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Checkmk vs Zabbix comparison

Checkmk and Zabbix are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Checkmk is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.4, while Zabbix is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. Checkmk holds a 3.9% mindshare in NMS, compared to Zabbix’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Checkmk users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zabbix users who would recommend it.

Checkmk

Read 9 Checkmk reviews

4,470 Views
3,800 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zabbix

Read 107 Zabbix reviews

24,598 Views
15,005 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Checkmk

Zabbix

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

Zabbix and Checkmk are both open-source monitoring solutions competing in the network, server, and application monitoring category. Zabbix appears to have an upper hand due to its flexible and comprehensive feature set.

Features: Zabbix is known for its flexibility, auto-discovery, and scalability. It supports features like Low-Level Discovery and provides extensive integration options. Checkmk is valued for its automatic discovery capabilities and its ability to integrate seamlessly with other systems.

Room for Improvement: Zabbix users often desire enhancements in its reporting functions, user-friendly interface, and support for modern workloads like containers. Improvements in automation and integration are also suggested. Checkmk could enhance its integration capabilities and make its documentation more user-friendly to improve accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zabbix offers flexible deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, but non-experts may find the setup complex. Its community support is appreciated, though less direct than Checkmk's structured support services. Checkmk stands out for its easy on-premises deployment and effective setup process.

Pricing and ROI: Zabbix is an open-source platform with no licensing fees, allowing significant cost savings, particularly for large-scale deployments, and generally offers a high ROI due to its comprehensive features. Checkmk is considered affordable, with its enterprise edition's cost being justified by the features and support offered compared to other solutions. Both products offer highly cost-effective solutions with significant value.

To learn more, read our detailed Checkmk vs. Zabbix Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. Zabbix

July 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

Checkmk

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

8th

Ranking in Server Monitoring

5th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

13th

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zabbix

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

1st

Ranking in Server Monitoring

1st

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

1st

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Checkmk is 3.9%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 12.3%, up from 11.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Paolo Sala

Application performance and System monitoring at Agos

A reasonably priced tool for system and application monitoring

The main room for improvement is in the solution's presentation and the integration area. In our company, we use the integration capabilities from ServiceNow. We also have another big monitoring solution in place in our company, which is Dynatrace. At the moment, there doesn't exist an out-of-the-box integration for Dynatrace. I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most. The only implementation of Checkmk that allows high availability is the virtual appliance that has the option for the availability of a different box. Otherwise, you have to find a way to implement it manually with some custom solution, which could be an improvement.

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B Ahmed

Manager, Information Technology Zara & Inditex at Cenomi

Enables seamless global client monitoring with reliable remote connectivity

I use the solution to provide a perfect environment for remote connectivity with my clients. Many tools that I require for system maintenance are included. I can easily monitor all of my clients throughout the world I did not give much thought to it, however, improvements could be made to Zabbix.…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The alerting system in Checkmk really works properly."

"I really like the auto-discovery feature."

"The most valuable features of Checkmk are its resource monitoring, infra monitoring, and log factor configuration."

"Checkmk was built on a platform that was user-friendly, and I could build my charts easily."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"We can monitor multiple sites using the product."

"The initial setup of Checkmk was easy...It is a very stable solution."

"It's versatile, scalable, and easier to use compared to other solutions like Nagios and OMD."

More Checkmk pros

"Like other common Linux distributions, some of the most valuable features of this solution are the ease of use and deployment. It's simple and has a lot of packages and a lot of software."

"The most valuable feature is network traffic monitoring."

"The implementation process is very straightforward."

"Setup was straightforward. Initial deployment took two or three months."

"Zabbix helps to save time."

"The most valuable features are the monitoring and the ease with which we can set it up at customer sites with our custom Zabbix proxy and tools."

"They've already added extra features, such as noise-canceling and facial recognition, which is great."

"It meets my organizational needs. It's pretty easy to use."

More Zabbix pros

Cons

"The initial setup is a bit complex."

"If an alert is generated for a specific pattern in the log, and if Checkmk catches that log, it will stay there even after the alert is resolved."

"Sometimes we receive alerts, and it can become annoying when you acknowledge an alert. It is very clunky when you acknowledge the alert. The process is not very intuitive, and there are instances where it feels a bit cumbersome to acknowledge an alert."

"I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most."

"It is easy for tech-savvy people, but newcomers might find it intimidating."

"The main challenge for us is that we're moving from Nagios to Checkmk, and we're still getting used to the new way of working."

"Checkmk does not allow running scripts at varying intervals."

