Auvik Network Management (ANM) vs Azure Network Watcher comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Auvik and Microsoft are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Auvik is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6, while Microsoft is ranked #43 with an average rating of 8.0. Auvik holds a 1.2% mindshare in NMS, compared to Microsoft’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 99% of Auvik users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Auvik Network Management (ANM)

Read 221 Auvik Network Management (ANM) reviews

20,095 Views
13,263 Comparison Views

99% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

2,941 Views
2,882 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Auvik Network Management (ANM)

Azure Network Watcher

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Azure Network Watcher and Auvik Network Management (ANM) are competitors in the network monitoring space. While Azure Network Watcher's integration with Azure services gives it an edge, Auvik Network Management's network mapping capabilities make it highly suitable for multivendor environments.

Features: Azure Network Watcher offers packet capture, flow logging, and network performance monitoring essential for Azure-centric environments. Auvik Network Management provides comprehensive network mapping, automated alerts, and performance analytics, valuable for managing diverse network equipment.

Room for Improvement: Azure Network Watcher could enhance multivendor support and offer more detailed network analysis tools. Auvik Network Management may benefit from deeper integration with cloud services, improved UI for complex environments, and enhanced real-time performance insights.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure Network Watcher integrates seamlessly within Azure environments, simplifying deployment. Auvik Network Management claims straightforward setup through cloud-based implementation, offering versatility across different network setups. Azure's support focuses on Azure-specific issues, while Auvik provides multivendor support, making ANM preferable for heterogeneous environments.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Network Watcher's pricing aligns with Azure service users, offering good ROI within Azure-heavy environments. Auvik Network Management presents a flexible cost structure with high ROI for multivendor network scenarios, appealing to organizations managing diverse network devices.

To learn more, read our detailed Auvik Network Management (ANM) vs. Azure Network Watcher Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Auvik Network Management (ANM) vs. Azure Network Watcher

November 2026

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Helped 920,769 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

Auvik Network Management (ANM)

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

221

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), Network Troubleshooting (2nd), Cloud Monitoring Software (6th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (2nd)

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

43rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Auvik Network Management (ANM) is 1.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Auvik Network Management (ANM)	1.2%
Azure Network Watcher	0.6%
Other	98.2%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

reviewer2349501

Manager, Technical Services at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Real-time network visibility has transformed how we pinpoint LAN bottlenecks and resolve issues faster

The only area for improvement is pricing. Otherwise, the tool is great. I think the pricing is acceptable. If you are working with resellers, it makes it a little bit difficult sometimes for the reseller to be able to make too much, as the margin is not all that significant. However, we are not getting rid of Auvik Network Management (ANM). That is the only thing in my opinion that Auvik Network Management (ANM) can do a little bit better on—maybe just the pricing—but it is a great tool. We are not replacing it with anything and we are not removing it at all. It is a great tool, and we are able to monitor our own internal network as well as that of our customers. In most cases, we have not had any complaints about neither from my techs or from myself about its functionality, as it works really.

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PrashantSarmalkar

Enterprise Architect at ATOS

Monitoring traffic has improved cost control and threat visibility across network flows

The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on getting better analytics and foundation models for proactive monitoring through AI models. While these capabilities exist, they are still in beta version. Azure Network Watcher should improve to match the capabilities that Google is targeting from an analytical point of view. Azure Network Watcher needs to improve foundation models in terms of AI-specific features and analytics, which are still evolving. This may take some time, but within one or two years, these improvements should reach a nine rating.

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

"There are many things I like about the product. It's cloud-based and automatically refreshes the network container. We like the automatic backups and the comparison between backups. It's straightforward to set up, and it integrates with many protocols. PDF, SVG and others export of the diagrams"

"Overall, I really love the tool as it has been super helpful for us in our environment."

"I like Auvik's SNMP capabilities. Seeing all the metrics and analytics in one dashboard is a game-changer. The topology is excellent."

"I love that Auvik manages all of the credentials for me."

"Credential management is the most valuable feature. It's helpful to have everything in one essential place."

"Auvik makes it super simple to have sub-tenants and you can then view high-level details from the "parent" tenant, which is our MSP interface, while also diving deep into the client-side and having full access there for assigning client-level permissions."

