Checkmk vs SolarWinds Observability

Checkmk8.9Visit SolarWinds Observability8.7Visit

Higher score Checkmk #6 in Monitoring Observability 8.9/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Checkmk

vs

SolarWinds Observability #8 in Monitoring Observability 8.7/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 5 features Visit SolarWinds

• Checkmk fits best

  Teams monitoring infrastructure across hybrid environments

• SolarWinds Observability fits best

  Teams monitoring applications and hybrid IT together

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Side by side

Feature	Checkmk 8.9/10 Visit ↗	SolarWinds Observability 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.7
Ranking	#6 in Monitoring Observability	#8 in Monitoring Observability
Best for	Teams monitoring infrastructure across hybrid environments	Teams monitoring applications and hybrid IT together
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	€190/mo	$5/GB/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	30 days	30 days
Free trial length	30 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Linux, Windows	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Tickets, Docs	Docs, Community
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Checkmk 0/5 · SolarWinds Observability 1/5
Metrics monitoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Log management	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Distributed tracing	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Alerting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Synthetic monitoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment model	Hybrid	Hybrid
Data retention	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Monitors servers, VMs, networks, cloud services, Kubernetes, and containers Supports agentless collection through SNMP, IPMI, WMI, and Redfish Community edition includes 2,000+ pre-built integrations	Combines distributed tracing, code profiling, and application metrics. Maps service dependencies and correlates logs with transaction traces. Offers cloud and self-hosted deployment options.
Cons	Paid self-hosted editions require a custom quote Community edition relies on community support Cloud plan specifies 99.5% availability	Separate modules can make SaaS costs depend on several billing units. The $8 per-node starting price applies to Self-Hosted, not SaaS. Advanced application and experience coverage requires distinct modules.
Our verdict	Checkmk is an infrastructure monitoring product for organizations managing servers, networks, virtual machines, cloud services, containers, and applications. It collects host and service states and metrics through agents, APIs, and… Read the review →	SolarWinds Observability brings application performance monitoring together with infrastructure, network, database, log, and digital experience monitoring. IT operations and DevOps teams can use its application capabilities to track… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Checkmk — where it wins

  • Monitors servers, VMs, networks, cloud services, Kubernetes, and containers
  • Supports agentless collection through SNMP, IPMI, WMI, and Redfish
  • Community edition includes 2,000+ pre-built integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid self-hosted editions require a custom quote
  • Community edition relies on community support
  • Cloud plan specifies 99.5% availability

• SolarWinds Observability — where it wins

  • Combines distributed tracing, code profiling, and application metrics.
  • Maps service dependencies and correlates logs with transaction traces.
  • Offers cloud and self-hosted deployment options.

  Where it doesn't

  • Separate modules can make SaaS costs depend on several billing units.
  • The $8 per-node starting price applies to Self-Hosted, not SaaS.
  • Advanced application and experience coverage requires distinct modules.

• Checkmk8.9/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  Broad infrastructure and network monitoring, with a free self-hosted edition and paid SaaS option.

  Visit CheckmkFull verdict →
• SolarWinds Observability8.7/10 · 30-day trial

  Modular observability for teams connecting application performance with underlying infrastructure.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →