SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

SolarWinds and Progress Software are both solutions in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category. SolarWinds is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.6, while Progress Software is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. SolarWinds holds a 6.3% mindshare in NTA, compared to Progress Software’s 3.4% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of SolarWinds users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Read 43 SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer reviews

3,965 Views
1,784 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

WhatsUp Gold

Read 25 WhatsUp Gold reviews

13,110 Views
524 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

WhatsUp Gold

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and WhatsUp Gold based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. WhatsUp Gold Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. WhatsUp Gold

August 2026

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Helped 909,701 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

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

3rd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WhatsUp Gold

Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

11th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (34th), Network Monitoring Software (21st), Server Monitoring (14th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (17th), Configuration Management (20th), Log Management (39th), Cloud Monitoring Software (25th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category, the mindshare of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is 6.3%, up from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WhatsUp Gold is 3.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer	6.3%
WhatsUp Gold	3.4%
Other	90.3%

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Featured Reviews

Raja Xabi

Technical Manager at APRAL

Improved bandwidth management and network visibility have resulted in financial benefits and streamlined operations

There is always room for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, such as implementing instant reporting based on business intelligence reports and more granular filters in their dashboard to improve the GUI view and reporting. The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model is quite costly compared to other brands. If users are comfortable with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, they have to make the hard decision to invest, and it's suggested from a user's perspective that SolarWinds should improve their financial model and licensing to become competitive, especially for small to medium businesses.

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Erik Cheng

Technical Manager at Quan Hung Gourmet

Efficient monitoring with detailed customization, yet complexity remains

The best feature of WhatsUp Gold is the automatic generation of topology and its integration with virtualization and wireless. I have used the automated device discovery with this topology feature. The interactive map feature helps me manage the topology because sometimes we cannot draw the topology correctly, so we need to manually edit the connections. The alerting system is very tunable and customizable, but it's a little complicated to use. Many customers cannot manage it by themselves and need support from us, the provider. We always use the dashboards in the SOC, where we constantly display a dashboard or multiple dashboards. This allows us to know immediately if the connection or bandwidth is full or if the connection is broken.

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

"I can point out the exact root cause 'why.' If there is a slowness, I can point out what was before the issue or before the slowness, what it is, and what is now."

"At the end of the day, you can get very comprehensive reports showing you everything that is happening in the domain."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"The support is excellent."

"Overall, for my use cases, this product is very good and I recommend it."

"What the network team found most valuable in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is that it helps them to troubleshoot or analyze the issue. For example, traffic that comes from our location: India, goes to the US, so for the network team to analyze where the traffic comes from and where it is directed, and whether the packets are being dropped, they use SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. The network team also likes that through the solution, they can analyze the complete traffic utilization and how they're going to use it. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is user-friendly. The team finds it comfortable to use."

"What people found most valuable in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is its report customization feature."

"This tool provides insights into top utilization applications or it identifies which circuit or application is consuming the most on the complete one-gig circuit traffic path."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

"Our local support team provides excellent service."

"The new version has a lot of improved features."

"NetFlow monitoring, real-time monitoring, and surveys have been the most valuable features for our business."

"This is a good, stable network monitoring solution for devices."

"The interface in the last few years it has been a lot greater, they are much more user-friendly. I like the interface."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"The visual map and email alerts are very useful to have in real time so we always know the state of our network."

"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of resources."

More WhatsUp Gold pros

Cons

"If your network is on SolarWinds, and you notice that the traffic is bad because it says "user downloading a heavy file," it doesn't indicate which endpoint is downloading those heavy files. SolarWinds doesn't have the tools to be able to handle this kind of situation. You can just notice through your network device that the traffic is becoming overwhelming or heavy, but you cannot go inside and get more details related to the endpoint where it is happening. We would like SolarWinds to be able to handle this kind of situation and even manage the traffic inside a network from the endpoint to the network device. These would be good enhancements. It is mostly stable. The problem comes only when we want to add another SolarWinds model. SolarWinds has so many models, and sometimes when we want to add other models on the platforms that are reserved for our firm, it freezes. When this happens, we have to create a new VM for that model."

"One area that we struggle with is the price. Because the price of this solution is so high, we are largely unable to introduce it into the local market, and only the banking sector has the means to afford it."

"This solution does not do a very good job when I am trying to look deeper into my internal network, in particular with respect to individual ports."

"An area for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is the dashboarding. The user interface also has room for improvement because it's currently clunky."

"I wouldn't recommend SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer to others, unless pricing is lowered."

"There is room for improvement when it comes to the traffic generated by the analyzer and the analysis of that traffic."

"It can be complex to set up and configure."

"The licensing should be more realistic so that we can adjust the number of nodes according to my needs, rather than in fixed increments."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

"Adding on services increases the cost and on the version we have there is no option for ATM monitoring."

"My understanding is that there are better products out there that do a better job."

"Honestly, I do not particularly like WhatsUp Gold. I think we should get rid of it."

"The pricing for this solution has gone up quite recently, which has led some of our customers to buy an alternative product."

"Regional product team support is not very good."

"One of the biggest things that made us start to look at another product is we're not able to have an end to end monitoring from a user perspective throughout the system and back to the user. All the monitoring is from inside out, we need something that also can give us from outside in."

"The new release cadence needs to be improved. It takes a while for them to add new features and functionality. There should be a quicker turnaround with new versions."

"Importing the maps and being able to customize them could be easier."

More WhatsUp Gold cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is reasonably priced."

"SolarWinds' pricing structure is the primary reason why some customers opt for another solution such as ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. In NTA, you are charged per port, meaning that if you have a 24-port switch you will be charged for 24 individual nodes. ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, on the other hand, charges per switch, such that if you add a switch, the entire switch will count as one single node."

