Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent all kinds of network issues.
Paessler PRTG simplifies network monitoring for you. While Icinga demands deep technical know-how and Linux expertise, PRTG welcomes you with a user-friendly approach. You'll quickly set up and monitor your critical network devices like routers without struggling through a steep learning curve.
Sure, the open-source nature of Icinga gives you flexibility. But it often burdens you with complex setup and maintenance. PRTG takes a different route. It hands you a monitoring software with every feature ready to be activated and used when you need it. No need to hunt for extra plugins or wrestle with tricky configurations. You'll save time not just at the start, but also as you maintain your system.
When you choose PRTG over Icinga, and you get the best of both worlds. It packs powerful monitoring muscle but keeps things simple to use. Whether your team is new to network monitoring or filled with seasoned pros, PRTG fits the bill. You'll implement faster and manage your network more efficiently.
IT monitoring should be straightforward and effective. Complex tools like Icinga can create unnecessary work for your IT team. PRTG stands out by making monitoring as user-friendly as possible, while still providing comprehensive coverage. Here's why PRTG is the smart choice:
Quick installation with automatic network discovery and smart setup for instant monitoring
Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop with easy-to-read visualized overviews
Different user interfaces for web, desktop, and mobile apps for monitoring on the go
Network of qualified implementation partners to support you with a smooth migration to 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.
Live traffic data graph in PRTG
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure
Live traffic data graph in PRTG
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
FEATURE | PRTG PRTG | Icinga Icinga |
|---|---|---|
One tool for your entire network | PRTG All monitoring features included | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Easy setup, intuitive monitoring | PRTG User-friendly interfaces for web, desktop, and mobile | Icinga Requires extensive technical knowledge and advanced Linux skills |
Automatic network discovery | PRTG Included | Icinga No automatic network discovery available |
Real-time alerts & notifications | PRTG Advanced, highly customizable alerting via different notification methods | Icinga Supported, but may require additional setup and configuration |
Custom maps & dashboards | PRTG Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop | Icinga Often requires third-party tools like Grafana |
Agentless monitoring | PRTG No need to install agents on the monitored systems | Icinga Depends on the use-case and needs detailed configuration |
On-premises or cloud-based | PRTG Flexible deployment options available | Icinga Primarily on-premises, cloud options limited (mostly through service providers) |
Enterprise version | PRTG Available | Icinga Available through service provider enterprise support |
Freeware version | PRTG Available for up to 100 sensors, free for life | Icinga Open-source, free to use |
Distributed network monitoring | PRTG Monitoring an unlimited number of remote locations included | Icinga Possible with additional configuration |
Server & application monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Network performance monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Bandwidth monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Network traffic analyzer | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra costs | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Cloud services monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Virtual infrastructure monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Storage resource monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Database monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Web performance monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Icinga Requires additional third-party plugins |
Supports leading technologies | PRTG SNMP, flow protocols, packet sniffing, WMI, HTTP, ping, SQL, and much more | Icinga WMI,SMTP, SQL, SNMP, HTTP(S), TCP/IP, SSH, and much more with additional third-party plugins |
Create your own scripts | PRTG Own PRTG API included for custom sensors and scripts | Icinga Highly customizable through scripts and plugins |
Includes technical support | PRTG Expert support included, no extra costs | Icinga Community support, paid support available (through service providers) |
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
Simplify your monitoring setup with a monitoring software that combines raw monitoring power and ease of use in one package. While Icinga requires extensive configuration and additional plugins, PRTG provides all essential monitoring features right out of the box.
With a user-friendly interface and straightforward installation, you will have no problems to start your monitoring journey quickly. Its auto-discovery feature streamlines device mapping, supporting easy deployment on both Windows and Linux systems.
Icinga on the other hand—often managed with GitHub-hosted plugins—requires more setup and API customization to reach the same level of monitoring, which can slow down deployment when you’re aiming for a fast start.
It's true, Icinga can be versatile. But it often relies on external tools like Grafana for visualizations and other integrations for logging and automation. This adds maintenance tasks, especially for DevOps and monitoring administrators.
By contrast, PRTG is a fully integrated solution, combining alerting, visualizations, and reporting within a single package. This all-in-one approach is ideal for keeping your monitoring centralized and manageable.
PRTG includes customizable dashboards and integrated reporting, a great way for you to get immediate visual insights into IT infrastructure and cloud-native systems. With its sensor-based model and color-coded statuses it’s also easy to spot and resolve issues.
In contrast, Icinga often needs GitHub plugins for advanced visualization, which can be a drawback if you’re looking for native visualization options.
While open-source monitoring tools like Icinga have active communities, support can be limited to forums or paid services from service providers. PRTG on the other hand has dedicated customer support, a knowledge base, and clear documentation included, which makes troubleshooting much easier.
This direct support can be especially helpful for larger teams needing guidance on configuring their monitoring system.
You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Icinga implementation?
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
We also compared PRTG with other monitoring tools:
The basic version of the open-source tool Nagios is free of charge. But most users spent many hours to set up and customize the tool. In case of problems, browsing through forums is often the only solution.
Cacti is a free network monitoring tool 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 more detail.
Ethereal is a legacy packet sniffing tool acquired by Wireshark. It lacks more comprehensive network monitoring and traffic analysis features which let you keep a close eye on your entire infrastructure.
Zabbix is open-source software with a strong community support. But it requires lots of manual configuration work to install and set it up. You also need to install agents on the monitored systems.
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
With the combination of PRTG and Insys, the monitoring specialist Paessler and the industrial gateway manufacturer INSYS icom offer a practical possibility to merge IT and OT.
With condition monitoring and retrofitting, PRTG and Schildknecht DATAEAGLE make even older production plants competitive.
baramundi and PRTG create a secure, reliable and powerful IT infrastructure where you have everything under control - from the traffic in your firewall to the configuration of your clients.
Network Monitoring Software – Version 25.1.104.1946 (March 18th, 2025)
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available
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Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more
Choose the PRTG Network Monitor subscription that's best for you
Choosing between Paessler PRTG and Icingadepends on several factors, such as your specific network monitoring needs, budget, and technical resources available in your organization.
PRTG is ideal:
Icinga might be your choice:
Yes, PRTG is flexible, with custom sensors and scripting that allow tailored monitoring like Icinga or Nagios. While Icinga is known for customization via GitHub plugins, PRTG custom sensors make it possible to achieve many of the same setups without heavy scripting, which helps you implement specialized monitoring more easily.
While Icinga is a free, open-source tool, the personnel expenses to manage plugins, API configurations, and ongoing maintenance can add up. The subscription-based pricing covers comprehensive monitoring, support, and integrated features, which can reduce indirect expenses in large or complex environments.
No, PRTG includes cloud monitoring and application monitoring as part of its default functionality, supporting services like AWS and Azure without additional plugins. Icinga, by comparison, often requires third-party tools for comparable monitoring capabilities.
Migrating from Icinga to PRTG requires a fresh setup due to differences in operating systems and configurations. While Icinga relies heavily on Linux-specific scripts, PRTG supports Windows environments and a sensor-driven approach. Paessler's support team is available to guide you through configuring PRTG and setting up equivalent sensors, helping to ease your transition.
Yes, PRTG is well-suited for hybrid environments, with observability capabilities across on-premises and cloud-native resources. Its unified dashboard simplifies management, making it easier for you to monitor diverse environments compared to modular setups in tools like Icinga.
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive. On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins. The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Icinga implementation?
