Checkmk vs SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor

Checkmk9.3Visit SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor8.9Visit

Higher score Checkmk #2 in Infrastructure Monitoring 9.3/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Checkmk

vs

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor #6 in Infrastructure Monitoring 8.9/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 3 of 3 features Visit SolarWinds

• Checkmk fits best

  Hybrid monitoring with discovery and automation

• SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor fits best

  Enterprise server and application monitoring

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Side by side

Feature	Checkmk 9.3/10 Visit ↗	SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.9
Ranking	#2 in Infrastructure Monitoring	#6 in Infrastructure Monitoring
Best for	Hybrid monitoring with discovery and automation	Enterprise server and application monitoring
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	€190/mo	$2,900 one-time
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	30 days	30 days
Free trial length	30 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Linux, Windows	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Tickets, Docs	Docs, Community
Integrations	2,000+ integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Checkmk 3/3 · SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor 3/3
VM monitoring	✓	✓
Service monitoring	✓	✓
Agentless monitoring	✓	✓
Specs
Included hosts	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Metrics retention	Custom	Not checked yet
Deployment model	Hybrid	Self-hosted
OS coverage	Multiple	Linux and windows
Our review
Pros	Automatic discovery across servers, networks, cloud, and Kubernetes Agent and agentless collection, including SNMP, WMI, IPMI, and Redfish Free Community edition with 2000+ pre-built integrations	Monitors servers, applications, dependencies, capacity, and virtual environments Supports predefined and custom application templates with drill-down dashboards Offers agent-based and agentless collection across hybrid environments
Cons	Paid self-hosted plans start at €190 per month with annual billing Community edition scales to approximately 100 hosts Advanced features and professional support require paid tiers	No free plan and a listed starting price of $2,900 Node-based subscription licensing uses custom quotes Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams with narrow monitoring scopes
Our verdict	Checkmk is an infrastructure monitoring and observability platform for IT teams managing on-premises, cloud, hybrid, and containerized environments. It discovers hosts and services, collects status and performance data, and provides… Read the review →	SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) is infrastructure monitoring software for IT operations teams responsible for physical, virtual, cloud, and hybrid environments. It brings server health, application availability, performance,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Checkmk — where it wins

  • Automatic discovery across servers, networks, cloud, and Kubernetes
  • Agent and agentless collection, including SNMP, WMI, IPMI, and Redfish
  • Free Community edition with 2000+ pre-built integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid self-hosted plans start at €190 per month with annual billing
  • Community edition scales to approximately 100 hosts
  • Advanced features and professional support require paid tiers

• SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor — where it wins

  • Monitors servers, applications, dependencies, capacity, and virtual environments
  • Supports predefined and custom application templates with drill-down dashboards
  • Offers agent-based and agentless collection across hybrid environments

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan and a listed starting price of $2,900
  • Node-based subscription licensing uses custom quotes
  • Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams with narrow monitoring scopes

• Checkmk9.3/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A broad hybrid-monitoring platform with free open-source coverage and paid automation tiers.

  Visit CheckmkFull verdict →
• SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor8.9/10 · 30-day trial

  A broad monitoring suite for enterprise teams managing hybrid infrastructure.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →