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Cacti vs SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor: catalog facts
Cacti	SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Free Free and open source under the GPL.	Paid Commercial license sold directly by the vendor rather than offered as a free product.
Linux, Web, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
RRDtool storage keeps years of graphs in a fixed amount of disk Mature template and plugin ecosystem for network devices	NetPath and intelligent maps give deep visibility into network paths Long-established, widely deployed product in enterprise IT
Interface and workflow feel dated next to newer monitoring stacks Alerting requires plugins rather than being built in	Commercial licensing makes it a significant cost for smaller organizations Self-hosted deployment requires dedicated infrastructure to run
Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.