Nagios Core vs PRTG Enterprise Monitor comparison

Nagios and Paessler GmbH are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nagios is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.7, while Paessler GmbH is ranked #32 with an average rating of 7.4. Nagios holds a 1.9% mindshare in NMS, compared to Paessler GmbH’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Nagios users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Paessler GmbH users who would recommend it.

Nagios Core

Read 51 Nagios Core reviews

4,463 Views
3,749 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

PRTG Enterprise Monitor

Read 11 PRTG Enterprise Monitor reviews

925 Views
925 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Nagios Core

PRTG Enterprise Monitor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nagios Core and PRTG Enterprise Monitor are competing network monitoring solutions. PRTG Enterprise Monitor seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive suite of features, despite higher costs and complexity.

Features: Nagios Core offers flexible plugin architecture, enabling broad customization and integration with third-party tools. It provides a modular approach that allows organizations to tailor their monitoring needs but may require more technical input. PRTG Enterprise Monitor provides an all-in-one platform, including bandwidth monitoring, traffic analysis, and a variety of pre-configured sensors. It is designed to handle larger IT environments with an integrated feature set, offering robust monitoring capabilities out of the box.

Room for Improvement: Nagios Core could improve in ease of deployment and direct customer service, as it relies heavily on community support. Its interface might be enhanced for a more modern user experience. PRTG Enterprise Monitor could benefit from offering more flexible pricing models to accommodate smaller organizations. Reducing complexity in its feature set might appeal to users with less technical expertise. Improving the depth of customization options could help cater to specific advanced monitoring scenarios.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PRTG Enterprise Monitor facilitates a user-friendly setup with guided configurations and strong customer service support, making it suitable for fast deployment scenarios. Conversely, Nagios Core requires a higher level of technical expertise for installation and configuration, as it lacks formal direct customer support services. However, its open-source nature offers extensive community-driven assistance, which may be attractive to technical teams.

Pricing and ROI: Nagios Core’s open-source model reduces setup costs, potentially offering higher ROI for organizations able to leverage its community-driven ecosystem. PRTG Enterprise Monitor, with its all-inclusive pricing strategy, simplifies budgeting and delivers value through its comprehensive feature set and service. Despite higher initial costs, it offers a substantial ROI for enterprises needing robust, all-encompassing monitoring solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Nagios Core vs. PRTG Enterprise Monitor Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. PRTG Enterprise Monitor

December 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

Nagios Core

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (11th)

PRTG Enterprise Monitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

32nd

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nagios Core is 1.9%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Enterprise Monitor is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nagios Core	1.9%
PRTG Enterprise Monitor	0.6%
Other	97.5%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Husham Yaqoob

Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group

Monitoring solution provides comprehensive visibility across IT infrastructure

The good thing about Nagios Core is it covers everything. Everything in the IT domain, you can monitor anything. You can even monitor printers, the ports of printers, Core workstations, and storage. You can monitor the workflow Core and the utilization of computes. If you want to grasp everything of your IT equipment on a single interface, you can use Nagios. It's the best one. It provides dashboards, and you can also configure your emails and alerts with it. If something is critical, you can configure it to notify via emails. It has a very handy dashboard, providing live alerts and visibility for everything.

Read full review

Moshiur-Rahman Khan

CEO at IOPoint.com

Offers perfect real-time bandwidth monitoring and SNMP functionality

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. They should consider a more flexible licensing approach. Furthermore, alignment with customer expectations rather than offering numerous features that are not requested would be beneficial.

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

"We mostly use Nagios Core to integrate with Python and Bash Script."

"It has made the life of the network operations staff more proactive in managing the resources of the infrastructure. It prevents disasters long before they can take place."

"We use the product to monitor server applications."

"I like that it's very simple to install, easy to manage and deploy, and easy to use for monitoring."

"The notifications are definitely one of the most valuable features of Nagios Core. We know what to look for and what to expect when things are down."

"Nagios Core is very configurable. Whatever you want, you can do it."

"Nagios monitors our servers, so we know if anything goes wrong and can solve the problem before it happens."

"The reporting structure and the feature set are valuable to me."

More Nagios Core pros

"The product's most valuable feature is network analysis."

"The product is easy to understand."

"PRTG is good and very easy to use."

"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 solution's ability to monitor each and every aspect of our devices, such as memory utilization and port connectivity, is valuable."

"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."

"I would recommend PRTG Enterprise Monitor to others as it works well with Android devices, and you can try the free version before purchasing."

