Zabbix vs SolarWinds Observability

Zabbix8.8Visit SolarWinds Observability8.7Visit

Higher score Zabbix #7 in Monitoring Observability 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Zabbix

vs

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

• Zabbix fits best

  Teams monitoring large, mixed infrastructure

• SolarWinds Observability fits best

  Teams monitoring applications and hybrid IT together

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Side by side

Feature	Zabbix 8.8/10 Visit ↗	SolarWinds Observability 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.7
Ranking	#7 in Monitoring Observability	#8 in Monitoring Observability
Best for	Teams monitoring large, mixed infrastructure	Teams monitoring applications and hybrid IT together
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	€245/mo	$5/GB/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Linux, Windows, macOS	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Email, Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7	Docs, Community
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Zabbix 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 devices, clouds, containers, VMs, applications, logs, and services Combines agent-based and agentless collection with discovery and alert escalation Offers self-hosted or cloud deployment and integrations with major IT platforms	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	Broad monitoring scope may require more operational effort than a narrow tool Paid subscriptions add support rather than a software license Advanced support and operational assurances require paid subscriptions	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	Zabbix is an open-source monitoring platform for IT teams that need visibility across infrastructure, networks, applications, and services. It collects metrics from network devices, cloud services, containers, virtual machines, operating… 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

• Zabbix — where it wins

  • Monitors devices, clouds, containers, VMs, applications, logs, and services
  • Combines agent-based and agentless collection with discovery and alert escalation
  • Offers self-hosted or cloud deployment and integrations with major IT platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • Broad monitoring scope may require more operational effort than a narrow tool
  • Paid subscriptions add support rather than a software license
  • Advanced support and operational assurances require paid subscriptions

• 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.

• Zabbix8.8/10 · Free plan

  A free, broad monitoring platform with paid subscriptions for support and operational assurances.

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

  Modular observability for teams connecting application performance with underlying infrastructure.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →