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Cisco DNA Center vs PRTG Enterprise Monitor comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
34th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (2nd), Network Automation (2nd)
PRTG Enterprise Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
51st
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 0.7%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Enterprise Monitor is 0.5%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center0.7%
PRTG Enterprise Monitor0.5%
Other98.8%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Emmanuel Appiah Boateng - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Proactive monitoring has reduced network downtime and enables rapid incident response
The main benefits PRTG Enterprise Monitor provides for us include helping us respond quickly to network problems. For our virtualization switches, we normally use a different vendor, but I am not in charge of that particular system. I have not really used the pre-configured sensors feature in PRTG. A different team handles reporting. For now, nothing really comes to mind regarding additional functions for PRTG. I think it is good for what we use it for. I cannot really say much about technical support because I have never had a situation where I have to reach out. I would give PRTG Enterprise Monitor a final rating of eight. I would definitely recommend PRTG Enterprise Monitor to other users. I am an end user of the product. I am quite satisfied with the alerting part of PRTG, as it is quite good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"Scalability in Cisco DNA Center is good; we are using it for Software-Defined Access solution, and we haven't reached our device limit yet— from my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices."
"The product's most valuable feature is network analysis."
"If an event is detected, such as a resource running low on storage or RAM, the product will notify you via email. Upon receiving the notification, action must be taken to address and resolve the issue. The feature I find most effective is its comprehensive nature. It's like having a permanent eye monitoring the network and all its nodes. Instead of manual monitoring, it detects anomalies automatically and alerts us accordingly."
"It provides a vast array of options for dashboard creation and monitoring of the activities within the environment."
"PRTG is good and very easy to use."
"From a technical perspective, the product's most valuable feature is SNMP, an open standard monitoring protocol that works across various network devices and operating systems, including UNIX and Windows."
"What I really appreciate about PRTG Enterprise Monitor is that it is very easy to set up, especially the configuration, which is not complicated, and it is very straightforward to go in and change things."
"It can identify downtimes and disruptions."
"The product is easy to use and you don't need to have any training. You can use it even if you don't have an IT background."
 

Cons

"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."
"They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data."
"It's quite good, however, it's not ideal for smaller organizations as it's cost-prohibitive."
"The solution can be quite pricey."
"The deployment part is definitely an area for improvement; Cisco DNA Center has some weaknesses that require improvements in that area."
"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"The licensing policy needs to change."
"There is no unified monitoring in PRTG. It needs a lot of improvement in terms of integration."
"The support must be improved."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor should include more functionalities and features that are similar to SolarWinds."
"There could be more security features included in PRTG Enterprise Monitor."
"In my opinion, one area that could be improved in PRTG Enterprise Monitor is the capability to send SMS notifications. Notifications are crucial for alerting us to areas that require attention."
"The licensing policy needs to change. The current model requires customers to purchase a minimum of two thousand licenses, which is not flexible for all customers."
"The solution could be improved by including a processing monitor, possibly with a language interface like Lua, allowing for writing custom sensors and processing outcomes of inputs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight to seven out of ten."
"The solution is affordable."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor's pricing is reasonable."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor is an expensive product."
"The pricing is $2,149 for software without maintenance, and licenses are sold in the minimum bundle of 500 interfaces."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Educational Organization
9%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco DNA Center?
In my organization, we currently have some Cisco devices such as access switches, and we also have infrastructure, but that is not part of our responsibility. We do not manage that infrastructure. ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
I would rate the pricing of PRTG Enterprise Monitor maybe a six. I think a six is fine, as it is reasonable and not expensive.
What needs improvement with PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
When it comes to dashboard customization in PRTG Enterprise Monitor, there are not too many options, and I think that would not be a strong point for PRTG, but for our use cases, we do not really n...
What is your primary use case for PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
I mainly use PRTG Enterprise Monitor for network infrastructure monitoring. I am currently working as a Network and Security Engineer.
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Enterprise Monitor and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,325 professionals have used our research since 2012.