More PRTG Enterprise Monitor pros

Cons

"Making it a little easier to configure and set up from the start would help. There are multiple layers that you have to wade through to be able to set it up, to do it the right way, and to get it to do what you want it to do."

"The tool needs to improve the integrations."

"The user interface could be more interactive because it is pretty basic."

"The initial setup process could be easier."

"It would be nice if the company offered a sales or contract manager that was dedicated to our company so that we would have some sort of link to Nagios, and if we had issues or questions, we'd be able to contact them directly."

"Nagios Core is limited in terms of distributed setups, and there is no central view for remote data centers."

"The NetEase reporting structure needs improvement, especially the availability report, which is weak."

"The mapping is a little hard."

More Nagios Core cons

"The licensing policy needs to change."

"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."

"There is no unified monitoring in PRTG. It needs a lot of improvement in terms of integration."

"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 introducing security features similar to those available in Teams, as the current version only monitors devices and does not integrate IoT or OT devices."

"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 need that kind of customization."

"PRTG Enterprise Monitor should include more functionalities and features that are similar to SolarWinds."

"The support must be improved."

More PRTG Enterprise Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Nagios Core is a cheap solution."

"We are using the open-source, unpaid version."

"We are using the free version of Nagios Core."

"It's free."

"We are using the free version."

"Nagios Core is free to use."

"It's free."

"The enterprise version has technical support. The version we are using is free."

More Nagios Core pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is $2,149 for software without maintenance, and licenses are sold in the minimum bundle of 500 interfaces."

"PRTG Enterprise Monitor's pricing is reasonable."

"I rate the product's pricing an eight to seven out of ten."

"PRTG Enterprise Monitor is an expensive product."

"The solution is affordable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Educational Organization

11%

University

10%

Healthcare Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios Core?

Nagios Core is a free and open-source product. We don't charge for the product itself, but we charge for the man-hour costs related to installation, configuration, ongoing operation, and maintenance.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Nagios Core?

The dashboard should be improved. It's very simple. I don't have a very clear or specific suggestion. You can change the skin of the dashboard, however, it's good for me.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Nagios Core?

I was a senior system administrator. I've been using Nagios Core for more than ten years now. It can be used to monitor hosts, such as machines, and monitor services of any kind. I'm using it to mo...

See all answers

What do you like most about PRTG Enterprise Monitor?

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 is...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core

January 2026

Download Nagios Core product report

Buyer's Guide

PRTG Enterprise Monitor

January 2026

Download PRTG Enterprise Monitor product report

Overview

This is IT infrastructure monitoring's industry-standard, open-source core. Free without professional support services.

Nagios

PRTG Enterprise Monitor serves enterprises by ensuring comprehensive monitoring of servers, services, and applications, empowering users to track sensor data effectively and detect performance or security issues across their networks.

PRTG Enterprise Monitor is widely recognized for its capability to efficiently monitor technical sensors such as ping, uptime, CPU load, and memory usage. It supports users in tracking network resource performance, detecting malicious activity, and preventing failures. Its custom frameworks enable monitoring of certificate expirations and process availability. The intuitive interface requires no specialized IT background, featuring agentless operations that enhance responsiveness and SNMP monitoring valued across platforms. The tool is appreciated for its anomaly detection and notification features, allowing users to address issues proactively. Installation is straightforward and support is robust, although users seek enhancements in real-time SMS alerts, SAP system integration, fault management, and more flexible manual configurations.

What are the key features of PRTG Enterprise Monitor?

Network Analysis: Offers in-depth insights into network performance.
Custom Dashboards: Provides a library for tailored dashboard creation.
Alerting System: Effective user notifications prevent escalation of issues.
Agentless Monitoring: Enhances response times without installing agents.
SNMP Monitoring: Useful for monitoring multiple platforms.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Easy Installation: Simplifies the setup process for companies.
Proactive Anomaly Detection: Identifies and resolves issues swiftly.
Comprehensive Coverage: Ensures efficient fault detection and management.
User Support: Strong support capabilities aid troubleshooting.

Enterprises in industries such as IT services, finance, and healthcare rely on PRTG Enterprise Monitor for monitoring critical infrastructure. This includes ensuring internet connectivity, monitoring mail services, and tracking network performance and security, thereby maintaining operational efficiency and service availability.

Paessler GmbH

Sample Customers

Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, FanDuel

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Nagios Core vs. PRTG Enterprise Monitor

December 2025

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