Cacti vs Paessler PRTG Network Monitor

Struggling to choose between Cacti and Paessler PRTG Network Monitor? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Cacti is a Network & Admin solution with tags like network, monitoring, graphing, statistics.

It boasts features such as Graphing and monitoring tool for network devices, Supports SNMP polling for data collection, Customizable graphs and dashboards, Threshold-based alerting, Supports RRDTool for data storage, Web-based interface, Plugin architecture for extendibility and pros including Free and open source, Easy to install and configure, Wide range of supported devices, Flexible and customizable, Active community support.

On the other hand, Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a Network & Admin product tagged with network, monitoring, infrastructure, devices, servers, switches, routers, websites, applications, alerting.

Its standout features include Auto-discovery of network devices and servers, Monitoring of network bandwidth usage, traffic, availability and uptime, Monitoring of server resources and performance metrics, Monitoring of website and web application availability, Advanced alerting and notification features, Customizable dashboards and reporting, Sensor-based monitoring architecture, Support for SNMP, WMI, NetFlow and other protocols, Agentless and agent-based monitoring options, and it shines with pros like Comprehensive monitoring capabilities, Easy to set up and configure, Intuitive web interface, Powerful alerting and notification features, Customizable dashboards and reports, Scales to monitor large environments, Wide range of supported protocols and sensors.

Feature	Cacti	Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Network & Admin	Network & Admin

Product Overview

Cacti

Description: Cacti is an open-source network monitoring and graphing tool that provides easy monitoring of network devices and servers. It polls devices for utilization data, stores the data, and generates graphs and statistics to help analyze network traffic and utilization.

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor

Description: Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a powerful and comprehensive network monitoring solution for monitoring IT infrastructure and network devices. It can monitor servers, switches, routers, websites, applications and more with advanced alerting features.

Key Features Comparison

Cacti Features

• Graphing and monitoring tool for network devices
• Supports SNMP polling for data collection
• Customizable graphs and dashboards
• Threshold-based alerting
• Supports RRDTool for data storage
• Web-based interface
• Plugin architecture for extendibility

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor Features

• Auto-discovery of network devices and servers
• Monitoring of network bandwidth usage, traffic, availability and uptime
• Monitoring of server resources and performance metrics
• Monitoring of website and web application availability
• Advanced alerting and notification features
• Customizable dashboards and reporting
• Sensor-based monitoring architecture
• Support for SNMP, WMI, NetFlow and other protocols
• Agentless and agent-based monitoring options

Pros & Cons Analysis

Cacti

Pros

• Free and open source
• Easy to install and configure
• Wide range of supported devices
• Flexible and customizable
• Active community support

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Complex interface
• Manual configuration required
• Limited scalability
• No official support

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor

Pros

• Comprehensive monitoring capabilities
• Easy to set up and configure
• Intuitive web interface
• Powerful alerting and notification features
• Customizable dashboards and reports
• Scales to monitor large environments
• Wide range of supported protocols and sensors

Cons

• Can be complex for beginners
• Requires resources to run monitoring server
• Limited support for monitoring cloud infrastructure

Pricing Comparison

Cacti

• Open Source

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor

• Free version for up to 100 sensors
• Commercial version with tiered subscription pricing