Icinga vs Zenoss Cloud comparison

Icinga and Zenoss are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Icinga is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3, while Zenoss is ranked #77. Icinga holds a 3.3% mindshare in NMS, compared to Zenoss’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Icinga users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zenoss users who would recommend it.

Icinga

Read 17 Icinga reviews

3,445 Views
2,562 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Zenoss Cloud

Read 8 Zenoss Cloud reviews

714 Views
283 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Icinga

Zenoss Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Zenoss Cloud and Icinga compete in the IT monitoring solutions category. Zenoss Cloud appears to have the upper hand due to its extensive features, better deployment experience, and more responsive customer service.

Features: Zenoss Cloud is valued for its extensive monitoring capabilities, integration options, and scalability. Icinga offers powerful core monitoring features, configurability, and flexibility.

Room for Improvement: Zenoss Cloud users note the need for more streamlined customization and improved documentation. Icinga users suggest enhancements in user-friendliness and more straightforward setup processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zenoss Cloud is favored for its relatively smooth deployment and effective customer service. Icinga has a steeper learning curve, and users often find its deployment more complex. Icinga’s customer service is noted to be slower compared to Zenoss Cloud.

Pricing and ROI: Zenoss Cloud is a costlier option but leads to a satisfactory ROI due to its features and support. Icinga's open-source model makes it more affordable, but the total cost of ownership can rise with additional features and support.

To learn more, read our detailed Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,632 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

Icinga

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

17th

Ranking in Server Monitoring

12th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

25th

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

18th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zenoss Cloud

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

77th

Ranking in Server Monitoring

26th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

51st

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

39th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Infrastructure (30th), Event Monitoring (14th), Container Monitoring (10th), AIOps (24th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Icinga is 3.3%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zenoss Cloud is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Harrison Bulley

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at Net Consulting

A stable, scalable and cost-effective solution that helps with inbuilt scripts for easy modification

I think the software is quite good, but we have had problems with getting it to recognize certain areas and amend certain checks, where we needed so we would have to create backend scripts for those checks. Though, being open source, it has the support to create backend scripts, it would be better to have these scripts in-built.

Read full review

ClaudiaChen

Cloud Architect - Senior Technology Architect at Telstra

Generates close to real-time alerts so users can resolve issues, but needs more integration and public cloud monitoring features

As Zenoss Service Dynamics is more for network-centric devices and you want to monitor, for example, a server, its services, IP addresses, and interfaces, if it's a network and you're going to monitor multiple items, you'll be charged multiple times. This is what Zenoss Service Dynamics needs to improve to make sure that customers pay just one fee to monitor the entire server. What I'd like to see in Zenoss Service Dynamics in the future is a public cloud monitoring feature, particularly for the Azure public cloud. Another additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is integration with the Azure public cloud because I know that there are some services from Azure that Zenoss Service Dynamics is currently unable to 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

"I like the ability to amend and adjust things really easily, which is useful in a case where you could make it auto-discover and then set a template to say all of these applications or servers under this template have an automatic threshold set that you’d set up manually."

"The best thing about the solution is how it highlights errors, the issues, and what needs my attention. The solution directs me to areas that I should look for first."

"Icinga has multiple automation and integration features. There is an API for everything and a web UI for configurations. The APIs enable you to automate tasks in Icinga. We can also use plugins to talk to the API. The Icinga Director talks to a database in the background, and you can import settings from the CMDB to all systems in Icinga."

"This solution has a self-healing handler where if the service is down, it is automatically restarted."

"Macros and the ability to connect it to Google Maps are valuable features."

"It is really easy in Icinga to create your own plugin and integrate it without any fuss. And it works just perfectly fine."

"The drafts are easy but what I like about Icinga is that there are many add-ons that you can download."

"We have found the solution to be stable."

More Icinga pros

"They have also accommodated many state-of-the-art technologies like Docker and ZooKeeper."

