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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
March 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

"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."
"The product gives a consolidated view."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"It gives us automation capabilities for pushing out the configuration to branch networks. It also provides visibility into the health of user network devices."
More Cisco DNA Center pros
"We have asked questions of their technical support and they have a very good response time."
"PRTG Network Monitor helps us quickly and easily discover a large number of sensors, so we can spend minimal time monitoring customer sites."
"We can see which fiber links have been used heavily and, if they are used heavily, we can introduce more links to particular buildings or particular areas."
"The most valuable feature of PRTG Network Monitor is its ease of use."
"It helps the entire organization become digitally enabled."
"PRTG has improved our visibility and response time to issues related to remote sites."
"Ease of set-up – it is quick and easy to add a probe and start collecting data from a device."
"The most valuable features of PRTG Network Monitor are user-friendly, and the graphical interface is good for all the network devices that are mapped in this organization. It's very easy to find reports for any devices that we are looking for."
More PRTG Network Monitor pros
 

Cons

"The solution’s security side could be improved."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
"The solution can be quite pricey."
More Cisco DNA Center cons
"Maybe in the future there will be room for improvement, but currently, there is nothing pressing that I can think of"
"With custom sensors, there is a lot of work which needs to be done in the background, just for it to be tailor-made for the specific thing that we are actually monitoring. We take a lot of time with the custom sensors. I would like to see the customer sensor be more robust and a bit more varied."
"I have an issue with DFS, distributed file services... there isn't one by default. Taking into account the difference between DFS and DFSR as well would be great."
"We would like to monitor certain aspects of the user experience. We should be able to analyze the cause of end user experience, bad or good, so we can do some research and development on our own."
"In a very few cases, customers want more detailed reports, which we cannot meet."
"There is room for improvement in this solution for the performance and third-party monitoring protocols. They need to be updated to the latest ones."
"Sometimes, it is difficult to drill down further to get information, e.g., if we saw spike in traffic, then we would want to drill down and find out what is causing that spike in traffic."
"I wouldn't mind better categories for the sensors. When I go to add a new sensor for a new device, there are some categories in there already, and they can be filtered out, but there's quite a large pool of sensors... When I want to go in and find something quite specific, I have got to scroll down and scroll down to find what I'm actually looking for,"
More PRTG Network Monitor cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
"We are licensed for 2500 endpoints."
"Cost was a factor when selecting this solution, but it just did everything we wanted it to do."
"The pricing is okay and it is cheaper than some competing products."
"Sensors on free version can run out quick."
"Pricing for PRTG Network Monitor is a nine out of ten. It meets my company's budget and monitoring requirements. My company is on a perpetual license."
"It is about £4,500 for the first year, then about another 15 to 20 percent annually after that. So, we are looking at about £1000 running costs a year. When you think about how much an outage costs per minute, it's negligible."
"PRTG is now available as PRTG Enterprise Monitor, and the price varies depending on the total number of sensors the customer buys"
"We pay nothing for it. Its 100 sensors have allowed us to put a magnifying glass on some systems, providing an extra layer of detail. Therefore, our outgoing is nothing and our incoming is a lot of useful data that we can react to proactively."
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
53%
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
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SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 7% of the time
Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center Logo
Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center
Compared 7% 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 Logo
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 6% of the time
More PRTG Network Monitor Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center
March 2025
Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
Buyer's Guide
PRTG Network Monitor
March 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
March 2025
Free Report: Cisco DNA Center vs. PRTG Network Monitor
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