SolarWinds AppOptics vs Zabbix comparison

SolarWinds and Zabbix are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. SolarWinds is ranked #56, while Zabbix is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.7. SolarWinds holds a 0.7% mindshare in APM, compared to Zabbix’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of SolarWinds users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zabbix users who would recommend it.

SolarWinds AppOptics

Read 9 SolarWinds AppOptics reviews

1,675 Views
1,039 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Zabbix

Read 108 Zabbix reviews

24,126 Views
5,066 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SolarWinds AppOptics

Zabbix

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

Zabbix and SolarWinds AppOptics are leading performance monitoring tools. Users lean towards SolarWinds AppOptics due to its comprehensive features despite the pricing benefits and community support of Zabbix.

Features: Zabbix offers extensive configuration options, customization flexibility, and effective monitoring and alerting. SolarWinds AppOptics provides easy-to-use metrics collection, seamless integration with various cloud services, and advanced visualization tools.

Room for Improvement: Zabbix needs better ease of configuration, improved documentation, and a less steep learning curve. SolarWinds AppOptics requires enhanced data granularity, better cost management for large-scale deployments, and additional configuration options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zabbix deployment can be complex due to its highly configurable nature, with community-driven customer service affecting response times. SolarWinds AppOptics offers straightforward deployment backed by professional customer support for faster issue resolution.

Pricing and ROI: Zabbix, being open-source, has no licensing fees, appealing to budget-conscious users, although setup and maintenance time impacts ROI. SolarWinds AppOptics is more expensive, delivering robust performance monitoring that balances ROI, perceived as worth the extra cost for its reliability and features.

To learn more, read our detailed SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Zabbix Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Zabbix

January 2026

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Helped 881,733 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

SolarWinds AppOptics

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

56th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

60th

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

46th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zabbix

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

9th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

1st

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

108

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (1st), Server Monitoring (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of SolarWinds AppOptics is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 2.3%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zabbix	2.3%
SolarWinds AppOptics	0.7%
Other	97.0%

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

John Yuko

Assistant Manager ICT - Projects at I&M Bank Ltd

Unique features allow consolidating and combing metrics into a single dashboard, but don't monitor mobile solutions

I would like to see more granular information provided on Unix applications. Also, the integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward in terms having an agent to retrieve your credentials rather than having to enter or save them for SSH on SolarWinds. From the outset, we had to set some commands to log into the search console, and they are saved on the solution, which presents a challenge in terms of exposure. The solution is unable to monitor APK solutions completely because we'd then be forced to break down the APK and provide the APIs or go through the source code. They don't have a module that can analyze an application that is maybe under-used.

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KamranBhatti

Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Helps reduce response time but has room to improve customization complexity

We are not working on simple standalone solutions like Kaspersky DDoS Protection or Hybrid Cloud Security. Once you understand Zabbix, then it is easy to customize those web pages and graphs for our customer use. It is fully automated to your requirements. Zabbix is working fine with no issues, and I am satisfied with it. We have combined Zabbix and SolarWinds. The integration works fine, and it is easy to integrate Zabbix with the IT environment. We were trying to purchase MDR (Managed Detection and Response), but we are not working on that. I don't have real experience with MDR. We are using Falcon software for that. We are working with Falcon Complete, not with Sandbox. We are not using Kaspersky for business or cloud protection. For that, we are using Zabbix CrowdStrike Falcon Complete solution. I have given this review an overall rating of 8.

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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

"I have found the most valuable feature is application performance management."

"Some of the most valuable features of SolarWinds are the topology discovery and network performance analysis."

"The product has a great dashboard."

"Technical support is always live and they're supportive."

"The sum solution, NTA, and DPA."

"The reporting of the solution is very good."

"The alerting systems are very good in Zabbix, and it has helped us to reduce time for reaction."

"We are able to monitor our virtual infrastructure, virtual machines, windows servers, databases, and the network using a simple network management protocol. We are able to pull almost all the metrics that we want, receive notifications, and have them integrate with telegrams for certain devices that are critical, such as UPSs."

"The flexible licensing model is one of the solution's most valuable aspects. It really allows for great flexibility for companies."

