Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent all kinds of network issues.
Zenoss is an open-source monitoring tool with a lot of features. It delivers real-time observability, machine learning, and AIOps for deep visibility across your IT infrastructure. If you need a monitoring solution advanced analytics, Zenoss might be your choice.
But Zenoss comes with a catch. You need serious technical skills to set it up, connect it to your existing tools, and keep it running smoothly. Most IT teams will spend weeks on configuration and may need extra training just to get started.
Paessler PRTG takes a different approach. Our monitoring software is user-friendly and works right out of the box. You don’t need a background in data science or a team of specialists. PRTG’s auto-discovery and built-in sensors make setup fast, so you can start monitoring your IT environments and infrastructure within minutes. Whether you’re running a small team or managing a large enterprise, PRTG adapts to your needs.
PRTG focuses on practical, real-time monitoring. You get a monitoring platform that provides instant insights and helps you troubleshoot performance issues before they become real problems. The dashboard makes it easy to track metrics, uptime, and network performance across your entire stack. Also PRTG’s sensor-based pricing is simple and transparent. You know exactly what you’ll pay, with no hidden fees or complicated licensing. You can scale your monitoring solution as your infrastructure grows, whether you’re on-premises, in the cloud, or managing a hybrid setup.
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.
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
FEATURE | PRTG PRTG | Zenoss Zenoss |
|---|---|---|
One tool for your entire network | PRTG All monitoring features included | Zenoss Comprehensive monitoring platform |
Easy setup, intuitive monitoring | PRTG User-friendly interfaces for web, desktop, and mobile | Zenoss Complex setup, requires training |
Automatic network discover | PRTG Included | Zenoss Included |
Real-time alerts & notifications | PRTG Advanced, highly customizable alerting via different notification methods | Zenoss AI-based alerting |
Custom maps & dashboards | PRTG Custom dashboard creation via drag & drop | Zenoss Requires configuration expertise |
Agentless monitoring | PRTG No need to install agents on the monitored systems | Zenoss Hybrid agent/agentless approach |
On-premises or cloud-based | PRTG Flexible deployment options available | Zenoss Multiple deployment options |
Enterprise version | PRTG Available | Zenoss Available |
Freeware version | PRTG Available for up to 100 sensors, free for life | Zenoss No free version available |
Distributed network monitoring | PRTG Monitoring an unlimited number of remote locations included | Zenoss Supported |
Server & application monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Network performance monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Bandwidth monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Network traffic analyzer | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra costs | Zenoss Supported |
Cloud services monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Virtual infrastructure monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss VMware and Hyper-V support |
Storage resource monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Database monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Web performance monitoring | PRTG Out-of-the-box integration, no extra cost | Zenoss Supported |
Supports leading technologies | PRTG SNMP, flow protocols, packet sniffing, WMI, HTTP, ping, SQL, and much more | Zenoss Various protocols supported |
Create your own scripts | PRTG Own PRTG API included for custom sensors and scripts | Zenoss ZenPack development framework |
Includes technical support | PRTG Expert support included, no extra costs | Zenoss Enterprise support available |
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
The move toward user-friendly monitoring platforms reflects changing IT priorities and resource constraints. A lot of organizations are moving away from overly complex enterprise platforms that require dedicated specialists and extensive training programs. PRTG solves these problems by offering easy-to-use monitoring tools that don't need any specialized knowledge to get the job done. Our enterprise monitoring software approach helps you optimize IT management processes while keeping system monitoring functional across different IT infrastructures.
PRTG's auto-discovery and pre-configured sensors make it super easy to set up, unlike with those complex monitoring tools that take forever to deploy. Most organizations get full monitoring coverage in days instead of weeks, which improves uptime and reduces performance issues.
The software's easy-to-set-up process lets IT teams focus on monitoring their infrastructure instead of learning complex configuration procedures or troubleshooting deployment problems.
With sensor-based pricing, you can see exactly what you're spending without any hidden fees or complicated licensing stuff that you often have to deal with in other monitoring solutions. You can grow your monitoring infrastructure without the need to renegotiate contracts or find unexpected charges.