"From a product perspective, it's a 10 out of 10."

"It reduces downtime while improving security. The automated process saves me a lot of time."

More Auvik Network Management (ANM) pros

"Azure Network Watcher provides valuable features based on your specific requirements and use cases, helping you monitor network bandwidth, throughput, data flow consumption, and control costs by giving insight into egress and ingress traffic, total input and output operations, bandwidth, and threats through IP identification."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"The solution is stable."

"This will help the company or the administrator, by helping them see how the traffic moves, to make sure that no entities are having any communication issues or different endpoints with task issues."

"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"My advice to others looking into using Azure Network Watcher is to go for it, as you'll have the tool by default when you're subscribed to Azure VNet."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

Cons

"A feature I'd like to see is a stat breakdown of our networks at the end of every month, showing package drop rates for each network and so on. For example, this data delivered in an email would be a good feature."

"Auvik could have better compatibility with more devices. The devices that we're using are essential within our network infrastructure. It would be great to access the full range of features that some of the other ones do, such as the device configuration backups and the configuration change alert."

"I'd like to be able to deep dive more into the reporting. The reporting is still being scaled and built out and I would love to see some additional products being added to the stack. For example, Auvik covers certain types of firewalls, but I would like to see more enterprise stuff added to the stack."

"They need to improve the reporting system. They still don't have a proper reporting system in Auvik. They have built a dashboard in Power BI using APIs, but they should build some sort of report within Auvik itself. If Auvik fixes the reporting or comes up with a good reporting module, it will change the game."

"I would like to be able to get a little bit more granularity in turning on and off alerts because I get flooded with alerts. It gives too much information at times."

"Navigating around the map on more complex networks is pretty painful if you're showing endpoints. I know there are filters to knock it down, but sometimes that's not enough. It handles like 'early-90s Java.'"

"Sometimes the network map just doesn't want to update as quickly as it should, which can be frustrating."

"More capabilities in terms of default OIDs, so we can leverage more of the information from SNMP would be good to see. It's been a while since I messed with the OIDs, but the last time I was trying to get additional information from printers, such as the model number. I was able to find that information, but it took a good amount of research to figure out how. I want to see more default capability regarding what information gets spit out from SNMP."

More Auvik Network Management (ANM) cons

"I still use Wireshark and Azure Network Watcher to get the required data. My team captures the traffic from Azure Network Watcher, downloads it, then imports that traffic into Wireshark to get more details on the number of hits and replies, for example. If you can do that on Azure Network Watcher and have Wireshark built-in, that would make Azure Network Watcher better. If Azure Network Watcher has that functionality where you won't need a third-party tool to get what you need, that would be helpful. I'm also expecting more from Azure Network Watcher. It's more complex than knowing how the IP flows from its source to the destination. The tool also needs more open-source features, such as having some built-in Wireshark that improves monitoring for customers. Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging. Is it one hundred percent an Azure issue? Is it a peer issue? You don't get complete information from Azure Network Watcher, so you must use other tools and depend on your strategies to resolve a specific issue. If more features could be added in the next release of Azure Network Watcher, specifically ones you can find on open-source tools, then that would be a plus point for the tool."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."

"Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging."

"It's not the most friendly or straightforward to set up. I don't see the value versus the way you have to set it up at first."

"There are some occasional downtimes, but these were based on Azure-specific issues."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They charge for switches and some networking hardware, but everything else is free."

"I assume it is not crazy. I know it is on a per-switch basis or per-device basis, but I am not sure what the exact values are."

"The pricing is pretty reasonable for what we get. It's billed by certain, core network devices that it monitors, but I'm not billed for all the devices it monitors. For example, wireless access points and small things like that, throughout the network, are not billed."

"Auvik is fairly priced. The cost is what we expected considering network management. The benefits outweigh the cost for us."

"The pricing is by device. We have 75 devices, which is a little more than we really need. With school and volume discounts, it is still a little over $16,000 annually. Our WiFi access points are not being billed, but all our switches and routers are."

"The pricing gets pretty expensive because it is per device that is managed. It is not per site, so it can get pricey."

"The pricing is fair; it's just the right price for what the solution provides."