"I like being able to use proxy servers for different locations. The agents are pretty cool. They're easy to roll out. The standard out-of-the-box templates are also pretty easy to use. The integration with other learning products is also good. I have, in the past, used Slack, but we've integrated it with Microsoft Teams. We also use it for SMS with a service called Redcoat. It is very flexible. It does what I need it to do, and my manager is very happy because it doesn't cost anything. We are nearing 4,000 hosts inside Zabbix, and we've got another 6,000 access points to add to it. We've thrown everything at it, and it has managed to keep going. I am very impressed with the tool, and I'd shake their hand very hard if I got to say the compliments to the Zabbix team. They keep improving it and doing refreshes, which is one good thing about it. There is also online information as well as books that you can purchase if you're willing to read enough. There is a lot to pick up, but it is a pretty complete solution."

"The most valuable features of Zabbix are flexibility and a single interface for different types of monitoring."

"I really enjoy network traffic triggers that allow us to check traffic threshold from ISP."

"There is less computing power needed for scaling."

"The solution's design has recently changed and it is visually pleasing with more color, for example, there is blue, black, and white."

More Zabbix pros

Cons

"The integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward."

"I would like to see more integration with other tools that are available on the market."

"The solution should be more user-friendly."

"AppOptics would benefit from having a much more centralized view."

"The implementation needs improvement. It needs to get modernized with the newer cloud scenario in both public and private deployment models."

"In terms of the technology, I think they need to put some more advanced troubleshooting into SolarWinds, in terms of AI capabilities. That's the next generation, especially in the cases of APIs which have already adopted AI capabilities into their products."

"Even though it’s such a powerful monitoring system, it would be more helpful if it had a flexible UI."

"Implementing Zabbix is difficult. I've deployed many solutions over the years, and Zabbix is the hardest to implement. You have to do some development to get it to work with IBM, Micro Focus, or HP products."

"Its UI should be improved. They did some improvements in version 5, but it could benefit from some more work. Its integrations should also be improved. They've been active for one year, and they seem to have noticed that. It has new integrations, but it could benefit from more integrations. As far as I know, there is no model to push statistics, metrics, or events towards Zabbix. This type of API isn't yet there, whereas some other tools provide an API for this."

"It should be easy to modify the front end."

"The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the best."

"The solution needs to add features for finding loopholes or problems and their root causes."

"The initial setup could be complex if you don't have templates. If creating templates from scratch, it's quite difficult, but if you are using already pre-created templates and setups for your needs, it looks very good."

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

More Zabbix cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Mostly, it's a perpetual license. We don't have any customers using the subscription right now—it's mostly a perpetual license that the customers purchase. The licensing is based on the number of elements, whereas other solutions are node-based."

"Since it's a negotiable rate, I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."

"I believe the current licensing cost is reasonable."

"The solution is free. However, many open-sourced tools start out free but eventually start charging."

"It's free software released under the GNU/GPL license."

"We pay the subscription for support by year."

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

"We were searching for an open source solution and Zabbix fit the bill because it is free and open source under the GPL license."

"The tool's licensing is good."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"It is free, which allows us to reduce costs."

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

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	56
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	34

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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?

I think Zabbix is economical, whereas SolarWinds is expensive. SolarWinds has a lot of secure features, but Zabbix is providing everything free of cost. Zabbix is economical, and you can install it...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zabbix?

The potential and customization is a little difficult because you have to learn scripts. I think Zabbix needs to improve the customization better. At present, I am satisfied with the functionality ...

See all answers

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Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

February 2026

Download SolarWinds AppOptics product report

Buyer's Guide

Zabbix

January 2026

Download Zabbix product report

Also Known As

AppOptics, SolarWinds TraceView, Librato

No data available

Overview

AppOptics is a SaaS-based simple, powerful and affordable Infrastructure & Application monitoring for custom on-premises, cloud, and hybrid systems.

Your business runs on applications, and when they go down or run slowly, it can impact the business in lost productivity, customers, or revenue. To add to the complexity, your IT environment is changing, and workloads can be spread across data centers, and cloud resources. You need to monitor the availability and performance of applications and infrastructure, regardless of where they are, so you can identify potential issues early and address them before they impact users

SolarWinds

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

TraxoCovea Insurance BTE TechnologyDatarista

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

SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Zabbix

January 2026

Free Report: SolarWinds AppOptics vs. Zabbix

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