Alternatives to Checkmk
Hybrid open-source and commercial monitoring with agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Checkmk
Hybrid open-source and commercial monitoring with agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Checkmk.
Zabbix
Enterprise-scale open-source monitoring for networks and applications.
Zabbix is fully free under AGPL-3.0 with a large template library and proxies for scale, but its configuration is extensive with a real learning curve.
Icinga 2
Monitor infrastructure availability with a configurable checking and alerting system.
Icinga 2 is free GPL-3.0 monitoring supporting distributed checks and notifications, without Checkmk's auto-discovery, and needs optional web components for a complete setup.
Nagios Core
Monitor hosts and services with a configurable alerting engine.
Nagios Core is free GPL-2.0 plugin-based monitoring, but configuration and many checks require manual setup instead of Checkmk's auto-discovery.
Centreon
French enterprise network and IT monitoring platform with business activity dashboards.
Centreon adds business activity dashboards linking infrastructure health to business impact, with its full feature set likewise split between free and paid enterprise editions.
Nagios XI
Commercial self-hosted edition of Nagios with a web-based setup wizard.
Nagios XI is a paid, proprietary Nagios edition with a web setup wizard and dashboards, licensed per node, which can become expensive as infrastructure grows.
PRTG Network Monitor
Sensor-based network monitoring, free for the first 100 sensors.
PRTG offers autodiscovery, maps and alerting with the first 100 sensors free, but runs only on a Windows server, is closed source and charges per sensor.
LibreNMS
Discover and monitor network equipment from a central server.
LibreNMS is free GPL-3.0 software focused on discovering and monitoring network equipment with alerting and historical graphs, rather than broad server agent monitoring.
NetXMS
Monitor network devices, servers and infrastructure through a central platform.
NetXMS monitors network devices, servers and infrastructure through a central platform with agent data collection, with enterprise editions under separate terms.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Checkmk as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
beszel
Track server health through a lightweight web dashboard.
Checkmk adds agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery for hosts and services, but advanced features are in paid editions and self-hosted setup takes more effort.
Cacti
RRDtool-based graphing and monitoring for network devices.
Checkmk adds agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery for hosts and services, while advanced features and scaling are gated behind paid commercial editions.
ManageEngine OpManager
Zoho's network monitoring software for routers, switches and hybrid infrastructure.
Checkmk is open source with agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery, with advanced features and scaling in paid commercial editions.
Naemon
Community-run network and host monitoring suite built on the Nagios 4 core.
Checkmk adds agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery to reduce manual setup, with advanced features in paid commercial editions.
Observium
Autodiscovering network monitoring platform with a clean interface.
Checkmk offers agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery with an open-source core, while advanced features and scaling require its paid commercial editions.
OpenNMS
Carrier-grade open-source network monitoring platform with event correlation.
Checkmk adds agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery to reduce manual setup, while advanced features and scaling are gated behind its paid commercial editions.
Pandora FMS
A monitoring platform for servers, networks, applications and logs, with an open-source edition.
Checkmk offers agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery, with advanced features and scaling gated behind its paid commercial editions.
Prometheus
Metrics database that scrapes targets and evaluates alerting rules.
Checkmk uses agent-based and SNMP auto-discovery instead of a scrape and PromQL model, with advanced features and scaling gated behind paid commercial editions.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Industry-standard self-hosted network performance monitor with intelligent maps.
Checkmk mixes open source and commercial editions, auto-discovers hosts through agents and SNMP, and gates advanced features and scaling behind paid editions.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
