Updated March 30, 2023
Difference Between Zabbix vs PRTG
Zabbix is a monitoring tool used to monitor the networking servers to identify the performance bottlenecks. The tool is scalable and supports different operating systems like Linux, Mac OS, Solaris, and many more. On the other hand, the PRTG tool is also a powerful monitoring tool used for analyzing network performance and find the issues. The PRTG tool is preferred by small scale organizations and individual groups for network monitoring. The PRTG tool supports Windows operating system. In this topic, we are going to learn about Zabbix vs PRTG.
Head to Head Comparison Between Zabbix vs PRTG (Infographics)
Below are the top differences between Zabbix vs PRTG
Key differences of Zabbix vs PRTG
Below are the key differences between Zabbix vs PRTG:
1. Price
One of the most crucial key differences between Zabbix and PRTG tools is the price. The Zabbix tool is an open-source tool, whereas PRTG provides both paid and free versions. In PRTG tool free version, the monitoring can be done upto 100 sensors, and if the requirement is more, the user can select the paid version of the PRTG tool. When the tool is available as a free version, the community support is not so good in free software compared to a paid one. As the PRTG offers a paid version, the community support is better compared to Zabbix.
2. Automatic scanning of network
Both the tool Zabbix and PRTG tool supports the automatic scanning of the network. However, in the Zabbix tool, the Zabbix agent is installed on the client machine, whereas no such concept is there PRTG tool. The Zabbix agent collects the data from the client machine and sends it to the Zabbix server for monitoring purposes.
3. Monitoring of database
This is one of the other differences between both the monitoring tool. The Zabbix supports SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL database monitoring, whereas the PRTG tool supports SQL, REST, MySQL, and PostgreSQL database monitoring.
4. SLA/QoS
One of the key differences between both the monitoring tool is the monitoring of QoS and SLA. The PRTG tool supports QoS monitoring for Cisco, VoIP, and many more, whereas the Zabbix tool does not support any kind of this functionality. The PRTG tool has a ticketing system that generates tickets, whereas in the Zabbix tool, there is no ticket generating system, and the tool uses a manual approach only.
5. Monitoring of hardware health
The PRTG monitoring tool supports monitoring the health of printers, hard drive, virtual arrays, blade servers, voltage and temperature, cisco device, and many more. The Zabbix monitoring tool provides monitoring of the health of fan speed, disk states, voltages, and many more.
6. Monitoring of active directory
One of the key differences between the monitoring tool Zabbix and PRTG is monitoring the active directory. The PRTG monitoring tool supports the monitoring of LDAP services that is an important functionality. On the other hand, the Zabbix monitoring tool does not such functionality. AD monitoring is also supported by the PRTG tool, whereas custom scripting is required in the Zabbix tool.
7. Application monitoring
There are several in-built monitoring types included in PRTG that includes Dropbox and many more. The PRTG tool also supports the monitoring of windows services. On the other hand, in the Zabbix monitoring tool, this functionality of application monitoring is not supported. The Zabbix agent can collect information about running services.
8. Mobile application support
One of the major differences between both the monitoring tools is support for mobile applications. The PRTG monitoring tool supports a mobile application that provides flexibility to the user to monitor the network. On the other hand, no such support is provided in the Zabbix tool, and the tool does not support the mobile application for monitoring purposes.
Comparison Table of Zabbix vs PRTG
Now let’s draft the comparison in the table below
| Factor | Zabbix | PRTG |
| Network mapping | The Zabbix monitoring tool does not support network mapping. | PRTG monitoring tool supports network mapping and topology mapping. |
| NetFlow and bandwidth Analysis | No such functionality is provided in the Zabbix tool to monitor the network bandwidth and monitor the network flow. | In the PRTG monitoring tool, the bandwidth analysis feature is supported by the tool. The network bandwidth can be monitored continuously and can also analyze the network flow. |
| Notification and alerting system | The Zabbix monitoring tool is capable to send the alerts and push notification to the user when any issue is encountered in the network. | The PRTG monitoring tool is also capable to send the alerts and push notification to the user when any issue is encountered in the network.
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| Scalability | The Zabbix monitoring tool provides the functionality of scalability and expandability. | PRTG tool also supports the functionality of scalability and expandability. |
| Critical monitoring and network uptime | The Zabbix monitoring tool provides the functionality of the critical monitoring of network components and also detects the network uptime. | The PRTG monitoring tool also provides functionality to monitor the network uptime and also monitor the critical components of the network. |
| Web interface | The Zabbix monitoring tool web interface is easy to use, but when it is compared with the PRTG tool, the web interface of the Zabbix tool is very basic compared to the PRTG tool. | The PRTG monitoring tool web interface is easy to use and offers additional features compared to the Zabbix tool. The components placed in the web interface is advanced in the PRTG monitoring tool. |
| Cost | The Zabbix tool is open-source software and is available as a free version for the users. | The PRTG tool offers a free version that can support monitoring upto 100 sensors and also offers a paid version that offers additional features to the user. |
| Native mobile application | The Zabbix tool is not available as a mobile application and is limited to computer systems only. | The PRTG tool offers a native mobile application to the user that made the tool popular. |
| Cloud support | The Zabbix monitoring tool supports cloud service but is very limited. The only cloud service supported is the AWS cloud service. | The PRTG monitoring tool also supports the cloud platform and supports various types of cloud service compared to the Zabbix monitoring tool. The cloud services include AWS, Azure, and many more. |
Conclusion
The Zabbix and PRTG monitoring tool are both powerful tools used for network monitoring and find the performance bottlenecks present in the network. Both the tool supports numerous features to the individual groups and organization and selection of the right monitoring tool is completely dependent on the user requirements.
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