Paessler PRTG
Windows-based network and infrastructure monitoring software priced by the number of sensors.
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- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 6
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About Paessler PRTG
PRTG Network Monitor from the German company Paessler watches networks, servers, applications and other IT gear from a single install on a Windows server. It checks devices through SNMP, WMI, NetFlow, packet sniffing, HTTP and many ready-made sensor types, then shows the results in maps and dashboards and sends alerts when something goes wrong. It is popular with small and mid-sized IT teams because it auto-discovers devices and works without much scripting. Licences are subscriptions sized by sensors, where each sensor is one metric on one device; there is a free 30-day trial with no limits, after which it falls back to a freeware edition capped at 100 sensors. Paessler also sells PRTG Enterprise Monitor for very large networks, a hosted version and an MSP edition. The core server needs Windows, and costs rise quickly as you add devices.
Best for: Small and mid-sized IT teams that want point-and-click network monitoring on a Windows server.
Pros and cons
What works
- Auto-discovery and many ready-made sensor types
- Maps, dashboards and alerting without heavy scripting
- Free edition for up to 100 sensors
- Hosted and enterprise editions for larger setups
Why people leave
- The core server runs only on Windows
- Sensor-based licences get expensive as networks grow
- Different licence sizes can't be combined on one server
- Closed source, unlike Zabbix or Checkmk's open edition
Top Paessler PRTG alternatives
See all 6- 1
Datadog70.9A SaaS observability platform for teams also monitoring cloud apps, logs and traces.
- 2
Zabbix68.8Free and open source with no sensor limits, and the server runs on Linux.
- 3
Checkmk64.8Similar auto-discovery and ready-made checks, with a free open-source edition.
- 4
Nagios61.8A long-standing open-source monitor with a huge plugin library for those happy to configure files.
- 5
Icinga59.4A modern open-source take on Nagios with a better web interface and an API.
Why people left Paessler PRTG
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Paessler PRTG: common questions
Is Paessler PRTG free?
Paessler PRTG has a free plan and paid plans.
Is Paessler PRTG open source?
No, Paessler PRTG is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Zabbix, Checkmk and Nagios.
What platforms does Paessler PRTG run on?
Paessler PRTG is available for Windows, Self-hosted and Web.
What are the best alternatives to Paessler PRTG?
The highest-ranked Paessler PRTG alternatives right now are Datadog, Zabbix and Checkmk. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.