Paessler PRTG – The full-spectrum alternative to ipMonitor

Choosing between Paessler PRTG and ipMonitor depends on several factors, such as your specific network monitoring needs, budget, and technical resources available in your organization.

PRTG is ideal:

• If you prefer an all-in-one, easy-to-use solution with minimal setup time.
• If you need sophisticated, customizable visualizations like dashboards and network maps.
• If you want to monitor an unlimited number of remote locations and networks at no extra cost.
• If you prefer high scalability and a software tailored to large, complex environments.
• If you want to get real-time alerting, custom notifications, and automated reporting.
• If you want to have the choice between an on-premises or cloud-based solution.
• If you want a straightforward licensing model at a comparatively low price.

ipMonitor might be your choice:

• If your primary use cases are uptime and downtime monitoring.
• If you don't need full-stack performance monitoring and advanced functionality.
• If you have the resources for an on-premises deployment.
• If you're happy to pay extra for ongoing support and maintenance.

PRTG hands down, for one simple reason. It's an end-to-end, full-stack IT network monitoring solution.

Solarwinds’ ipMonitor specializes in uptime and downtime monitoring. It's great for keeping an eye on hardware and software performance and minimizing disruption, but doesn't have the capabilities to handle larger, more complex networks. Nor can it monitor more advanced metrics.

PRTG, by contrast, can carry out application performance monitoring, keep an eye on network devices, plugins, and even operating systems, handle in-depth server monitoring, and distributed monitoring, and even monitor temperature, humidity, and other environmental variables. This means you have real-time visibility into every aspect of your network.

ipMonitor and PRTG are both simple and straightforward to set up. In ipMonitor's case, however, this partly reflects its limitations. Specifically, it focuses on uptime, downtime, and basic network monitoring.

PRTG is simple and straightforward to set up, even if you have a complex, distributed network or advanced metrics to monitor. Auto-Discovery detects every hardware, software, and virtual component within a given IP address range, assigns the right sensors, and starts gathering data. Which means you can be up and running in minutes, regardless of the size and complexity of your IT infrastructure.

ipMonitor charges a one-time fee based on the number of endpoints you'd like to track. That might seem attractive at first glance. The catch is that you don't get access to updates, maintenance, or support. You'll need to pay an annual fee for them, which, while optional, is recommended for most organizations. You'll also need to upgrade your license and, so, pay additional fees if your network grows, and you need to monitor more endpoints.

PRTG uses a subscription-based model, but all features, upgrades, and support are included on every single tier, even the free plan. This means you can get started at no upfront cost. And, because we price per sensor, your costs are transparent and predictable: you pay for the metrics you want to monitor, not to access more functionality, or for updates and support

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.