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PRTG Network Monitor vs SolarWinds AppOptics comparison

Paessler GmbH and SolarWinds are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Paessler GmbH is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.9, while SolarWinds is ranked #58. Paessler GmbH holds a 4.4% mindshare in IM, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Paessler GmbH users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.
PRTG Network Monitor
Read 109 PRTG Network Monitor reviews
  • 7,889 Views
  • 4,655 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
SolarWinds AppOptics
Read 9 SolarWinds AppOptics reviews
  • 1,069 Views
  • 492 Comparison Views
80% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

PRTG Network Monitor and SolarWinds AppOptics are network monitoring solutions. SolarWinds AppOptics seems to have the upper hand with broader capabilities and AI integrations, making it appealing for larger businesses.

Features: PRTG Network Monitor offers rapid deployment, easy setups with pre-configured network checks, and mobile app functionality. It also provides scalability and remote probes for varying infrastructure needs. SolarWinds AppOptics emphasizes application performance management and network topology discovery, offering advanced tooling like heat maps and stack tracing for deeper insights.

Room for Improvement: PRTG could improve in template management, distributed monitoring, and simplifying sensor addition. SolarWinds might benefit from centralizing solutions into one application, enhancing AI integration, and improving Unix service compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PRTG supports hybrid cloud and on-premises deployment with easy installation, while SolarWinds might require extra training. PRTG relies on email support, which can be slower, whereas SolarWinds offers direct support, possibly being more responsive based on reviews.

Pricing and ROI: PRTG offers a cost-efficient solution with bundled licensing, beneficial for monitoring up to 100 devices for free. Larger deployments increase cost, yet customers like the straightforward pricing model. SolarWinds AppOptics’ element-based pricing is reasonable, targeting larger enterprises with advanced performance insights that may lead to higher ROI for demanding environments.

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To learn more, read our detailed PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds AppOptics Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds AppOptics
September 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

PRTG Network Monitor
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
5th
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (5th)
SolarWinds AppOptics
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
58th
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
44th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (57th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.4%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds AppOptics is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Infrastructure Monitoring Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PRTG Network Monitor4.4%
SolarWinds AppOptics0.5%
Other95.1%
IT Infrastructure Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Adinath Bhokare - PeerSpot reviewer
Has helped detect server failures in real time and improved incident response through clear dashboards
When I use PRTG Network Monitor, it shows which servers go down or crash, displaying real-time reports and related information. We have configured PRTG Network Monitor to trigger an alert if any sensor or server goes down for more than five minutes. PRTG Network Monitor shows cause and effect clearly. For example, when our internet link failed, it displayed which dependent services were impacted. The feature in PRTG Network Monitor improved communication within my team since everyone can see the same dashboard. It saves me from constant manual checks as everything I care about is automatically tracked. PRTG Network Monitor has positively impacted my organization because it shows cause and effect clearly. We can see the real-time dashboard and take immediate action based on that. PRTG Network Monitor helped us detect the failing RAID controller before it completely collapsed, allowing us to avoid potential data loss.
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John Yuko - PeerSpot reviewer
Unique features allow consolidating and combing metrics into a single dashboard, but don't monitor mobile solutions
I would like to see more granular information provided on Unix applications. Also, the integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward in terms having an agent to retrieve your credentials rather than having to enter or save them for SSH on SolarWinds. From the outset, we had to set some commands to log into the search console, and they are saved on the solution, which presents a challenge in terms of exposure. The solution is unable to monitor APK solutions completely because we'd then be forced to break down the APK and provide the APIs or go through the source code. They don't have a module that can analyze an application that is maybe under-used.
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

"We have asked questions of their technical support and they have a very good response time."
"I can create my own program sensor. This means I can add extra monitoring capabilities into the already fundamentally strong foundation."
"The sensors and probes are great, nice and lightweight, they don't take up too many resources on the system. We just deploy them out and they start reporting instantly."
"The most valuable aspect is the diverse range of features it offers."
"I would boldly say that this is the most scalable network monitoring tool that I know of"
"The most valuable feature is the ability to span multiple technologies and multiple vendors."
"It is a central solution in terms of how to actually use it. It has a very easy dashboard. Everything is concise. We are able to create custom sensors. For different parts of the business, we have many products across many environments, and it works for everything."
"I really love the activity library. It gives the flexibility to discover data and metrics about my interface and data server."
More PRTG Network Monitor pros
"The product has a great dashboard."
"I have found the most valuable feature is application performance management."
"Technical support is always live and they're supportive."
"The sum solution, NTA, and DPA."
"The reporting of the solution is very good."
"Some of the most valuable features of SolarWinds are the topology discovery and network performance analysis."
 