"The pricing is really good."

"While the pricing is fair, it could be better."

"We have licenses for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. In terms of pricing, its license is not that expensive versus other tools such as HP."

"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of nodes."

"I don't have information on the licensing cost for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because it's bundled with another SolarWinds solution. My organization has seven different models and pays for the license yearly. My organization also had to deploy additional pollers, but the cost wasn't very expensive, though I can't give the exact numbers."

"The price of this solution is exceptional."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

"The most valuable feature is the cost compared to other solutions."

"This is a well priced solution."

"The price of WhatsUp Gold is good."

"The choice of version depends on the number of points, or devices, that you want to monitor, and this makes the product expensive."

"There are some subscription charges that are quite heavy. I need to pay for support every year and these charges can be quite expensive. Aside from the initial cost for the tool, you need to pay additionally for support."

"Pricing is reasonable compared to other products."

"There is a license needed to use WhatsUp Gold."

"The pricing can be on the expensive side when considering competing products."

More WhatsUp Gold pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model i...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

Regarding improvement, the application monitoring capabilities are not exceptional. If SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer could improve in that area, it would be helpful. It is less AIOps driven a...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WhatsUp Gold?

Clients find the licensing calculator confusing, but we simplify this for them by collecting relevant information first. The licensing is based on devices, providing better cost-effectiveness than ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?

It would be great if WhatsUp Gold could add features that simplify management with AI, as it is currently too complicated to manage.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WhatsUp Gold?

My use case for WhatsUp Gold includes all device availability checks, bandwidth usage, CPU, and memory usage, as well as alarm notifications.

See all answers

Comparisons

Wireshark vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 7% of the time

ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 7% of the time

Darktrace vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 6% of the time

Iris Session Analyzer vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 6% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Compared 6% of the time

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer Competitors

LibreNMS vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

SCOM vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

NinjaOne vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

ScienceLogic vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 3% of the time

More WhatsUp Gold Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

July 2026

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer report

Download SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer product report

Buyer's Guide

WhatsUp Gold

July 2026

Download WhatsUp Gold product report

Also Known As

Netflow Traffic Analyzer

No data available

Overview

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer provides comprehensive bandwidth analysis and traffic visibility, offering real-time insights and proactive alerting to manage networks effectively.

Renowned for its extensive monitoring capabilities across diverse devices, SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer integrates seamlessly with other SolarWinds tools, enhancing network visibility and troubleshooting. Users benefit from customizable dashboards, detailed application tracking, and historical performance analysis. The tool is pivotal in managing network issues and ensuring network stability, although it faces some challenges in improving automation, third-party integration, and pricing flexibility.

What are the key features of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

Bandwidth Analysis: Provides detailed insights into bandwidth consumption.
Traffic Visibility: Offers extensive monitoring of devices across vendor types.
Customizable Dashboards: Users can create tailored dashboards for specific needs.
Application Tracking: Delivers in-depth tracking of application performance.
Historical Performance Analysis: Allows thorough investigation of past network issues.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Real-Time Insights: Enables prompt detection of network issues.
Proactive Alerting: Alerts facilitate quick response to potential problems.
Enhanced Troubleshooting: Tools integration aids in faster problem resolution.
Capacity Planning: Assists in forecasting and managing bandwidth needs.
Comprehensive Reporting: Generates detailed reports for informed decision-making.

In industries requiring extensive network management, SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is widely implemented for monitoring network performance and traffic analysis. Organizations use it to supervise bandwidth consumption and assess site connections, aiding in bandwidth-heavy application analyses. It is crucial for generating reports and maintaining network stability, supporting capacity planning and endpoint monitoring to manage infrastructure proactively.

SolarWinds

WhatsUp Gold stands out with its comprehensive network monitoring, dynamic mapping, and real-time alerts, offering essential tools for managing extensive IT infrastructures.

WhatsUp Gold provides robust capabilities in network visibility through dynamic mapping and NetFlow analysis. The platform's interactive topology aids in pinpointing issues effectively. Auto-discovery ensures complete network device tracking. While offering an intuitive interface and integration with Cisco ServiceNow, users find server performance monitoring useful for incident handling. However, improvements are anticipated in application monitoring and Active Directory integration. The pricing model and customization options leave room for enhancement. Despite these, users benefit from its integrated dashboards for immediate device health checks and network updates, making it beneficial for large-scale infrastructure management.

What features does WhatsUp Gold offer?

Network Monitoring: Provides continuous oversight of network components
Dynamic Mapping: Offers visual representation of network topology
NetFlow Analysis: Delivers insights into bandwidth utilization
Threshold Alerts: Notifies users upon reaching set performance thresholds
Auto-Discovery: Detects devices automatically for complete network coverage

What benefits should users expect from reviews?

Comprehensive Visibility: Enhanced understanding of network elements
Real-Time Monitoring: Immediate insights into network and device status
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive solution suitable for expansive networks
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies the management of complex networks

Organizations in sectors like telecommunications, education, and healthcare utilize WhatsUp Gold for their network monitoring needs. Telecom companies track switches and routers, educational institutions manage bandwidth usage, and healthcare facilities monitor device availability to ensure seamless operations.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori

Artoni Trasporti, Austin Independent School District, Banca Marche, Burke County North Carolina, Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine, Clayco, Community Integrated Care, Desca, Deutsche Bergbau, Flexi-Van, Gropper, Hamleys, Hammonds Furniture, Knowledge IT, Idras S.P.A., Sibeg, Swann Engineering, Trivium Lindenhof

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. WhatsUp Gold

August 2026

Free Report: SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. WhatsUp Gold

Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. WhatsUp Gold and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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