Icinga vs Nagios XI

Icinga8.7Visit Nagios XI7.8Visit

Higher score Icinga #8 in Infrastructure Monitoring 8.7/10 Free plan · 60-day trial Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Icinga

vs

Nagios XI #17 in Infrastructure Monitoring 7.8/10 Free plan · paid from $2,595 · 30-day trial Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Nagios XI

• Icinga fits best

  Open-source teams needing flexible checks

• Nagios XI fits best

  Self-hosted monitoring with classic operations workflows

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Side by side

Feature	Icinga 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Nagios XI 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	7.8
Ranking	#8 in Infrastructure Monitoring	#17 in Infrastructure Monitoring
Best for	Open-source teams needing flexible checks	Self-hosted monitoring with classic operations workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Free trial length	60 days	30 days · no card needed
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Cloud
Platforms	Web, Linux, Windows	Linux, Web
Support	Email, Phone · 24/7	Tickets, Docs
Integrations	10 integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Icinga 3/3 · Nagios XI 3/3
VM monitoring	✓	✓
Service monitoring	✓	✓
Agentless monitoring	✓	✓
Specs
Included hosts	Not published	100 hosts
Metrics retention	Not published	Not published
Deployment model	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
OS coverage	Multiple	Linux and windows
Our review
Pros	Unlimited hosts and services in the Forever Free Edition Agent-based and agentless monitoring across Linux and Windows Broad integrations, custom checks, plugins, and REST API automation	Monitors hosts, services, networks, clouds, VMs, and containers Includes dashboards, maps, alerting, reports, and configuration wizards Supports distributed monitoring, SNMP traps, REST API, and agentless checks
Cons	Self-hosted deployment adds operational responsibility Exclusive enterprise modules require a Module Subscription The platform is primarily deployed on Linux	Free edition is limited to seven nodes or 100 services Free plan does not include support Paid licensing starts at a $2,595 one-time price
Our verdict	Icinga is an open-source infrastructure monitoring system for IT teams managing servers, networks, applications, cloud resources, containers, and virtualized environments. It supports host and service availability checks, server and… Read the review →	Nagios XI is a self-hosted infrastructure monitoring platform for IT teams responsible for servers, networks, applications, databases, cloud resources, virtual machines, and containers. It combines host and service checks with alerts,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Icinga — where it wins

  • Unlimited hosts and services in the Forever Free Edition
  • Agent-based and agentless monitoring across Linux and Windows
  • Broad integrations, custom checks, plugins, and REST API automation

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment adds operational responsibility
  • Exclusive enterprise modules require a Module Subscription
  • The platform is primarily deployed on Linux

• Nagios XI — where it wins

  • Monitors hosts, services, networks, clouds, VMs, and containers
  • Includes dashboards, maps, alerting, reports, and configuration wizards
  • Supports distributed monitoring, SNMP traps, REST API, and agentless checks

  Where it doesn't

  • Free edition is limited to seven nodes or 100 services
  • Free plan does not include support
  • Paid licensing starts at a $2,595 one-time price

• Icinga8.7/10 · Free plan · 60-day trial

  A flexible, broad monitoring system for teams comfortable managing self-hosted infrastructure.

  Visit IcingaFull verdict →
• Nagios XI7.8/10 · Free plan · paid from $2,595 · 30-day trial

  A broad self-hosted monitoring suite for teams that prefer classic operations workflows.

  Visit Nagios XIFull verdict →