The Best Network Monitoring in 2026
We researched network monitoring products through official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings focus on the category’s core job, value for money and verified features such as device coverage, traffic visibility, topology and synthetic checks.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
Zabbix#1 of 549.4/10Broad infrastructure monitoring with a free self-hosted edition and paid cloud options.
Free plan
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Runner-up
Checkmk#2 of 549.3/10A broad hybrid monitoring platform with a capable free edition and costly paid entry.
Free plan · 30-day trial
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Top-ranked free plan
ManageEngine OpManager#3 of 549.1/10Broad monitoring, mapping, traffic analysis, automation, and distributed coverage across four editions.
Free plan · 30-day trial
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 54 tools, best first · page 1 of 2
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Best forBroad, extensible infrastructure monitoring
Broad infrastructure monitoring with a free self-hosted edition and paid cloud options.
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Zabbix -
Best forHybrid infrastructure monitoring teams
A broad hybrid monitoring platform with a capable free edition and costly paid entry.
Free plan · 30-day trial Our Checkmk verdict → Visit CheckmkFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #2 · $99/mo →9.3/10★★★★★Visit Checkmk -
Best forAll-round network monitoring teams
Broad monitoring, mapping, traffic analysis, automation, and distributed coverage across four editions.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
Free plan · 30-day trial Our ManageEngine OpManager verdict → Visit ManageEngineFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #3 · $79/mo →9.1/10★★★★★Visit ManageEngine -
Best forTeams wanting sensor-rich network monitoring
A sensor-rich, self-hosted monitor with broad coverage and a useful free edition.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Paessler PRTG -
Best forEstablished self-hosted enterprise monitoring
A mature self-hosted monitor with deep network visibility, but a high entry price.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
Pricing on request · 30-day trial Our SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor verdict → Visit SolarWindsFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #5 · $59/mo →8.9/10★★★★☆Visit SolarWinds -
Best forEnterprise self-hosted network operations
Broad coverage for enterprise network operations, with self-hosted deployment and sales-led pricing.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Broadcom -
Best forEnterprise network performance and capacity teams
A broad enterprise platform for metrics, flow, topology, cloud monitoring, and network automation.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit IBM SevOne -
Best forFlow analytics and capacity planning
A traffic-focused platform for flow analytics, topology and capacity planning.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.6/10★★★★☆Try Progress Flowmon -
Best forTeams wanting broad Windows-based network monitoring
Broad Windows-based monitoring with topology, path, traffic and cloud coverage.
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit WhatsUp Gold -
Best forTraffic analysis and packet-level monitoring
A self-hosted choice for packet capture, flow collection, and Layer 7 traffic analysis.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit ntopng -
Best forFree SNMP and flow monitoring
A capable self-hosted choice for free SNMP, flow monitoring, alerts, and maps.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit LibreNMS -
Best forLow-cost monitoring with many connectors
Flexible hybrid monitoring with a free edition, 700+ connectors, and low-cost paid entry pricing.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Centreon -
Best forAgentless hybrid infrastructure monitoring
Agentless hybrid monitoring with discovery, observability, topology, and cloud coverage.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit LogicMonitor -
Best forMSPs needing discovery and troubleshooting
A broad network monitoring platform for MSP discovery, visibility, and troubleshooting.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Auvik -
Best forInternet, synthetic, and path monitoring
A broad monitoring suite for synthetic tests, network paths, DNS, BGP, traffic, and topology.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forOpen-source distributed network monitoring
A broad, self-hosted monitoring platform for teams that want open-source control.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit OpenNMS -
Best forWindows-based agentless monitoring
Broad Windows-based monitoring with strong topology, flow, alerting, and API coverage.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit NetCrunch -
Best forCloud network monitoring with traffic analytics
Broad cloud network monitoring with flow analysis, maps, and hybrid-network support.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Site24x7 -
Best forOpen-source multi-protocol monitoring
Broad protocol coverage and distributed monitoring for complex, multi-platform networks.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit NetXMS -
Best forAffordable cloud monitoring for managed devices
Affordable managed-device monitoring with discovery, topology maps, alerts, and remote management.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Domotz -
Best forSynthetic network performance monitoring
A focused choice for synthetic network testing, path visibility, and experience monitoring.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Obkio -
Best forSpecialized NetFlow traffic reporting
A focused on-premises NetFlow analyzer for detailed traffic visibility and forensics.
