Paessler PRTG – More than just an alternative to Cacti
- All-in-one monitoring system for your entire Windows or Linux IT infrastructure
- Auto-discovery functionality for quickly adding network devices to your monitoring setup
- Make your job easier with custom dashboards and other visualization options
Our users give top ratings for monitoring with Paessler PRTG
PRTG as a Cacti alternative: What you’ll find on this page
IT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
PRTG vs. Cacti: One tool for your entire network instead of a mishmash of tools
In-depth bandwidth & traffic analysis
Cacti mainly offers bandwidth and traffic monitoring via SNMP and displays data in charts. It may not be enough if you are hoping to analyze network bandwidth in detail or break bandwidth down by IP address or protocol, for example.
PRTG offers comprehensive bandwidth monitoring including a complete overview of the bandwidth usage in your network. Along with SNMP, PRTG supports various flow protocols (NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) and WMI, as well as packet sniffing technology.
As a result, you can quickly identify potential disruptions, determine the causes of problems, and eliminate errors.
Comprehensive network monitoring
Cacti is an open-source network tool that regularly collects and displays network data. It can quickly fall short if you’re looking to set up comprehensive network management. However, PRTG is a powerful all-in-one network monitoring tool that is much more than just an alternative to Cacti.
PRTG not only monitors network traffic and bandwidth, but also provides an overview of your network hardware, virtual machines, servers, databases, applications, and much more.
By working with technologies such as SNMP, SSH, flow, WMI, ICMP (used by ping), as well as a powerful API, PRTG lets you monitor practically every component in your network.
What network monitoring looks like in PRTG
Diagnose network issues by continuously tracking the health, availability, and performance of your entire IT infrastructure. Show hardware parameters, application performance, network traffic, bandwidth usage, and other key metrics in real time. Visualize data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot all kinds of issues in your network.
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
Preconfigured Packet Sniffer sensor in PRTG
Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure
Start monitoring your network with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
Fast setup and intuitive usability
Network monitoring should be quick and easy. Configuring Cacti can be extremely complicated. If errors occur, you can spend hours troubleshooting and might even have to start over completely. The time you spend on setup and configuration can quickly make the actual cost of the open-source tool Cacti go through the roof.
PRTG makes monitoring as user-friendly as possible – no matter if you choose an on-prem installation or our cloud-based product.
Quick installation with automatic network discovery and smart setup for instant monitoring
Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop with easy-to-read visualized overviews
Threshold-based alerts and customizable notfication templates (SMS, email, push, and more)
Network of qualified implementation partners to support you with a smooth migration to PRTG
Free mobile apps
PRTG mobile apps let you monitor your network while on the go. With Cacti and many other monitoring tools, you can only monitor by way of the web interface. PRTG apps run on smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches with an iOS or Android operating system. Push notifications can be sent directly to your smartphone in the event of warning messages or errors in your network.
Find the root cause of the problem with our PRTG network monitoring solution
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems
Need help making a decision?
You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Cacti implementation? Contact us for more information.
“With SolarWinds, Cacti, and SNMPC we needed three different monitoring systems to gain overview about all our systems and devices. None of these offered mobile apps which ended up being the reason why we moved to PRTG. Finding out that PRTG was able to replace all three tools was a huge additional benefit for us and helps us to save a lot of time and money.”
Stein Erik Høybakk, Senior Network Engineer at TAFJORD
Your Cacti alternative PRTG at a glance – even on the go
Set up PRTG in minutes and use it on almost any mobile device.
PRTG makes network monitoring as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent all kinds of network issues.
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s partners
Partnering with innovative vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
More than just a monitoring tool:
Reasons our customers love PRTG
PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000
sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Try Paessler PRTG
for free
Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.
Start monitoring your network with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 25.1.102.1373 (January 9th, 2025) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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