SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor review
A mature self-hosted monitor with deep network visibility, but a high entry price.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is paid network monitoring software for IT teams managing multi-vendor environments. It discovers routers, switches, firewalls, wireless controllers, access points, and other network devices, then tracks availability, response time, packet loss, bandwidth utilization, errors, and hardware health. The product runs on the self-hosted SolarWinds Platform and supports on-premises, cloud-connected, and hybrid network environments, with web access to monitoring capabilities.
Its strongest area is the breadth of network visibility in one product. Topology and dependency maps show relationships between devices, while NetPath provides hop-by-hop network path visualization. PerfStack correlates metrics across stacks, and configurable alerts can use thresholds, baselines, and dependencies. Historical reporting and capacity forecasting extend the product beyond immediate fault detection. Wireless controller, access point, client, and heat-map monitoring add coverage for wireless environments, while the syslog and SNMP trap server centralize additional network signals.
The product also fits organizations building a wider SolarWinds monitoring environment. It integrates with NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, Network Configuration Manager, Server & Application Monitor, and Virtualization Manager. According to SolarWinds' pricing page, Network Performance Monitor starts at $2,829, and the product has a 30-day free trial but no free plan. That makes it a fit for established enterprise teams that need self-hosted monitoring, topology, path analysis, alerting, and forecasting in a broad network toolkit. Teams seeking a free product or a different deployment model should consider an alternative.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Tracks availability, packet loss, bandwidth, and hardware health
- Combines topology maps, NetPath, and PerfStack correlation
- Adds wireless, syslog, SNMP traps, forecasting, and capacity reporting
- Where it doesn't
- Starts at $2,829
- Has no free plan
- Self-hosted deployment limits platform coverage
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor fact sheet, pricing and score →
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