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit NetVizura -
Best forInternet experience and synthetic monitoring
A broad synthetic and Internet visibility platform for teams tracking digital experience.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Catchpoint -
Best forFree graphing and SNMP performance data
A focused self-hosted choice for SNMP performance data, graphing, and availability checks.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Cacti -
Best forUnlimited-device self-hosted monitoring
A mature self-hosted monitor with broad network coverage and unlimited-device plans.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Observium -
Best forBasic cloud SNMP device monitoring
A focused choice for basic cloud SNMP monitoring of routers, switches and printers.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit Kaseya -
Best forSecurity-led network detection and response
A security-led platform combining network detection, forensics, and performance monitoring.
6.6/10★★★☆☆Visit ExtraHop -
Best forDDoS detection and mitigation operations
A focused open-source platform for detecting and mitigating network-layer DDoS attacks.
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit FastNetMon -
Best forSmall teams needing hybrid monitoring
Balanced hybrid monitoring with broad protocol coverage, but quote-based pricing limits upfront comparison.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit FrameFlow -
Best forNagios-compatible network operations teams
A paid, Nagios-compatible platform for broad network and infrastructure visibility.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit ITRS OP5 -
Best forEndpoint and Wi-Fi experience testing
A strong fit for endpoint, Wi-Fi, and application experience monitoring.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit NetBeez -
Best forWindows packet capture and protocol analysis
A focused Windows packet-analysis tool with free capture and paid advanced capabilities.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Colasoft Capsa -
Best forSmall teams wanting visual network maps
A visual network monitoring tool with discovery, maps, alerts, traffic analysis, and a five-device free plan.
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
6.0/10★★★☆☆Visit Intermapper -
Best forTeams monitoring Google Cloud network paths and VPCs
A Google Cloud console for tracing network paths, testing connectivity, and analyzing configurations.
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Google Cloud -
Best forBasic free SNMP traffic graphing
A mature free tool for basic SNMP traffic graphs in self-hosted environments.
- Traffic monitoring
5.8/10★★★☆☆Visit MRTG -
Best forPersonal bandwidth and application monitoring
A focused choice for personal bandwidth visibility, alerts, and endpoint firewall controls.
5.6/10★★★☆☆Visit GlassWire -
Best forLarge-scale flow and synthetic monitoring
A broad cloud platform for large-scale flow, synthetic, and infrastructure monitoring.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
5.5/10★★★☆☆Visit Kentik -
Best forFlow and SD-WAN performance operations
A broad network operations platform for flow, path, application, and SD-WAN visibility.
- Synthetic checks
- Topology maps
- Traffic monitoring
5.4/10★★★☆☆Visit LiveNX -
Best forOpen-source Nagios-compatible distributed monitoring
A flexible self-hosted choice for distributed Nagios-compatible monitoring.
- Synthetic checks
5.3/10★★★☆☆Visit Shinken -
Best forFree latency and packet-loss monitoring
A focused, free tool for diagnosing latency and packet loss across multiple probes.
- Synthetic checks
5.2/10★★★☆☆Visit SmokePing -
Best forFree Windows multi-host ping checks
A free, portable Windows utility for recurring multi-host ping checks and exports.
5.1/10★★★☆☆Visit NirSoft -
Best forPersonal or small-device monitoring
A focused, low-cost monitor for bandwidth, applications, connections, and small device groups.
- Synthetic checks
- Traffic monitoring
5.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit NetWorx -
Best forSpecialists in NetFlow traffic monitoring
A specialist flow-monitoring platform with detailed analysis, alerting, and investigation tools.
- Traffic monitoring
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit Plixer -
Best forSmall networks needing discovery and security checks
A practical choice for discovering devices and checking security across small networks.
4.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit Fing Security -
Best forFree cluster and host metric monitoring
A free, open-source choice for distributed cluster and host metric monitoring.
- Traffic monitoring
4.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit Ganglia -
Best forSimple Windows host availability monitoring
A focused Windows monitor for ICMP availability, latency, packet loss, and jitter.
- Synthetic checks
4.7/10★★☆☆☆Visit EMCO Software -
Best forSmall teams wanting free basic SNMP and reachability checks
Open-source monitoring for teams needing core reachability, SNMP, history and alarms.
- Synthetic checks
- Traffic monitoring
4.6/10★★☆☆☆Visit Big Sister -
Best forSmall teams needing free network discovery and inventory
A free desktop tool for network discovery, scanning, equipment inventory, and basic supervision.
4.5/10★★☆☆☆Try AutoScan-Network -
Best forMulti-target latency and packet-loss tracking
A focused Windows monitor for tracking latency, packet loss, and endpoint availability over time.
