Cisco ThousandEyes vs SolarWinds Observability

Cisco ThousandEyes9.0Visit SolarWinds Observability7.9Visit

Higher score Cisco ThousandEyes #1 in Internet Performance Monitoring Software 9.0/10 Pricing on request · 15-day trial ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit site

vs

SolarWinds Observability #3 in Internet Performance Monitoring Software 7.9/10 From $8/mo (annual) · 30-day trial ✓ 1 of 5 features Visit SolarWinds

• Cisco ThousandEyes fits best

  Network teams needing deep path visibility

• SolarWinds Observability fits best

  Organizations wanting observability beyond Internet checks

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Side by side

Feature	Cisco ThousandEyes 9.0/10 Visit ↗	SolarWinds Observability 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	7.9
Ranking	#1 in Internet Performance Monitoring Software	#3 in Internet Performance Monitoring Software
Best for	Network teams needing deep path visibility	Organizations wanting observability beyond Internet checks
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Not published	$8/mo
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Free trial length	15 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Android	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Email, Live chat, Phone, Docs, Community · 24/7	Docs, Community
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cisco ThousandEyes 0/5 · SolarWinds Observability 1/5
Real-user monitoring	Not published	✓ (best)
Synthetic monitoring	Not published	Not published
DNS monitoring	Not published	Not published
Routing monitoring	Not published	Not published
SaaS monitoring	Not published	Not published
Specs
Probe locations	Not published	Not published
Data retention	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Combines synthetic tests, path views, topology maps, BGP, DNS, and SNMP Analyzes NetFlow v9 and IPFIX traffic-flow data Supports cloud, enterprise, endpoint, and hybrid vantage points	Combines synthetic and real-user monitoring with application observability Covers logs, databases, infrastructure, networks, Kubernetes, and clouds Supports SaaS, self-hosted, and hybrid deployments
Cons	Pricing requires contacting sales for an annual subscription There is no free plan Its broad feature set may exceed focused monitoring needs	No free plan; paid access starts at $5 per GB per month Modular pricing can require several separately priced observability areas Internet performance is one part of a much broader platform
Our verdict	Cisco ThousandEyes is a network and digital experience monitoring platform for enterprise network, operations, and IT teams. It monitors applications, corporate networks, cloud environments, SaaS providers, the public Internet, and… Read the review →	SolarWinds Observability is a full-stack observability platform for DevOps, IT operations, and CloudOps teams. It brings together application metrics, distributed transaction tracing, code profiling, exception tracking, logs, databases,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Cisco ThousandEyes — where it wins

  • Combines synthetic tests, path views, topology maps, BGP, DNS, and SNMP
  • Analyzes NetFlow v9 and IPFIX traffic-flow data
  • Supports cloud, enterprise, endpoint, and hybrid vantage points

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting sales for an annual subscription
  • There is no free plan
  • Its broad feature set may exceed focused monitoring needs

• SolarWinds Observability — where it wins

  • Combines synthetic and real-user monitoring with application observability
  • Covers logs, databases, infrastructure, networks, Kubernetes, and clouds
  • Supports SaaS, self-hosted, and hybrid deployments

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; paid access starts at $5 per GB per month
  • Modular pricing can require several separately priced observability areas
  • Internet performance is one part of a much broader platform

• Cisco ThousandEyes9.0/10 · Pricing on request · 15-day trial

  Deep visibility for teams monitoring complex Internet, cloud, and enterprise paths.

  Visit siteFull verdict →
• SolarWinds Observability7.9/10 · From $8/mo (annual) · 30-day trial

  A broad hybrid observability platform with synthetic and real-user monitoring.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →