverages network traffic analytics to provide active monitoring, visualization, and reporting of network and security incidents. The system quickly delivers the rich forensic data needed by IT professionals to support fast and efficient incident response.

Plixer

Scale environments from 1,000 to tens of thousands of nodes with comprehensive performance, traffic, WAN, and switch port monitoring, automated change and configuration management, and IP address management in an integrated network automation software solution.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Oxford Networks, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, UltiSat, Wipro, West Aurora School District 129, SUNY Geneseo College, Bloomington Public Schools, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Kitsap Credit Union, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Houston Texas, Carilion Clinic, Banner Health, IDEXX Laboratories, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Goodwill Industries, Parmalat, Armstrong Coal Company, Flybe, James Walker

Maalem Financing Company, School City of Hammond

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

March 2026

Free Report: Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

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