4.4/10★★☆☆☆Visit MultiPing -
Best forFree Windows port inspection
A focused Windows port inspector for local connection analysis, filtering, logging, and export.
4.3/10★★☆☆☆Visit CurrPorts
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Synthetic checks | Traffic monitoring | Topology maps | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zabbix | Yes | €245/mo | 9.4 | |||
| 2 | Checkmk | Yes | €190/mo | 9.3 | |||
| 3 | ManageEngine OpManager | Yes | $95/yr | Yes | Yes | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Paessler PRTG Network Monitor | Yes | $200/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 5 | SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.9 | |
| 6 | Broadcom DX NetOps | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.8 | ||
| 7 | IBM SevOne Network Performance Management | Yes | Yes | 8.7 | |||
| 8 | Progress Flowmon | No | Yes | Yes | 8.6 | ||
| 9 | WhatsUp Gold | Yes | $1,229/yr | 8.5 | |||
| 10 | ntopng | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.4 |
| 11 | LibreNMS | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | 8.2 | |
| 12 | Centreon | Yes | €2.27/unit/yr | No | Yes | Yes | 8.1 |
| 13 | LogicMonitor | No | $16/mo | 8.0 | |||
| 14 | Auvik Network Management | No | Yes | Yes | 7.9 | ||
| 15 | Cisco ThousandEyes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.8 | |
| 16 | OpenNMS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.7 | |
| 17 | NetCrunch | No | $3,200/yr | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.6 |
| 18 | Site24x7 Network Monitoring | No | $42/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.5 |
| 19 | NetXMS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.4 | |
| 20 | Domotz | Yes | $15/device/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.3 |
| 21 | Obkio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.2 | |
| 22 | NetVizura NetFlow Analyzer | No | 7.1 | ||||
| 23 | Catchpoint Internet Performance Monitoring | Yes | Yes | 7.0 | |||
| 24 | Cacti | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6.9 |
| 25 | Observium | Yes | £250/yr | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6.8 |
| 26 | Kaseya Network Monitor | Yes | Yes | 6.7 | |||
| 27 | ExtraHop RevealX | 6.6 | |||||
| 28 | FastNetMon | Yes | $115/mo | 6.5 | |||
| 29 | FrameFlow | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6.4 | |
| 30 | ITRS OP5 Monitor | No | Yes | Yes | 6.3 | ||
| 31 | NetBeez | No | Yes | Yes | 6.2 | ||
| 32 | Colasoft Capsa | Yes | $695 one-time | 6.1 | |||
| 33 | Intermapper | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6.0 | ||
| 34 | Google Cloud Network Intelligence Center | Yes | $0.15/unit/mo | 5.9 | |||
| 35 | MRTG | Yes | Free | No | Yes | No | 5.8 |
| 36 | GlassWire | Yes | $2.99/seat/mo | 5.6 | |||
| 37 | Kentik Network Monitoring System | No | $2,000/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5.5 |
| 38 | LiveAction LiveNX | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5.4 | |
| 39 | Shinken | Yes | Free | Yes | 5.3 | ||
| 40 | SmokePing | Yes | Free | Yes | No | No | 5.2 |
| 41 | PingInfoView | Yes | Free | 5.1 | |||
| 42 | NetWorx | No | $15/device one-time | Yes | Yes | No | 5.0 |
| 43 | Plixer Scrutinizer | No | Yes | 4.9 | |||
| 44 | Fing Security | Yes | 4.9 | ||||
| 45 | Ganglia | Yes | Free | Yes | 4.8 | ||
| 46 | EMCO Ping Monitor | Yes | Yes | No | 4.7 | ||
| 47 | Big Sister | Yes | Free | Yes | Yes | No | 4.6 |
| 48 | AutoScan-Network | Yes | Free | 4.5 | |||
| 49 | MultiPing | No | $24.99/device one-time | 4.4 | |||
| 50 | CurrPorts | Yes | Free | No | No | No | 4.3 |
Head-to-head All 23 comparisons →
- Zabbix vs ManageEngine OpManager
- Zabbix vs Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
- Zabbix vs SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
- Zabbix vs Broadcom DX NetOps
- Zabbix vs IBM SevOne Network Performance Management
- Zabbix vs Progress Flowmon
- Checkmk vs Broadcom DX NetOps
- Checkmk vs Progress Flowmon
- ManageEngine OpManager vs Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
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How we rank network monitoring
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update