Plixer Scrutinizer vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Plixer and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Plixer is ranked #55 with an average rating of 8.0, while SolarWinds is ranked #31 with an average rating of 7.8. Plixer holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Plixer users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Plixer Scrutinizer

Read 15 Plixer Scrutinizer reviews

1,343 Views
927 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

789 Views
757 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Plixer Scrutinizer

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and Plixer Scrutinizer compete in the network monitoring space. Plixer Scrutinizer arguably holds the upper hand with its advanced features and data insights, potentially justifying its higher cost, while SolarWinds is noted for pricing and customer support.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor offers straightforward device monitoring, alerting, and ease of use, ideal for basic network oversight. Plixer Scrutinizer provides detailed traffic analysis, comprehensive reporting features, and enhanced threat detection, making it suitable for networks requiring deeper insights and robust performance.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds could enhance its features by offering more advanced traffic analysis, improved reporting capabilities, and increased threat detection accuracy. Plixer Scrutinizer would benefit from simplified deployment processes, reduced learning curve, and more competitive pricing strategies.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is known for quick deployment and effective customer support, making it accessible for less complex networks. Plixer Scrutinizer involves a more intricate deployment process but provides comprehensive support and guidance during setup.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is cost-effective with a lower initial setup cost, suitable for basic network needs, offering decent ROI. Plixer Scrutinizer, though requiring a higher upfront investment, delivers significant ROI through its detailed analytics and advanced functionalities, targeting enterprises requiring in-depth network visibility.

To learn more, read our detailed Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

July 2025

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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

55th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (11th)

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

31st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Plixer Scrutinizer is 0.4%, up from 0.3% 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

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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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…

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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

"Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features."

"The most valuable features of Plixer Scrutinizer are its ease of use, accessibility, and UI."

"We didn't experience any bugs."

"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."

"The ability to view the status of the top-10 at a glance is helpful. We immediately know which link is over-utilized or heavily used... and it's all in real-time."

"We have had many requests to understand in the network which devices are connected to others. Most people don't have this information or are able to establish a map of data flow everywhere around the network. Scrutinizer can really help with this. We are using it to understand who is talking to what, how, and which protocols can help us to improve security and analyze flow."

"There are other tools out there that will do what Scrutinizer does. But what I have found with Scrutinizer is that it does it very quickly. I've taken 25 million individual data fragments from the different sensors, and it has graphed that and mapped it and presented a picture within 30 seconds. It has a very efficient database algorithm that I am really impressed with."

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

More Plixer Scrutinizer pros

"The solution and its interface are elaborate and fully integrate all monitored items for easy analysis and troubleshooting."

"You can create an attractive dashboard and create a hierarchy."

"In terms of general network monitoring features, I find SolarWinds Network Device Monitor very flexible and comfortable to use. The software itself is extremely useful when it comes to monitoring how our data moves between different networks and environments."

"The deployment process is quick."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it shows you the utilization of devices to allow you to take proactive action before something goes down or reaches the saturation point. You can take proactive action to fix the problem before it occurs."

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

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is a straightforward product with valuable functionality."

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

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"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."

"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."

"It would be useful if there was a way to back up the configuration information. E.g., if you wanted to deploy a new instance or disaster recovery, you could quite easily deploy and restore the config, as opposed to having to restore all the NetFlow data. If there was just a button that said "backup config information", that would be good."

"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."

"For updating the Scrutinizer platform, when we have the actual data, it never happens in one day. Every time we have the data, we are obliged to install a new server in order to integrate the old data, and every time it has a problem. Most of the time, we were obliged to scrap all the data because we couldn't transfer it to the new server. So, it would be very good if they could improve this part."

"The reporting structure, the front-end GUI, also needs some work. It needs some getting used to. It works fairly well, but it's a technical tool rather than a user tool. You have to understand the structure of the databases before you can really use it."

"We couldn't get it set up properly."

"Though Plixer Scrutinizer has network detection and response, it's an area that needs just a little more rounding out. Another room for improvement in the solution is its lack of SaaS offering which some customers were looking for. My company deals in small to medium businesses, mid-market, and some customers wanted the SaaS feature which Plixer Scrutinizer doesn't offer. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for it to have a SaaS offering because my company also deals with educational spaces and smaller businesses that just don't have the staff that can implement this. If there's either a managed service or SaaS-based offering to just make it a little easier for those types of customers, it would be a great addition to Plixer Scrutinizer."

More Plixer Scrutinizer cons

"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."

"The security could always be improved."

"Integration with different tools, such as ServiceNow and Excel, can be improved."

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

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could improve by being more user-friendly. The network has so many features which make it difficult to find how to configure how to use it. It is not simple to customize."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

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

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

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive."

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

"The license is per device. We have 50 devices."

"Our entire solution, amortized over five years, is in the vicinity of $40,000 to $50,000 a year."

"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."

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

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

"Compared to some of the other tools we have, it's incredibly reasonably priced."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pricing and cost advice

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

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

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

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"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."

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

"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."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Plixer Scrutinizer?

Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Plixer Scrutinizer?

I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Plixer Scrutinizer?

I don't have deep enough knowledge to comment on what requires improvements in Plixer Scrutinizer. In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required.

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

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 17% of the time

Kentik vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 16% of the time

LogicMonitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 26% of the time

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Compared 21% of the time

FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 20% of the time

Checkmk vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 10% of the time

ThousandEyes vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer

August 2025

Download Plixer Scrutinizer 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

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

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

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

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

July 2025

Free Report: Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Find out what your peers are saying about Plixer Scrutinizer vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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