"It's quite reasonable, although it's reasonable for us right now only because of the small number of devices we're using. If we had a lot more to monitor, then I'd have to double-check the pricing and compare it with other solutions to see if it would be competitive."

More Auvik Network Management (ANM) pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

22%

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	160
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	27

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Auvik?

The reason I give it an eight, rather than a nine or ten, relates to the premium price of Auvik Network Management (ANM). If the price were lower, my expectations would not be so high, and I would ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Auvik?

Regarding the features of Auvik Network Management (ANM), I believe that the primary improvement needed focuses on ensuring the live topology map is as accurate and easy to understand as possible, ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Auvik?

My main use case for Auvik Network Management (ANM) is to have full visibility, so when I have Auvik Network Management (ANM) deployed with my customer, especially the full license, which includes ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Auvik Network Management (ANM)

October 2026

Download Auvik Network Management (ANM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

October 2026

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Overview

Auvik Network Management offers competitive pricing for essential network and infrastructure device management, providing robust features valued by enterprises.

Auvik Network Management delivers comprehensive network visibility and management through intuitive auditing, alerting, and discovery functionalities. It eases troubleshooting, automates configuration backups, and includes a user-friendly interface for effective monitoring and management. With real-time alerts and customizable notifications, IT operations are streamlined, while remote access capabilities enhance time efficiency. ANM supports integration with other platforms, effectively maintaining device inventories and visualizing network topology.

What are the key features of Auvik Network Management?

Auditing: Offers comprehensive network audits, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.
Network Discovery: Simplifies the process of identifying network components.
Alerting Modules: Provides real-time alerts and customizable notifications.
Configuration Backups: Automates backups, safeguarding configurations.
Remote Access: Streamlines network management from any location.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Auvik Network Management?

Enhanced Network Visibility: Offers detailed insights into network operations.
Time Efficiency: Remote access and automated features save valuable time.
Proactive Issue Identification: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying issues quickly.
Integration Support: Works cohesively with other platforms, easing management.
Operational Efficiency: Automates management tasks for improved productivity.

In industries such as IT management and network administration, Auvik Network Management is predominantly utilized for overseeing and maintaining network infrastructures across multiple locations. It offers capabilities for monitoring network topology, receiving alerts on device downtimes, and managing performance metrics. Users employ its features for proactive issue identification, and auditing, helping maintain oversight of networks containing switches, routers, and firewalls. Auvik provides remote access and automated backups, which contribute to enhanced operational efficiency and network visibility.

Auvik

Azure Network Watcher provides advanced network monitoring capabilities including packet capture, cloud-native firewall, and traffic diagnosis, aiding in VPN troubleshooting and security enforcement with enhanced visibility and alerting features.

Azure Network Watcher is essential for monitoring, diagnosing, and analyzing network traffic. It efficiently handles VPN connection issues and enhances network security by capturing and analyzing traffic to assess performance or latency problems. The tool facilitates traffic flow control, security rule verification, and bandwidth monitoring. Users benefit from its capabilities in diagnosing service connections, offering insights into network activity, and identifying potential threats, crucial for maintaining compliance and efficient network management.

What are the key features of Azure Network Watcher?

Packet Capture: Enables detailed network traffic inspection to troubleshoot issues.
Cloud-Native Application Firewall: Provides enhanced protection for applications running in the cloud.
Traffic Monitoring: Allows for real-time analysis and troubleshooting of network traffic.
NSG Flow Logs & AI-Based Monitoring: Enhances flow control and threat detection.
Alerting & Threshold Configuration: Offers customizable alerts via Azure Monitor for proactive management.

What benefits can users look for in reviews?

Improved Network Security: Helps in identifying and mitigating threats efficiently.
Enhanced Visibility: Provides clear insights into network operations and potential issues.
Compliance Support: Assists in maintaining regulatory compliance with thorough monitoring capabilities.
Effective Bandwidth Management: Facilitates control and optimization of network bandwidth.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Azure Network Watcher is implemented to ensure robust security and compliance, crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. It aids retail and manufacturing sectors in optimizing network performance and maintaining seamless connectivity, supporting their digital infrastructure needs.

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

Auvik Network Management (ANM) vs. Azure Network Watcher

November 2026

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