View all Monitoring Alternatives
Best Free Alternatives to SolarWinds NPM
Stop paying $1,600+. Discover professional-grade tools that won't break your budget.
Category: MonitoringVerified for 2025
Top Recommended Replacements
Zabbix
FREEBest Overall Enterprise Open Source
Why we like it
100% free with no device limits; massive range of templates; supports agentless SNMP and agent-based monitoring.
Keep in mind
The web UI has a steep learning curve; initial configuration of complex triggers can be time-consuming.
Nagios Core
FREEBest for Legacy Systems & Customization
Why we like it
The industry standard for decades; over 5,000 community plugins available; extremely lightweight on system resources.
Keep in mind
Configuration is primarily text-file based (no native GUI for setup); the interface looks very dated by modern standards.
Prometheus
FREEBest for Cloud-Native & Containers
Why we like it
Built for modern dynamic environments; powerful PromQL query language; excellent integration with Kubernetes.
Keep in mind
Not a traditional NMS; requires 'exporters' for SNMP; does not handle long-term storage well without third-party tools.
LibreNMS
FREEBest for Automatic Network Discovery
Why we like it
Auto-discovers your entire network using CDP, FDP, LLDP, and OSPF; excellent built-in alerting system; mobile-friendly UI.
Keep in mind
Specifically focused on network gear; less effective for deep application-level monitoring compared to Zabbix.
Checkmk (Raw Edition)
FREEBest for Speed & Scalability
Why we like it
Ultra-fast 'micro-core' engine; incredibly easy to set up with 'rule-based' configuration; massive library of official check plugins.
Keep in mind
The Raw (Free) edition lacks the advanced 'NagVis' reporting features found in the paid version.
Icinga 2
FREEBest Modern UI for Nagios Users
Why we like it
A modern fork of Nagios with a superior web interface and REST API; scales easily across multiple geographic locations.
Keep in mind
The DSL (Domain Specific Language) for configuration is powerful but requires significant study to master.
OpenNMS
FREEBest for Carrier-Grade/Massive Networks
Why we like it
Designed to handle millions of events; highly flexible event-driven architecture; excellent for ISP-level monitoring.
Keep in mind
Requires a very high level of technical expertise to deploy and maintain; heavy Java-based system requirements.
Netdata
FREEBest for Real-Time 1-Second Metrics
Why we like it
Provides high-resolution monitoring with per-second granularity; zero-configuration auto-discovery of system services.
Keep in mind
Focuses on 'now' rather than historical trends; best used as a diagnostic tool alongside a long-term monitor.
Observium Community
FREEBest for Visual Network Mapping
Why we like it
Incredible visual presentation of network health; easy to deploy; excellent support for diverse hardware vendors.
Keep in mind
The Community version only receives security updates twice a year; lacks some alerting features found in Professional.
Cacti
FREEBest for Long-Term Bandwidth Graphing
Why we like it
The gold standard for RRDtool-based graphing; excellent for showing historical traffic trends over years.
Keep in mind
Slow polling frequency; better for graphing than for real-time alerting on down devices.
Need more options?
Explore our full directory of Monitoring software alternatives.
Browse the Monitoring Hub