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PRTG Network Monitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Paessler GmbH and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Paessler GmbH is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.7, while SolarWinds is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.0. Paessler GmbH holds a 4.3% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Paessler GmbH users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.
PRTG Network Monitor
Read 102 PRTG Network Monitor reviews
  • 6,904 Views
  • 4,836 Comparison Views
91% willing to recommend
SolarWinds Network Device M...
Read 22 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews
  • 725 Views
  • 600 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and PRTG Network Monitor are two leading products in the network monitoring sector. SolarWinds is recognized for being a more budget-friendly option, while PRTG offers a wider range of features and superior efficiency, giving PRTG an advantage for complex network environments.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor focuses on real-time monitoring with simple functionality suitable for basic network environments, such as device alerts and straightforward troubleshooting capabilities. PRTG Network Monitor supports multi-vendor environments and offers customizable dashboards with extensive monitoring functions ideal for complicated networks, providing a comprehensive view across various technologies.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds could enhance its feature set for more complex environments, expand multi-vendor support, and improve customization capabilities. PRTG could simplify its user interface for new users, enhance system resource management, and address the initial setup's complexity for larger organizations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds offers quick setup and ease of use, which makes it particularly favorable for smaller networks with limited technical resources. PRTG's deployment, while more complex, is backed by detailed documentation and strong customer support, accommodating varied network infrastructures effectively.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is noted for lower upfront costs and rapid ROI for basic monitoring needs. PRTG, despite higher initial costs, delivers excellent long-term value and ROI due to its robust feature set, suitable for enterprises requiring comprehensive monitoring solutions.

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To learn more, read our detailed PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
April 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 Network Monitoring Software
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (8th), Cloud Monitoring Software (9th)
SolarWinds Network Device M...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
27th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.3%, down from 4.8% 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

Tochukwu Uzomba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently monitor networks across regions with seamless setup and robust feature set
PRTG Network Monitor is easy to set up. Within a few minutes, it is operational. It is an all-in-one monitoring solution without extra costs. For example, we set it up for an insurance company with branches across Africa. We are able to monitor from Lagos without installing anything in the branches, using the agentless feature. We just put in the IP address and the parameter, and we monitor from those ends. Additionally, all the sensors are very useful. Most people are interested in the bandwidth monitoring sensor to see what bandwidth the users are consuming. The pricing is affordable compared to SolarWinds.
Read full review
Vijay Samant - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"The solution is scalable."
"It allows us to directly add individual VMs independently."
"The alerting is the most valuable feature. I also like the iPhone app. I get alerts in an email on the iPhone app."
"This solution provides us with the needed feedback on our IT infrastructure. It allows us to grab all the information from a single point of view."
"The scalability is good. You can improve a remote host or the clustering. This gives it the flexibility to monitor another infrastructure remotely."
"PRTG has improved our visibility and response time to issues related to remote sites."
"I like the mobility of the PRTG Network Monitor and ITOps Dashboard."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is being able to see things graphically."
More PRTG Network Monitor pros
"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Network Device Monitor ten out of ten."
"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."
"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."
"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is a straightforward product with valuable functionality."
"You can create an attractive dashboard and create a hierarchy."
"SolarWinds is flexible and works with multiple vendor devices."
"This product proactively tells us about issues before the users notice."
"The alerting functionality in SolarWinds Network Device Monitor helps us stay informed during off-hours by sending alerts if our main links or devices are impacted, allowing us to quickly address any issues."
More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros
 

Cons

"I have an issue with DFS, distributed file services... there isn't one by default. Taking into account the difference between DFS and DFSR as well would be great."
"While the desktop app is good, they could slightly improve it. We would like it to be a single pane of glass. At the moment, you can only see certain portions of information. You have to scroll through to make it more granular. We want them to develop the desktop app to be more user-friendly."
"It probably has this already, but if it had a mobile app that would be helpful. For example, on a day like today when I'm out, if I could just fire it up and see green, green, green, green, green or red, that would be good."
"I would like a more straightforward ability to create dashboards and maps. The network maps should be a bit more flexibility in the GUI to do what we need to do."
"Can be slow in the way it polls the different engines."
"Users need to buy the more expensive licenses if they expect to be able to scale."
"Having a Unix implementation or Unix installation could be an improvement. Right now, it's based just on Windows, and that's a problem for some customers."
"The only sort of limitation is the actual probes. So, if you don't have enough probes on there, you can over flip them and cause the WMI sensors and SNMP sensors to sort of overload. Sometimes, they might timeout for a minute, but they do come back."
More PRTG Network Monitor cons
"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."
"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."
"The security could always be improved."
"When an organization's network grows, the complexity of the dashboard becomes an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The main disadvantage of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is the licensing cost, which is expensive."
"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could improve the features. We don't have the complete model for the database, and the monitoring for the database is up and down. We expect that we could monitor the blocking items on the database but we don't have that feature."
"Integration with different tools, such as ServiceNow and Excel, can be improved."
"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."
More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While I am not the person who deals with pricing, I would say that we pay around 1000 pounds a year."
"Sensors on free version can run out quick."
"The pricing for PRTG in our case is reasonable because we have a lot of applications to monitor within PRTG. It is not that expensive."
"We've got 1,000 nodes and I believe it's a few hundred quid a month."
"The pricing is comparable."
"The ability to use the base version with 100 free sensors is great. The cost on other packages can be very reasonable."
"PRTG Network Monitor is very expensive."
"PRTG Network Monitor is cheap."
More PRTG Network Monitor pricing and cost advice
"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."
"The product is expensive."
"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."
"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."
"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."
"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."
"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."
"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."
More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice
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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
Educational Organization
47%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
The prices are very high for PRTG Network Monitor. That's why I'm using the free100 sensor license.
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?
SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects.
See all answers
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor should include automatic diagrams in its network solutions. Additionally, there is a challenge with having to add an additional polling engine after 10,000 element...
See all answers
 

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Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 29% of the time
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Compared 27% of the time
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Compared 27% of the time
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Compared 10% of the time
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Compared 7% of the time
More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor
April 2025
PRTG Network Monitor reportDownload PRTG Network Monitor product report
Buyer's Guide
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
April 2025
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reportDownload SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Network Device Monitor
 

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
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

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
Air Rarotonga
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
April 2025
Free Report: PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
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