This transparency will make your budget planning a piece of cake and get rid of those unexpected financial surprises often associated with enterprise monitoring platforms, whether you deploy them on-premises or as SaaS solutions.
With PRTG, you'll get useful monitoring insights right away, no need for a lot of customization or development work. The software comes with a full sensor library that covers most monitoring scenarios right away, so IT teams can start identifying and fixing infrastructure issues right after installation.
This includes network management, application performance monitoring, and system monitoring across Linux, iOS, and other operating systems.
With the unified interface, you no longer must deal with multiple monitoring tools or complicated integrations with third-party plugins. Your IT teams can keep an eye on networks, servers, applications, and cloud services through a single monitoring platform, so they can cut down on administrative overhead and make troubleshooting more straightforward.
This approach offers better observability without the complexity of managing separate tools for different monitoring functions.
You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Zenoss 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:
Graylog requires complex setup with steep learning curves and has limited monitoring capabilities. PRTG delivers comprehensive infrastructure monitoring with intuitive interfaces and transparent pricing.
Wazuh offers robust open-source SIEM/XDR but requires extensive configuration and is security-focused only. PRTG provides comprehensive network monitoring covering threats, compliance, and performance.
Pandora FMS offers flexible monitoring but comes with complex pricing and a steep learning curve. PRTG delivers transparent sensor-based pricing and intuitive monitoring through a unified interface.
Dynatrace offers AI-driven monitoring but with complex consumption-based pricing. PRTG delivers comprehensive monitoring with straightforward sensor-based pricing and flexible deployment options.
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.
Monitor all major physical hazards in IT rooms and racks such as critical climate factors, fire or burglary.
UVexplorer integrates tightly with PRTG to bring fast and accurate network discovery, detailed device inventory, and automatic network mapping to the PRTG platform.
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 25.3.110.1313 (August 27, 2025)
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese
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 Zenoss depends on several factors, such as your specific network monitoring needs, budget, and technical resources available in your organization.
PRTG is ideal:
Zenoss might be your choice:
PRTG handles enterprise-scale monitoring through distributed probe architecture and cluster configurations. The scalable platform supports thousands of sensors across multiple locations while maintaining its user-friendly approach.
PRTG supports comprehensive Linux monitoring through SNMP, SSH, and custom scripts, and can monitor mixed environments including Windows, Linux, Unix, and network devices from a single interface. This multi-platform capability allows monitoring of diverse IT environments without requiring separate monitoring tools for different operating systems.
PRTG provides native sensors for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other cloud platforms, offering comprehensive cloud monitoring capabilities out-of-the-box. The platform integrates with popular IT operations tools through its API and notification system, sending real-time alerts to PagerDuty, ServiceNow, and other ITSM platforms.
This allows organizations to maintain existing incident management workflows while benefiting from PRTG's comprehensive monitoring capabilities, including root cause analysis and automated troubleshooting features.
PRTG offers several advantages over open-source monitoring tools like Nagios and Zabbix, including easier setup, professional support, and a unified interface without the need to integrate multiple tools or manage plugins. Unlike SolarWinds or Datadog, PRTG offers transparent sensor-based pricing without per-device fees or complex licensing models. The platform provides comprehensive functionality out-of-the-box, eliminating the need for extensive customization or specialized training, making it accessible to IT teams of all skill levels.
PRTG collects comprehensive performance metrics across your entire IT infrastructure, from network performance monitoring to application performance tracking. The platform provides real-time insights into system performance, helping IT teams identify performance issues before they impact users. With customizable dashboards and automated reporting, PRTG transforms raw metrics into actionable intelligence for better IT management, providing unified system monitoring across all platforms.
Yes, PRTG is well-suited for managed services providers and service providers who need to monitor multiple client environments. The platform's distributed monitoring capabilities, multi-tenant architecture, and flexible deployment options (on-premises, cloud, or self-hosted) make it ideal for service providers managing diverse IT infrastructures. PRTG's automation features help optimize monitoring workflows across multiple client environments while maintaining the scalable monitoring solution approach that works for organizations of all sizes.
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 Zenoss implementation?