"The custom built integration is one of the most valuable features because you can see all the especially critical items."

"Its Docker Container concept is mind blowing. It is the first monitoring tool which comes with Docker features."

"The most valuable feature is the flexible discovery mechanism."

"The product offers good documentation that helps with initial training."

"What I like most about Zenoss Service Dynamics is that it monitors the devices and gives close to real-time alerts. For example, in case the device is not available, Zenoss Service Dynamics generates an alert so my team can resolve the issue."

"It's easy to use."

Cons

"In general, the product does not look good. However, it does what it is supposed to do. So, the improvements should focus on usability and UI."

"Icinga is a complex solution that's hard to learn. It's a powerful product for monitoring, but new users will have a hard time figuring out what to do."

"The tool currently fails to provide notifications to users."

"The user interface should be improved."

"There is room for improvement in multi-tenancy. It's not perfect, not even really good. It's average, but it should be improved."

"One of the areas that are frustrating is remote monitoring for more than one machine."

"It needs Trap SNMP. I saw the documentation for Zabbix, that it has its own built-in product which handles SNMP traps, and there's nothing similar in Icinga or Nagios. I think this feature is most important for me."

"At this time, the layout of the website is a bit difficult. It should be more user-friendly for changing the background and logos."

More Icinga cons

"Now it is stable, but they should design threshold parameters in percentage instead of raw values."

"There is room for improvement with the administrative part. They introduced Control Center to manage things in Zenoss 5. The services that Zenoss provides remained the same, but the administrative part, since they introduced Docker, etc., has become a little complex"

"There was a problem with Zenoss and storage monitoring."

"It would be ideal if the product offered sound alerts."

"The AI aspect needs to improve."

"The inclusion of a feature to show a graphical view of the network would be a helpful improvement."

"As Zenoss Service Dynamics is more for network-centric devices and you want to monitor, for example, a server, its services, IP addresses, and interfaces, if it's a network and you're going to monitor multiple items, you'll be charged multiple times. This is what Zenoss Service Dynamics needs to improve to make sure that customers pay just one fee to monitor the entire server. What I'd like to see in Zenoss Service Dynamics in the future is a public cloud monitoring feature, particularly for the Azure public cloud. Another additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is integration with the Azure public cloud because I know that there are some services from Azure that Zenoss Service Dynamics is currently unable to monitor."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cost-effective, and the return on investment can be very interesting because the price is low."

"The solution is cheap."

"We're using the free version of Icinga."

"The solution is free to use."

"This is an open-source solution with paid support."

"Even though Icinga's financial cost is low, it is an expensive product regarding the resources required to maintain and operate it."

"It's an open-source solution."

"The product is inexpensive compared to other DBM products."

"It is very cost-effective compared to the tools I worked with in the past. The company is gaining a lot with respect to the cost factor. It provides agentless monitoring and in a very cheap way."

"The pricing depends on the environment, the number of services, and the size of the data center. It can go from $100,000 to a million dollars."

"It depends on the customer, what he wants."

"There are additional costs you'll have to pay apart from the license fee for Zenoss Service Dynamics. I can't remember exactly how much my company is paying because I don't handle the finance part, but the cost is paid annually. On a scale of one to five, with one being the cheapest and five being the most expensive, I'm rating the solution three out of five."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Icinga?

The best thing about the solution is how it highlights errors, the issues, and what needs my attention. The solution directs me to areas that I should look for first.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Icinga?

It is cost-effective, and the return on investment can be very interesting because the price is low. If you want to include this product in the services you offer to your customers, the return on i...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Icinga?