"Checkmk does not work too easily with the PowerStore. I use a PowerShell script as Checkmk runs on Linux and a Windows system, connecting with the Checkmk agent."

More Checkmk cons

"We would like to monitor other touchpoints such as ATM machines. It would be great if it can provide monitoring of ATM machines. Compatibility with other products would also be great."

"The integration of the product is not so easy, especially when it comes to the application database."

"I would like for this solution to be more cloud-friendly."

"I'm using the free version of Zabbix, and I'd like to see more customization options, especially for setting trigger thresholds."

"I had problems using Zabbix when working with SUSE Enterprise; many companies use SUSE."

"The only improvement I would suggest, revolves around its AI and ML capabilities."

"The product delivers false positives during reporting because of flapping. Other reasonably priced alternatives may have better performance."

"Zabbix claims that there is an auto-discovery process but my team member was facing difficulty and was told that it's not really automatic, and there are some manual steps."

More Zabbix cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Checkmk is a fairly reasonably priced solution."

"The product is affordable."

"The price of Checkmk is cheaper compared to other enterprise products."

"The product is an open source and free solution."

"There are no licenses."

"It’s free of cost."

"There is a license required for this solution and we pay annually for our license."

"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."

"For pricing, it's free. We don't pay anything for it. They open-source the code, and people pay for support."

"I use the tool's free version."

"We’re using the free version, which covers all our current needs."

More Zabbix pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Checkmk?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Checkmk?

I will get more information about Checkmk when the proof of concept is done. It's going to be before the summer. There will be a report about the tool and a recommendation to use it. So far, it loo...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Checkmk?

Checkmk ( /products/checkmk-reviews ) is a monitoring tool, so that's what I will use it for. Right now, it's not in production, but it's in a proof of concept phase. It looks good, so probably, du...

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What do you like most about Zabbix?

The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?

We didn't use the commercial version. We used the free version.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zabbix?

I think it's the best solution for monitoring. I don't know any better.

See all answers

Comparisons

LibreNMS vs Checkmk

Compared 8% of the time

Icinga vs Checkmk

Compared 7% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Checkmk

Compared 5% of the time

Centreon vs Checkmk

Compared 4% of the time

SCOM vs Checkmk

Compared 3% of the time

More Checkmk Competitors

LibreNMS vs Zabbix

Compared 9% of the time

Icinga vs Zabbix

Compared 6% of the time

NetXMS vs Zabbix

Compared 4% of the time

Nagios XI vs Zabbix

Compared 4% of the time

Centreon vs Zabbix

Compared 3% of the time

More Zabbix Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk

August 2025

Download Checkmk product report

Buyer's Guide

Zabbix

July 2025

Download Zabbix product report

Overview

Checkmk provides a comprehensive monitoring solution designed to streamline IT infrastructure management with features like auto-discovery, custom checks, and effective alerting.

Checkmk serves as a powerful tool for organizations managing large networks of servers, databases, and network appliances across multiple locations. It simplifies monitoring tasks with features like auto-discovery, custom scripting, and Slack integration. Users benefit from its resource monitoring capabilities and scalability, although there are areas for improvement, such as alert acknowledgment and greater usability. It supports both Linux and Windows environments, enabling effective oversight of IT infrastructure. The growing body of documentation enhances its adaptability in complex settings.

What are the key features of Checkmk?

Auto-Discovery: Identifies new hosts and applies monitoring rules automatically.
Custom Monitoring Checks: Tailor checks for databases and specific applications.
Slack Integration: Receive downtime alerts directly in Slack channels.
Automation for Scripts: Streamline repetitive tasks with scripts.
Effective Alerting System: Offers timely notifications on network activities.

What benefits can users expect?

Resource Efficiency: Saves time on configuration with automated features.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing network and system requirements.
Cost-Effectiveness: Suitable option for budget-conscious users.
User-Friendly Setup: Easy to configure, reducing the learning curve.

Industries deploying Checkmk frequently utilize it for monitoring IT infrastructure, including servers and network appliances, to manage proactive issue identification and compliance. Companies employ it in the proof of concept phase or for ongoing monitoring, covering hosts, services, and custom application metrics.

Checkmk

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software that provides real-time monitoring and alerting for servers, networks, applications, and services.

It offers a wide range of features including data collection, visualization, and reporting.

With its user-friendly interface and customizable dashboards, Zabbix helps organizations ensure the availability and performance of their IT infrastructure.

Zabbix

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. Zabbix

July 2025

Free Report: Checkmk vs. Zabbix

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