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Cisco DNA Center vs PRTG Network Monitor comparison

Cisco and Paessler GmbH are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while Paessler GmbH is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.8. Cisco holds a 1.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Paessler GmbH’s 4.2% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Paessler GmbH users who would recommend it.
Cisco DNA Center
Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews
  • 1,783 Views
  • 1,076 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
PRTG Network Monitor
Read 101 PRTG Network Monitor reviews
  • 7,245 Views
  • 4,886 Comparison Views
91% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

PRTG Network Monitor and Cisco DNA Center are competitors in the field of network monitoring solutions. PRTG appears to have the upper hand in cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment, while Cisco DNA Center is more suitable for integration within larger Cisco-centric environments.

Features: PRTG Network Monitor is noted for its scalability, intuitive interface, and a wide range of out-of-the-box monitoring features, making it ideal for straightforward network monitoring. Cisco DNA Center excels in seamless integration with Cisco's ecosystem, offering advanced network automation, analytics, and security enhancements, making it ideal for detailed management in enterprise environments.

Room for Improvement: PRTG Network Monitor could benefit from refined dashboard designs and expanded graphical interfaces, along with more robust templates. Enhancements in remote probe stability and support for cloud-native sensors are necessary. Cisco DNA Center would improve with better integration with third-party hardware, enhanced automation capabilities, and more accessible pricing for mid-market customers. Detailed reporting and disaster recovery options also need improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PRTG Network Monitor offers an easier deployment process across cloud and on-premises environments, although customer service can be inconsistent due to time zone differences. Cisco DNA Center has a more complex deployment process due to its integration depth and advanced capabilities. Its customer support is reliable, but the initial setup demands sophisticated skills for effective use.

Pricing and ROI: PRTG Network Monitor is cost-effective for small and medium-sized businesses, offering a good return on investment through all-inclusive licensing that reduces downtime and operational costs. Cisco DNA Center, however, has a higher price point reflecting its enterprise-level features. Its advanced capabilities justify the cost in larger organizations, though it remains a less accessible option for smaller businesses due to its hefty licensing fees.

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Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Network Monitor
April 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
PRTG Network Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (8th), Cloud Monitoring Software (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.2%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.
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Tochukwu Uzomba - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently monitor networks across regions with seamless setup and robust feature set
PRTG Network Monitor is easy to set up. Within a few minutes, it is operational. It is an all-in-one monitoring solution without extra costs. For example, we set it up for an insurance company with branches across Africa. We are able to monitor from Lagos without installing anything in the branches, using the agentless feature. We just put in the IP address and the parameter, and we monitor from those ends. Additionally, all the sensors are very useful. Most people are interested in the bandwidth monitoring sensor to see what bandwidth the users are consuming. The pricing is affordable compared to SolarWinds.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"DNA Center is scalable."
"The product gives a consolidated view."
"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
More Cisco DNA Center pros
"The most valuable feature is the notifications. As long as you spend time and think about what and when you want to be notified, it's always accurate. It is always there. I find things out before my Internet provider."
"We use the remote probes a lot for our branch offices. Instead of deploying the full instance of PRTG, we'll put a remote probe out there. This simplifies the whole deployment for us."
"We have asked questions of their technical support and they have a very good response time."
"It gives me a live view of the traffic on the WAN."
"The network visualization helps us to drill down deeper."
"There is a simplicity to setting up the extra sensors. It's really easy for us to build infrastructure and start monitoring very quickly."
"PRTG Network Monitor is a very stable product."
"It is a very stable solution. There are no bugs, glitches and we have not experienced any crashing."
More PRTG Network Monitor pros
 