Cons

"The scalability of this solution could improve as well as the automated provisioning of the infrastructure."
"There is room for improvement in this solution for the performance and third-party monitoring protocols. They need to be updated to the latest ones."
"In our organization, we encounter performance issues with our PRTG probe service. I saw documentation from the vendor or Paessler mentioning that there are limitations for WMI sensors. Other than that, we are okay with PRTG."
"We're using more cloud services now. It would be useful to be able to get information back from these cloud services in detail, and display any issues within PRTG for the rest of our systems."
"Sometimes, our PRTG Network Monitor system crashes and a lot of sensors go down."
"We have had a few issues with the web elements, as far as the dashboard. With the dashboard, it has to be manually refreshed. Occasionally, we reboot the server, or at least web services, due to the web aspect."
"In a very few cases, customers want more detailed reports, which we cannot meet."
"This solution is a good product so far, but I haven't been using it long enough to know how it could be improved."
More PRTG Network Monitor cons
"The integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward."
"I would like to see more integration with other tools that are available on the market."
"The implementation needs improvement. It needs to get modernized with the newer cloud scenario in both public and private deployment models."
"In terms of the technology, I think they need to put some more advanced troubleshooting into SolarWinds, in terms of AI capabilities. That's the next generation, especially in the cases of APIs which have already adopted AI capabilities into their products."
"AppOptics would benefit from having a much more centralized view."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is pretty comparable."
"The price of PRTG is reasonable. PRTG's competitors like SolarWinds and ManageEngine charge more for the same functionality."
"We are using the basic PRTG that we can download for free. For now, we only need to monitor less than 100 devices. For more than 100 devices, we would need to buy a license. PRTG is much cheaper than SolarWinds."
"We pay for PRTG Network Monitor annually. The price is approximately 10,000 rupees annually."
"Cost was a factor when selecting this solution, but it just did everything we wanted it to do."
"Pricing for PRTG Network Monitor is a nine out of ten. It meets my company's budget and monitoring requirements. My company is on a perpetual license."
"We are satisfied with the price."
"We've got the unlimited package... I believe it was around the £15,000 per year mark."
More PRTG Network Monitor pricing and cost advice
"Mostly, it's a perpetual license. We don't have any customers using the subscription right now—it's mostly a perpetual license that the customers purchase. The licensing is based on the number of elements, whereas other solutions are node-based."
"Since it's a negotiable rate, I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."
"I believe the current licensing cost is reasonable."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
PRTG network monitor is one of the best tool i have ever used for the monitoring. It have auto discovery option. it avoid the configuring the device in PRTG. It automatically discover the device an...
See all answers
What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?
The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?
PRTG Network Monitor remains affordable until now.
See all answers
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

Zabbix vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
Zabbix vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 8% of the time
PRTG Enterprise Monitor vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
PRTG Enterprise Monitor vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 6% of the time
SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 5% of the time
Centreon vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
Centreon vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 5% of the time
Checkmk vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
Checkmk vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 4% of the time
More PRTG Network Monitor Competitors
Dynatrace vs SolarWinds AppOptics Logo
Dynatrace vs SolarWinds AppOptics
Compared 25% of the time
New Relic vs SolarWinds AppOptics Logo
New Relic vs SolarWinds AppOptics
Compared 22% of the time
Zabbix vs SolarWinds AppOptics Logo
Zabbix vs SolarWinds AppOptics
Compared 11% of the time
DX Performance Management vs SolarWinds AppOptics Logo
DX Performance Management vs SolarWinds AppOptics
Compared 8% of the time
IBM Instana Observability vs SolarWinds AppOptics Logo
IBM Instana Observability vs SolarWinds AppOptics
Compared 8% of the time
More SolarWinds AppOptics Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor
September 2025
PRTG Network Monitor reportDownload PRTG Network Monitor product report
Buyer's Guide
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
September 2025
SolarWinds AppOptics reportDownload SolarWinds AppOptics product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
AppOptics, SolarWinds TraceView, Librato
 

Overview

PRTG Network Monitor runs on a Windows machine within your network, collecting various statistics from the machines, software, and devices which you designate. PRTG comes with an easy-to-use web interface with point-and-click configuration. You can easily share data from it with non-technical colleagues and customers, including via live graphs and custom reports. This will let you plan for network expansion, see what applications are using most of your connection, and make sure that no one is hogging the entire network just to torrent videos.

To monitor a large IT environment, it's important to be able to scale PRTG up. Paessler PRTG Enterprise Monitor includes all the proven capabilities of PRTG Network Monitor, which are enhanced by exclusive ITOps Board for a service-oriented, central overview of multiple PRTG servers.

Paessler GmbH

AppOptics is a SaaS-based simple, powerful and affordable Infrastructure & Application monitoring for custom on-premises, cloud, and hybrid systems. 

Your business runs on applications, and when they go down or run slowly, it can impact the business in lost productivity, customers, or revenue. To add to the complexity, your IT environment is changing, and workloads can be spread across data centers, and cloud resources. You need to monitor the availability and performance of applications and infrastructure, regardless of where they are, so you can identify potential issues early and address them before they impact users

SolarWinds
 

Sample Customers

Jameson Bank, Sidnix, RungeICT, MedicalAnimal, Truck-lite, GamingGrids, The Covell Group, Forsythn County Schools, NetMass, Musgrove Park Hospital, Lanes Health, Columbia Southern University, Vodafone, Intrust Bank
TraxoCovea Insurance BTE TechnologyDatarista
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds AppOptics
September 2025
Free Report: PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds AppOptics
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