AWS Auto Scaling vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #40 with an average rating of 8.5, while SolarWinds is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 0.5% mindshare in APM, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

AWS Auto Scaling

Read 22 AWS Auto Scaling reviews

2,155 Views
2,069 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 44 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

7,596 Views
4,330 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

AWS Auto Scaling

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and AWS Auto Scaling are products competing in server management and resource scaling. AWS Auto Scaling holds the upper hand due to its robust features and superior resource management solution capabilities.

Features: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides extensive server and application monitoring, automated issue detection, and performance metrics analysis. AWS Auto Scaling offers dynamic scalability, integration with CloudWatch, and seamless scaling based on demand.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds could enhance its cloud integration, reduce setup complexity, and expand alert customization. AWS Auto Scaling may improve cost transparency, user interface navigation, and offer more detailed documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Auto Scaling is seamlessly integrated into the AWS ecosystem, offering a streamlined cloud deployment model with extensive support. SolarWinds employs a traditional deployment approach, which may require adjustments but is supported by strong technical resources.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds offers predictable setup costs and return on investment through performance optimization. AWS Auto Scaling relates costs to usage, potentially offering savings in dynamic environments, though the return on investment depends on demand stability.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Auto Scaling vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Auto Scaling vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

August 2026

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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

AWS Auto Scaling

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

40th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

19th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (6th), Active Directory Management (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of AWS Auto Scaling is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 1.0%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor	1.0%
AWS Auto Scaling	0.5%
Other	98.5%

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

Ishaka Michael Efe

DevOps Engineer Intern at HNG Tech

Automation has simplified traffic management and improved workload efficiency

I'm not really sure what improvements I would want to see in AWS Auto Scaling because I haven't really used it extensively or explored most of it. To the extent that I've used it so far, I think it is very good. I can't really say for certain what should be improved because I haven't really explored it a lot. However, what I've been using it for has been very good. If there could be training for AWS Auto Scaling, that would be fine. If you could add more training on how to use it correctly and on the functions that I haven't used before or some people have not really used before, that would help. If there could be more documentation and training on it, that would be beneficial.

Read full review

NikhilKalwint

Technical Specialist at ServiceIO

Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility

From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

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 product provides self-healing features."

"The tool's most valuable feature is vertical auto-scaling, which is easy to use. However, most companies now prefer horizontal scaling. I set up the health check integration to monitor CPU usage. When it reaches seventy percent, it sends me an email notification."

"The good thing about Autoscaling is that it provides the capacity to minimize downtime. So, it gives you the assurance of stability and robustness within your system."

"The solution helps optimize the cost of the AWS environment."

"The solution's monitoring effectively monitors our application and CPU utilization."

"I like the graphs provided by the tool."

"Our internal business applications are hosted in AWS Auto Scaling."

"I would highly recommend Auto Scaling to others because it is a fantastic feature that simplifies scaling processes and makes deployment efficient."

More AWS Auto Scaling pros

"The most valuable feature is the Access Rights Manager."

"Once we got our IT inventory organized and aligned with the business, we were able to leverage our Orion Platform to provide more than just a reactive-based monitoring service to the business."

"It is scalable."

"The application dependency feature identifies issues between applications and servers or within the network where the application is hosted. It highlights related problems, whether related to packet processing or other issues, enabling the creation of alerts and reports accordingly."

"The graphical interfaces, GUI customizations, and alert configurations are impressive."

"SolarWinds SAM is very stable, and we are using it with hundreds or thousands of customers and there are no stability issues."

"Solarwinds has an open database that allows you to do serious integrations. It doesn't matter which service desk you have, you can implement and integrate it with SolarWinds."

"Having used various other vendors for monitoring over my career, the SolarWinds products give outstanding value for the price."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Cons

"It has latency issues. It depends on the distribution used, whether it's Amazon Linux, Windows Linux, etc. Occasionally, there are latency issues, which might lead to slower performance."

"Flexibility in configuring the workload is missing in AWS Auto Scaling."

"The only area of improvement is the speed at which servers are launched. When cleaning up to six servers at a time, it can take up to 15 to 20 minutes to launch new servers."

"It could be cheaper."

"The solution is not out-of-the-box and you have to study to use it. It should be more easier to use."

"The product’s pricing needs improvement."

"The solution's infrastructure scalability and elasticity could be improved."

"It is sometimes very critical to deploy on AWS since some servers are already running in the background. There are challenges for employees on how to deploy at a given time."

More AWS Auto Scaling cons

"The setup was complex. We had local support to assist us."

"SAM's software-defined network monitoring capability is also low and could be improved."

"It would be helpful if the solution could integrate more with the security compliances, like this IDSS, etc."

"The technical support team's response time could be improved."

"They should incorporate more artificial intelligence. There should also be more predictive features."

"When you implement SolarWinds on a larger scale my customers complain about the speed."

"This product has no real downside unless they fail to continue development of its capabilities."

"In terms of the dashboards on offer, they should work to improve them. The types of dashboards that you get in terms of the graphs on offer aren't ideal right now."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS Auto Scaling is a cheap solution."