There is room for improvement in multi-tenancy. It's not perfect, not even really good. It's average, but it should be improved. For instance, multi-tenancy for monitoring the virtual infrastructur...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

In my experience, I worked with many monitoring software, but the one that gave me the most functionalities of a large-scale company is Zenoss, due to its ability to monitor completely hybrid and a...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zabbix vs Icinga

Compared 43% of the time

Nagios Core vs Icinga

Compared 22% of the time

Checkmk vs Icinga

Compared 11% of the time

Nagios XI vs Icinga

Compared 4% of the time

Centreon vs Icinga

Compared 3% of the time

More Icinga Competitors

Zabbix vs Zenoss Cloud

Compared 31% of the time

Nagios XI vs Zenoss Cloud

Compared 30% of the time

Nagios Core vs Zenoss Cloud

Compared 11% of the time

SolarWinds AppOptics vs Zenoss Cloud

Compared 11% of the time

Centreon vs Zenoss Cloud

Compared 9% of the time

More Zenoss Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Icinga

June 2025

Download Icinga product report

Buyer's Guide

Zenoss Cloud

June 2025

Download Zenoss Cloud product report

Also Known As

Icinga Cloud Monitoring

Cloud Monitoring, Zenoss Service Dynamics

Overview

Icinga monitors systems, network devices, infrastructure, and services, helping manage and analyze server resources. It automates ticket incidents and alerting, providing oversight of client Windows and Linux systems.

Icinga offers comprehensive monitoring of servers including CPU utilization and RAM space, facilitating automated incident management and alerting. Frequently deployed on-premises, this monitoring tool is key for managed services providers and organizations to oversee and ensure optimal performance of various environments, including applications like databases and web servers. It provides extensive features for creating custom plugins, stabilization, scalability, and high customization capabilities suitable for different infrastructure needs.

What are the key features of Icinga?

Event Handler: Facilitates automatic self-healing of systems.
Extensive Plugin Library: Offers a wide range of plugins for monitoring.
Ease of Use: Simplifies user experience with an intuitive interface and Icinga Director for easy configurations.
Open-Source Nature: Free to use, modify, and distribute.
Automation Capabilities: Integrates with APIs and Ansible Collections for automation.
Custom Plugins: Users can create and integrate their own plugins.
Stability and Scalability: Provides reliable performance across different scale infrastructures.

What are the benefits or ROI to look for when evaluating Icinga?

Critical Issue Highlighting: Effectively identifies and notifies about critical problems.
High Customization: Offers flexibility for diverse monitoring needs.
Automated Alerting: Reduces manual effort and improves response times.
Extensive Integration: Works seamlessly with other tools and platforms.

Icinga implementations span multiple industries, providing essential monitoring for IT infrastructure in healthcare, finance, and education. Managed services providers utilize Icinga to maintain and monitor client systems across various environments while ensuring optimal performance and compliance. It is highly valued in these sectors for its ability to customize monitoring, improving operational efficiency and reducing downtime.

Icinga

Zenoss Cloud revolutionizes IT infrastructure monitoring with a service-centric approach, prioritizing the overall health of services and applications. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIOps), Zenoss Cloud offers end-to-end visibility across servers, networks, storage, and applications. Real-time monitoring, event correlation, and automated remediation ensure immediate insights and efficient issue resolution. The customizable dashboards empower users to tailor visualizations to their needs, while scalability accommodates diverse infrastructures. Zenoss Cloud guarantees improved application performance, reduced downtime, and enhanced IT efficiency, making it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes, from small enterprises seeking simplicity to large corporations requiring advanced scalability. Experience unified monitoring and proactive management with Zenoss Cloud, a comprehensive solution that transforms IT infrastructure optimization in today's complex environments.

Zenoss

Sample Customers

Puppet Labs, Audi, Spacex, Debian, Snapdeal, McGill, RIPE Network Coordination Centre

2degrees, Rackspace, State of North Dakota, El Paso Independent School District, NWN Corporation

Buyer's Guide

Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud

June 2025

Free Report: Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud

Find out what your peers are saying about Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Icinga vs. Zenoss Cloud report.

See our list of best Network Monitoring Software vendors, best Server Monitoring vendors, and best IT Infrastructure Monitoring vendors.

We monitor all Network Monitoring Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.