SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

Real-time network visibility and performance monitoring for IT pros.

softwareNetwork MonitoringNetwork MonitoringPerformance OptimizationIT Management

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Alternatives

ManageEngine OpManagerAI-suggested

Choose ManageEngine OpManager if…

you need a perpetual license instead of recurring fees
you want to monitor servers and apps alongside network
you already use other ManageEngine tools and need tight
you prefer a single pane of glass for network, server, and

See details

Nagios XIAI-suggested

Choose Nagios XI if…

you need a self‑hosted solution to keep data in‑house
you want to avoid recurring subscription fees
you already use an ITSM or CMDB and need native ticket
you rely on custom plugins for niche devices or services

See details

VMware vRealize Network InsightAI-suggested

Choose VMware vRealize Network Insight if…

you need deep visibility into NSX east‑west traffic
you run a fully VMware‑virtualized environment
you must validate virtual network policies against
you prefer a self‑hosted app you control

See details

NPSAI-suggested

Choose NPS if…

you need a free proxy to tunnel SSH or RDP without VPN
you run mixed OS environments and need a single binary for
you prefer a web‑based terminal to configure client proxies
you have limited budget and cannot afford a subscription

See details

ObkioAI-suggested

Choose Obkio if…

you need 30‑second SNMP polling to catch short‑lived spikes
you monitor VoIP call quality with MOS scores
you prefer agent‑based deployment on Windows, Linux, or
you want visual traceroute diagnostics for fast root‑cause

See details

How to Decide

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a subscription‑based, cloud/SaaS solution known for real‑time visibility and deep integration with the Orion platform, used by IT professionals and network administrators. The alternatives split into a few clear camps: PRTG Network Monitor leans on a free tier for up to 100 sensors and extensive pre‑built sensor library; VMware vRealize Network Insight is built for self‑hosted VMware environments with native vCenter/NSX integration; Riverbed Network Performance Management focuses on end‑to‑end visibility across Riverbed SteelCentral/SteelHead devices with customizable reporting; NPS stands out as a free, open‑source, self‑hosted proxy that supports multiple protocols for intranet penetration; Nagios XI offers a one‑time‑purchase, self‑hosted platform with a massive plugin ecosystem and role‑based access control.

When weighing these options, consider the pricing model (subscription versus free tier versus one‑time license), the deployment architecture (cloud SaaS versus self‑hosted on‑prem), API availability for automation, the breadth and specificity of integrations (broad vendor‑agnostic sensors versus deep VMware or Riverbed ties), and the openness of the solution (proprietary versus open‑source) as these are the dimensions where SolarWinds and its alternatives actually differ.

All Alternatives

ManageEngine OpManager

AI-suggested

ManageEngine OpManager provides real‑time visibility into network performance, servers, and applications, helping IT teams proactively detect and resolve issues.

✦ Best for it teams needing deep, customizable on‑prem network and server monitoring

Paid (One-time)ProprietaryWebReal‑Time DashboardsAutomated Device DiscoveryCustomizable Alerts

Nagios XI

AI-suggested

Nagios XI delivers enterprise‑grade monitoring for servers, networks, applications, and services. Its web‑based interface lets IT teams visualize health, set thresholds, and receive alerts in real time.

✦ Best for it teams that need deep customization and on‑premise data control

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebWeb‑Based UICustom DashboardsAlert Escalation

VMware vRealize Network Insight

AI-suggested

VMware vRealize Network Insight provides real‑time network topology mapping, traffic analytics, and security posture assessment for VMware environments.

✦ Best for vmware vsphere and nsx users

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebTopology MappingTraffic AnalyticsSecurity Posture

NPS

AI-suggested

nps is a powerful, lightweight, and high-performance intranet penetration proxy server. It supports various protocols such as TCP, UDP, SOCKS5, and HTTP, allowing for flexible and efficient traffic forwarding.

✦ Best for exposing services behind nat or a firewall via intranet tunneling

FreeGPL-3.0WebWindowsMacTCP SupportUDP SupportSOCKS5 Support

Obkio

AI-suggested

Obkio is a network performance monitoring platform built to catch intermittent network problems through continuous, agent-based monitoring across LAN, WAN, SD-WAN, MPLS, and VPN environments.

✦ Best for it teams that need to catch intermittent, hard-to-diagnose network problems across multiple sites

Contact for PricingProprietaryWindowsLinuxWebSNMP PollingVoIP MOS MonitoringVisual Traceroute

“SolarWinds NPM provides continuous network performance metrics and visual traceroute, matching Obkio's core use case.”

PRTG Network Monitor

AI-suggested

PRTG Network Monitor provides comprehensive visibility into your entire IT infrastructure, from bandwidth and servers to applications and cloud services. Its sensor‑based approach lets you monitor virtually any device or service with minimal configuration.

✦ Best for it pros with complex networks

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebWindowsSensor-BasedReal-Time AlertsCustom Dashboards

Observium

AI-suggested

Observium is a network monitoring platform that automatically discovers devices and services on a network and collects real-time and historical performance data, presenting it through a web-based dashboard.

✦ Best for network teams monitoring large, multi-vendor infrastructures who want auto-discovery and traffic accounting.

FreemiumProprietaryWebLinuxAuto Discovery450+ Device SupportTraffic Accounting

“SolarWinds NPM focuses on real‑time SNMP monitoring and auto‑discovery across many vendors, directly comparable to Observium.”

Riverbed Network Performance Management

AI-suggested

Riverbed Network Performance Management delivers comprehensive monitoring, analytics, and troubleshooting tools for large‑scale enterprise environments.

✦ Best for large enterprise it teams

ProprietaryWebWeb‑BasedReal‑Time DashboardsAutomated Alerts

Dynatrace Network Monitoring

AI-suggested

Dynatrace Network Monitoring provides deep visibility into network traffic at the process level, allowing IT teams to pinpoint latency, packet loss, and connection failures before they impact users.

✦ Best for enterprise it/devops teams needing process‑level network insights within dynatrace

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebAI‑DrivenProcess‑LevelReal‑Time

“Real‑time network performance monitoring and troubleshooting for IT pros, similar core purpose.”

WhatsUp Gold

AI-suggested

WhatsUp Gold delivers real‑time visibility into network devices, servers, and applications across hybrid IT environments.

✦ Best for enterprises or msps requiring deep network auto‑discovery and custom dashboards

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebWindowsReal-Time MonitoringAutomated AlertsCustom Dashboards

“SolarWinds NPM offers real‑time network visibility, auto‑discovery and alerts just like WhatsUp Gold.”

Auvik

AI-suggested

Auvik is a cloud-based network management platform used by over 80,000 IT professionals and MSPs to get real-time visibility into their infrastructure.

Paid (Subscription)ProprietaryWebLive Network MappingDevice DiscoveryNetFlow Analysis