Cons

"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
"The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."
More Cisco DNA Center cons
"Mostly, this software has sensors for devices to monitor specs and you can build or develop or modify various sensors, according to your company's needs. But you may need to do that with coding or plugins or with the support of Paessler AG, the manufacturer."
"A room for improvement in PRTG Network Monitor is its sensors. Its application technology sensor, such as the IAS, .NET, etc., needs some improvement because it doesn't work as expected. For example, the IAS sensor doesn't give immediate information, and the information you get from it isn't of good value. The web GUI of PRTG Network Monitor also needs improvement because errors keep popping up if it's not been updated to the latest version. What I'd like to see in the next release of the tool is end-to-end topology mapping for the business model, and that should be required. There has to be a technical map. Technical mapping and topological creation are missing in PRTG Network Monitor, so I would like to see those in the future."
"When you email the support team, they take three to seven days to respond and resolve simple issues."
"We would like more cloud native sensors for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, etc. A lot of businesses are moving in that direction, so having something where we can pull performance stats out of these cloud services would be great for us."
"The dashboarding definitely needs improvement."
"The solution has to evolve as an end-to-end monitoring solution. It has to do better at understanding the application at the deepest level."
"It probably has this already, but if it had a mobile app that would be helpful. For example, on a day like today when I'm out, if I could just fire it up and see green, green, green, green, green or red, that would be good."
"PRTG Network Monitor could improve the price."
More PRTG Network Monitor cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The product is very costly."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
"We are using the basic PRTG that we can download for free. For now, we only need to monitor less than 100 devices. For more than 100 devices, we would need to buy a license. PRTG is much cheaper than SolarWinds."
"While I am not the person who deals with pricing, I would say that we pay around 1000 pounds a year."
"We have an unlimited perpetual license, so we just pay support costs and it can scale throughout the organization."
"I'm paying something like €1000 per year for the maintenance. I've got unlimited sensors."
"When you buy PRTG, everything comes in one bundle. Licensing is very easy."
"Sensors on free version can run out quick."
"I would like better pricing models for smaller businesses. The free version is fantastic, but it's too restrictive. If they could just get up to 200 sensors for a reasonable fee for on-premise, I would give PRTG my credit card right now."
"We are satisfied with the price."
More PRTG Network Monitor pricing and cost advice
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
49%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
The cost is very high.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
See all answers
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
PRTG network monitor is one of the best tool i have ever used for the monitoring. It have auto discovery option. it avoid the configuring the device in PRTG. It automatically discover the device an...
See all answers
What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?
The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?
The prices are very high for PRTG Network Monitor. That's why I'm using the free100 sensor license.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 7% of the time
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 6% of the time
Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 6% of the time
Meraki Dashboard vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
Meraki Dashboard vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 6% of the time
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Zabbix vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 7% of the time
LibreNMS vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
LibreNMS vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 7% of the time
PRTG Enterprise Monitor vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
PRTG Enterprise Monitor vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 6% of the time
SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 6% of the time
Centreon vs PRTG Network Monitor Logo
Centreon vs PRTG Network Monitor
Compared 5% of the time
More PRTG Network Monitor Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center
April 2025
Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor
April 2025
PRTG Network Monitor reportDownload PRTG Network Monitor product report
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?
  • Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
  • Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
  • Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
  • Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
  • Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
  • Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.
What benefits should users consider?
  • Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
  • Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
  • Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
  • Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

Cisco

PRTG Network Monitor runs on a Windows machine within your network, collecting various statistics from the machines, software, and devices which you designate. PRTG comes with an easy-to-use web interface with point-and-click configuration. You can easily share data from it with non-technical colleagues and customers, including via live graphs and custom reports. This will let you plan for network expansion, see what applications are using most of your connection, and make sure that no one is hogging the entire network just to torrent videos.

To monitor a large IT environment, it's important to be able to scale PRTG up. Paessler PRTG Enterprise Monitor includes all the proven capabilities of PRTG Network Monitor, which are enhanced by exclusive ITOps Board for a service-oriented, central overview of multiple PRTG servers.

Paessler GmbH
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Jameson Bank, Sidnix, RungeICT, MedicalAnimal, Truck-lite, GamingGrids, The Covell Group, Forsythn County Schools, NetMass, Musgrove Park Hospital, Lanes Health, Columbia Southern University, Vodafone, Intrust Bank
Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Network Monitor
April 2025
Free Report: Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Network Monitor
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