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  1. Home>
  2. IT Topics>
  3. Comparison>
  4. Open Hardware Monitor Alternative
PRTG Logo

Paessler PRTG – The complete alternative to Open Hardware Monitor

  • Monitor hardware, software, and environmental metrics
  • Use it out of the box, with minimal tweaking
  • Only pay for what you monitor, and the first 100 sensors are free forever
Free download
product overview

Our users give top ratings for monitoring with Paessler PRTG

Gartner peer insights
spiceworks
Capterra
G2
Trustpilot

PRTG as an Open Hardware Monitor alternative: What you’ll find on this page

Table of content
  • Open Hardware Monitor Alternative: Monitor everything, not just hardware
  • Paessler PRTG - Ultimate flexibility. Effortless scalability.
  • What network monitoring looks like in PRTG
  • Compare PRTG to Open Hardware Monitor
  • Take care of your current and future monitoring needs
  • Open Hardware Monitor Alternative: FAQ

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.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Open Hardware Monitor Alternative: Monitor everything, not just hardware

What do you need to monitor?

If you just need to keep an eye on hardware metrics on a single device, like CPU temperature, fan speed, or GPU performance, Open Hardware Monitor is hard to beat.

But when you're in charge of an enterprise network, it's a different story.

Hardware metrics are only one piece of the puzzle. You'll also want to track software, availability, bandwidth, latency, jitter, and every other variable that might slow your infrastructure (and your organization down). And, more importantly, you'll want a tool that makes it easy for the IT team.

And that's why PRTG is the obvious choice.

What could be easier than a single tool that can monitor everything from one place, out of the box or in accordance with your preferred parameters?

We rest our case. 

Table of content

Paessler PRTG - Ultimate flexibility. Effortless scalability.

Server monitoring. CPUs. Firewalls. Routers. Bandwidth. Availability. Temperature. Humidity.

PRTG monitors all the metrics you need to keep an eye on to make sure your enterprise network performs optimally… and the metrics you don't even know you need to monitor yet.

icon time

Quick installation with automatic network discovery and smart setup for instant monitoring

icon dashboard

Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop with easy-to-read visualized overviews

icon mobile

Different user interfaces for web, desktop, and mobile apps for monitoring on the go

icon partners

Network of qualified implementation partners to support you with a smooth migration to PRTG

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.

PRTG Screenshot device tree view

Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup

PRTG screenshot map entire it infrastructure

Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure

PRTG screenshot graph live data traffic

Live traffic data graph in PRTG

Compare PRTG to Open Hardware Monitor

FEATURE

PRTG

PRTG

Open Hardware Monitor

Open Hardware Monitor

One tool for your entire network

PRTG
included

All monitoring features included

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Only monitors hardware

Easy setup, intuitive monitoring

PRTG
included

User-friendly interfaces for web, desktop, and mobile

Open Hardware Monitor
included

No installation required, but must be run locally, on the device you want to monitor

Automatic network discover

PRTG
included

Included

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Real-time alerts & notifications

PRTG
included

Advanced, highly customizable alerting via

different notification methods

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Custom maps & dashboards

PRTG
included

Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Agentless monitoring

PRTG
included

No need to install agents on the monitored systems

Open Hardware Monitor
included

No need to install agents on the monitored systems

On-premises or cloud-based

PRTG
included

Flexible deployment options available

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Local deployment only

Enterprise version

PRTG
included

Available

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Freeware version

PRTG
included

Available for up to 100 sensors, free for life

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Free and open source

Distributed network monitoring

PRTG
included

Monitoring an unlimited number of remote locations included

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Server & application monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Network performance monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Bandwidth monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Network traffic analyzer

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra costs

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Cloud services monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Virtual infrastructure monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Storage resource monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Database monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Web performance monitoring

PRTG
included

Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Not available

Supports leading technologies

PRTG
included

SNMP, flow protocols, packet sniffing, WMI, HTTP, ping, SQL, and much more

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Create your own scripts

PRTG
included

Own PRTG API included for custom sensors and scripts

Open Hardware Monitor
included

Supported

Includes technical support

PRTG
included

Expert support included, no extra costs

Open Hardware Monitor
not included

Documentation only

Start monitoring your network with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

IT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring

PCMag

“All-around winning
 network monitor”

IT Brief

“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”

ITPro

“PRTG Network Monitor 
is very hard to beat”

Take care of your current and future monitoring needs

With the ability to monitor unlimited local, remote, and virtual network devices and support for all major monitoring protocols, PRTG can handle whatever you throw at it… including requirements you don't even know about yet.

icon learning curve

Minimal learning curve

Whether you use PRTG Network Monitor or our cloud-hosted solution, our network monitoring software is simple and intuitive by design. Set it up in minutes, with just a few clicks, and get on with other tasks while it keeps an eye on your network.

icon customization

Complete customization

PRTG works right out of the box, but you can configure it just the way you like it so it’s bespoke to your needs. Configuration features include customizable dashboards and alerts, as well as the ability to pick your preferred performance thresholds and even create custom sensors.

icon free version

Free version

The first 100 sensors are free forever, and include our full suite of features. Which means you can start monitoring with PRTG at no cost. And if you’re a large enterprise with complex needs, you can try our network monitoring solution free for 30 days before you commit.

icon workstation

Grow as you go

It doesn’t matter how simple or complex your IT infrastructure is (or will become over time). PRTG adapts with ease. Deploy our network monitoring software on premises, in the cloud, or set up a hybrid environment, and upgrade or downgrade as your needs change.

Need help making a decision? 

You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Open Hardware Monitor implementation?