"AWS Auto Scaling is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is good. I have not had any customers that have complained about the price."

"AWS Auto Scaling is a pay-per-use and pay-as-you-use service."

"AWS Auto Scaling's price is high."

"The product is expensive."

"The product has moderate pricing."

"When planning for the number of licenses to purchase, make sure you understand all of the elements within an application required to really understand performance well. In our case, we quickly came to the conclusion that an unlimited license for SAM was the way to go."

"Nagios XI, WhatsUpGold, Uptime Software, PRTG, Manage Engine, and SpiceWorks are the other tools that have lower pricing and licensing costs. However, they can't compete with SolarWinds when it comes to the features and functionality that SolarWinds can provide."

"The price is too high."

"Price can always be lower. It is neither on the expensive side nor on the cheap side. We have worked with them for a lot of years, so we get a discount due to the size of the installation."

"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."

"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."

"I have always said SolarWinds is very “proud” of their products, meaning they are expensive. I cannot afford to purchase all the licenses I need for all the SolarWinds products."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

17%

Educational Organization

13%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

13%

University

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Auto Scaling?

I'm not sure about the pricing aspect of AWS Auto Scaling or the cost of it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Auto Scaling?

AWS Auto Scaling can be improved in many ways, such as providing better visibility into scaling decisions and clarifying why exactly scaling happens. Sometimes, I am not sure why scaling occurs. Ea...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Auto Scaling?

My main use case for AWS Auto Scaling is automatically scaling EC2 instances behind a load balancer based on traffic, CPU, and memory usage, as well as custom CloudWatch metrics. I also use it with...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There is definitely room for improvement besides simplifying its setup. As a non-technical person, I believe the dashboards could be improved. Everything we use appears on video walls, and we need ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

I am doing research as we currently have both solutions, and I am looking to see if we need both or can manage with one. Currently, the outcome indicates that we need both. The focus point is diffe...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

August 2026

Download AWS Auto Scaling product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

July 2026

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

Also Known As

AWS Auto-Scaling

SolarWinds SAM

Overview

AWS Auto Scaling optimizes resource use by automatically adjusting instances based on demand. It integrates with CloudWatch for seamless monitoring, enhancing system reliability and cost efficiency without manual intervention.

AWS Auto Scaling is designed to dynamically scale resources in response to demand, supporting horizontal and vertical scaling for optimal performance. It integrates well with AWS services like EC2 and ECS, allowing for flexible and scalable solutions. Predictive scaling and intelligent automation reduce costs and ensure reliability, particularly during unpredictable traffic variations. Users implement it to maintain efficiency and minimize downtime, benefiting from features such as self-healing and health checks.

What are the key features of AWS Auto Scaling?

Automatic Scaling: Adjusts resources based on real-time demand metrics.
CloudWatch Integration: Seamless monitoring integration for efficient resource management.
Target Tracking: Maintains desired performance levels by adjusting resources as needed.
Scheduled Scaling: Pre-configure adjustments based on expected demand changes.
Self-Healing: Automatically replaces unhealthy instances to ensure maximum uptime.

What benefits should users expect from AWS Auto Scaling?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces cost by adjusting resources based on fluctuating demand.
Reliable Performance: Ensures consistent performance even with varying traffic levels.
Minimal Downtime: Automatically adapts to traffic changes to keep services running smoothly.
User-Friendly Interface: Simple operation with intuitive controls and configurations.
Flexibility: Supports a range of AWS services, adapting to different use cases and demands.

In industries with variable demand, AWS Auto Scaling is deployed to manage real-time traffic surges, ensuring efficient use of resources during periods such as events and festive seasons. Users grow dynamic environments while balancing costs and maintaining stability, integrating the tool with CI/CD processes for continuous and efficient deployment.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides comprehensive server, application, and infrastructure monitoring, focusing on integration, application dependency, and network insights through user-friendly interfaces and detailed dashboards.

With AppStack and AppInsight support, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor offers service management, detailed resource dashboards, and integration capabilities. It monitors hardware metrics and performance parameters, facilitating database and network insights for cloud and virtual environments. Robust alerting, predictive analytics, and capacity planning ensure efficient management of server health and application performance.

What are the key features?

Integration: Seamlessly connects with existing tools.
AppStack: Provides a holistic view of applications.
AppInsight: Supports widely-used applications.
SNMP Polling: Efficient network data collection.
Diagnostics: Real-time troubleshooting.
Customizable Dashboards: Tailored monitoring views.

What benefits should users expect?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Extends from servers to databases.
Transparent Control: Enhances visibility into performance metrics.
User-Friendly: Simplifies proactive monitoring with alerts.
Predictive Features: Supports capacity and trend planning.

Industries implement SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor to enhance server utilization reporting, network configuration, and AV equipment performance tracking. They benefit from monitoring critical services across diverse deployment models, improving management efficiency and decision-making.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

Buyer's Guide

AWS Auto Scaling vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

August 2026

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