Contact Sales

PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems

compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems

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.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

“Part of our infrastructure runs with Azure. This information is then sent to PRTG via Powershell. Paessler is a great solution for us. We get alerts sent directly to our phones and if something goes wrong somewhere, we can immediately deal with it. It’s our lifeline. This is why Paessler gives us a sense of security no matter what the time of day.”

Gert-Jan Hiddink, DevOps Engineer
CowManager

“From a server perspective, we're monitoring all of the key components of our service such as CPU usage, RAM disk space, the Windows services that it's running, and network connectivity of that server. In terms of networks, we’re monitoring all of our switches, firewalls, and access points. It’s really useful to be able to easily pull performance metrics from the PRTG dashboard.”

Ollie Kerslake, Infrastructure Lead
Riverford Organic Farmers

”GESAC increasingly focuses on innovation to improve the quality of services offered and the experience of passengers handled every day by Naples Airport. Thanks to PRTG, we finally have unified, automatic, and continuous monitoring of the airport network and can guarantee quick and timely interventions.”

Domenico Ciervo, GESAC ICT Manager
Naples International Airport

Your Open Hardware Monitor alternative PRTG at a glance – even on the go

PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.

device overview

PRTG vs. other monitoring tools

We also compared PRTG with other monitoring tools:

PRTG vs. Nagios

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.

Comparison with Nagios

PRTG vs. Checkmk

Checkmk is a comprehensive network monitoring tool, but it uses open-source add-ons for some functions. This means additional work in setting up, operating, and maintaining the monitoring systems.

Comparison with Checkmk

PRTG vs. Icinga

Icinga is an open-source monitoring tool offering flexibility but requiring advanced technical knowledge. Its setup and maintenance can be complex, especially for teams lacking dedicated Linux expertise.

Comparison with Icinga

PRTG vs. Zabbix

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.

Comparison with Zabbix

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.

Free download
PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s IT partners

Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.

UVnetworks

UVnetworks

UVexplorer integrates tightly with PRTG to bring fast and accurate network discovery, detailed device inventory, and automatic network mapping to the PRTG platform.

Read more
Wago

Wago

Paessler PRTG integrates Wago systems into the higher-level monitoring of IT, security and production systems, thus creating a central overview.

Read more
PATLITE

PATLITE

PATLITE, as a manufacturer of visual and audible signaling devices, uses Paessler PRTG to ensure smooth plant operations.

Read more
Paessler PRTG

Paessler PRTG

Network Monitoring Software – Version 24.4.102.1351 (November 12th, 2024)

Hosting icon

Hosting

Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available

Languages icon

Languages

English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese

test

Monitor everything

Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more

test

Pricing

Choose the PRTG Network Monitor subscription that's best for you

Open Hardware Monitor Alternative: FAQ

 

Should I choose PRTG or Open Hardware Monitor?

Choosing between Paessler PRTG and Open Hardware Monitor 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.

Open Hardware Monitor might be your choice:

  • If you only need to monitor hardware components on individual devices
  • If you don't need cloud-based monitoring capabilities
  • If you're comfortable parsing through documentation and troubleshooting issues without any outside help
What network components can PRTG monitor?

The short answer is: every single one of them, and then some. PRTG is an all-in-one monitoring solution, which means it can track hardware, software, virtualized, and environmental metrics, making it ideal for large, complex IT infrastructure and distributed networks.

Available on-premises or as a cloud-hosted solution, PRTG comes with 250+ preconfigured sensors, plus the ability to create your own, and can monitor unlimited devices using the following monitoring protocols: SNMP, WMI, Windows performance counters, Flow technologies, including NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, and jFlow, SSH, HTTP and HTTPS, FTP, and DNS.

How easy is it to set up PRTG?

Don't let PRTG's breadth of functionality and customizability intimidate you. Setting it up is as easy as it gets. Download PRTG onto a Windows server (or use our cloud-hosted solution) and key in an IP address range. That's it. PRTG will automatically detect every hardware and software network component in the provided IP range and assign the appropriate sensors. You can then leave it as is, or tweak your monitoring environment, performance thresholds, and other parameters to suit.

Need help? We'll provide you with all the documentation you need and an extensive online knowledgebase. Plus, our experienced and friendly support team are always on hand to answer your questions and offer additional help.

How much does PRTG cost?

PRTG uses sensor-based pricing, which means you only pay for the metrics you want to monitor. The first 100 sensors are free, for life. There's also no minimum monthly commitment on our paid plans. You can upgrade or downgrade your subscription at any time, no questions asked. 

What is a sensor in PRTG?

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.

We asked: would you recommend PRTG? Over 95% of our customers say yes!

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.

recommendation
PRTG Logo

Need help making a decision? 

You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Open Hardware Monitor implementation?

Contact Sales

Products

  • Paessler PRTG
    Paessler PRTGMonitor your whole IT infrastructure
    • PRTG Network Monitor
    • PRTG Enterprise Monitor
    • PRTG Hosted Monitor
    • PRTG extensions
      Extensions for Paessler PRTGExtend your monitoring to a new level
  • Icon Features
    FeaturesExplore all monitoring features

Monitoring with PRTG

  • Network monitoring
  • Bandwidth monitoring
  • SNMP monitoring
  • Network mapping
  • Wi-Fi monitoring
  • Server monitoring
  • Network traffic analyzer
  • NetFlow monitoring
  • Syslog server

Useful Links

  • PRTG Manual
  • Knowledge Base
  • Customer Success Stories
  • About Paessler
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • PRTG Support
  • PRTG Consulting

Contact

Paessler GmbH
Thurn-und-Taxis-Str. 14, 
90411 Nuremberg 
Germany

info@paessler.com

+49 911 93775-0

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