PRTG Network Monitor vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

Paessler GmbH and Progress Software are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Paessler GmbH is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.9, while Progress Software is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.7. Paessler GmbH holds a 4.1% mindshare in NMS, compared to Progress Software’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Paessler GmbH users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

PRTG Network Monitor

Read 101 PRTG Network Monitor reviews

7,647 Views
5,102 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

WhatsUp Gold

Read 24 WhatsUp Gold reviews

1,847 Views
1,470 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

PRTG Network Monitor

WhatsUp Gold

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

WhatsUp Gold and PRTG Network Monitor compete in the network monitoring solutions category. PRTG Network Monitor seems to have the upper hand with its robust features catering to comprehensive monitoring needs.

Features: WhatsUp Gold features include visual network mapping, application monitoring, and auto-discovery functions for monitoring devices effectively. PRTG Network Monitor offers a versatile sensor-based architecture, detailed monitoring setups and a flexible SNMP library for various systems.

Room for Improvement: WhatsUp Gold could enhance its protocol flexibility, improve advanced integration options, and extend support for non-Windows environments. PRTG Network Monitor would benefit from refining its user interface, enhancing mobile functionality, and simplifying complex setup processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WhatsUp Gold is noted for its straightforward deployment process with strong support, suitable for teams with limited time. While PRTG Network Monitor offers efficient customer service, the deployment can be more involved, necessitating technical expertise for complex setups.

Pricing and ROI: WhatsUp Gold generally has a lower entry cost with flexible pricing plans appealing to smaller organizations. Despite a higher initial cost, PRTG Network Monitor's extensive features offer superior ROI, making it an investment for businesses prioritizing comprehensive monitoring.

To learn more, read our detailed PRTG Network Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

PRTG Network Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

February 2025

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Helped 842,296 peers since 2012

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

PRTG Network Monitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

5th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Monitoring Software (8th)

WhatsUp Gold

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (29th), Server Monitoring (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.1%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WhatsUp Gold is 1.2%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

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.

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Tom Condo

Supervisor Information Services Operations at Seminole County Public Schools

If CPU, memory, or disk space is over-utilized, it alerts us immediately via text or email if there is an issue

When it comes to the intuitiveness of the topology mapping feature, our network architect created a vision diagram of our entire network and then created the links tied into the WhatsUp active monitoring to different spots on our topology map. It's one of the more critical functions we do here. We have the map displayed in different places in our room and help desk. We get alerted via emails but we can also see it visually. It does what it says it's going to do. We find this feature very helpful. The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is. All the information is provided. This feature really helps. You can see the correlation between that link and what failed. This feature is very helpful. The interface is fairly intuitive. Some of our users used SolarWinds and Nagios, and WhatsUp is easy in comparison. Once you get set up, the look, feel, and configuration are good. Our network architect had never used it before but he was able to create the Visio and map. It was very simple. He has no problems with it.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The email notifications are helpful, and the dashboards are user-friendly for people with little network monitoring knowledge."

"The real-time monitoring feature in PRTG is invaluable to me"

"PRTG Network Monitor is user-friendly and offers flexible alerting systems."

"Speed of deployment is one of the most valuable features."

"Good compilation of the system's information."

"The most valuable feature of PRTG Network Monitor is the different monitoring probes available."

"Its initial setup process is fast and easy."

"The bandwidth monitoring is a very attractive feature, it can tell you the bandwidth utilization while it is attempting to connect to the host for feedback."

More PRTG Network Monitor pros

"The most important features of WhatsUp Gold are the server health and uptime it provides. Additionally, WhatsUp Gold is a Windows-based solution which is a benefit."

"The most valuable feature is the auto-discovery function."

"The installation and configuration process are easy."

"The solution effectively monitors network devices and servers."

"The tool's most valuable feature is the visibility it offers of everything in the network and infrastructure."

"Our local support team provides excellent service."

"The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is."

"Auto scanning is most valuable. It looks for rogue devices on your network."

More WhatsUp Gold pros

Cons

"In the next release, PRTG Network Monitor should add a backup solution."

"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."

"More training videos for installing and configuring this software would have been nice, especially when working with a lot of devices."

"In a very few cases, customers want more detailed reports, which we cannot meet."

"Performance-wise, PRTG Network Monitor still needs improvement because a large number of SNMPv3 queries reduces tool performance."

"The solution could be better and faster when it comes to performance."

"PRTG Network Monitor is okay to use, but you'll need some time to analyze the data. If it can automatically locate or identify the problem area, it would be more helpful to users."

"Once you start going above 5000 sensors, things do start to get a bit shaky. There are some best practice out there that you will need to adopt and be aware of."

More PRTG Network Monitor cons

"Pricing is too high relative to how many devices we use. The price list is not linear to number of devices."

"Importing the maps and being able to customize them could be easier."

"The licensing model could be improved. Right now, the levels are too far apart. This causes the solution to be more expensive than it needs to be."

"I would like to see them do an enhancement to the application monitoring. A lot of other products do better application monitoring so they should do some improvements to the application monitoring."

"The point system is not clear and clarity around this would improve our understanding of the system."

"The new release cadence needs to be improved. It takes a while for them to add new features and functionality. There should be a quicker turnaround with new versions."

"Users want SMS available via Whatsapp Gold. They don't want to go through third party SMS servers. The solution should work to make this possible."

"One of the biggest things that made us start to look at another product is we're not able to have an end to end monitoring from a user perspective throughout the system and back to the user. All the monitoring is from inside out, we need something that also can give us from outside in."

More WhatsUp Gold cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One thing I like is that when you buy sensors, it's a perpetual license, so once you buy 2,000 sensors, you've got 2,000 sensors; it's not a recurring cost."

"PRTG Network Monitor is cheap."

"It is expensive."

"All monitoring system is close to the same pricing scheme."

"The scalability is there, but smaller companies might need CAM software to be able afford the product."

"The price is pretty comparable."

"In my company now, we are using the free version."

"PRTG Network Monitor is not that expensive, so I like it cost-wise. There's no additional cost apart from the standard licensing fees. On a scale of one to five, with one being the cheapest and five being the most expensive, I would rate the cost of PRTG Network Monitor a two."

More PRTG Network Monitor pricing and cost advice

"There is a license needed to use WhatsUp Gold."

"It is per device, per year. The pricing is very clear. If you have a service agreement, you get all of your major upgrades and minor upgrades. It was under $10,000 to go all-in with all of the different add-ons for it."

"The price of WhatsUp Gold is good."

"The most valuable feature is the cost compared to other solutions."

"There are some subscription charges that are quite heavy. I need to pay for support every year and these charges can be quite expensive. Aside from the initial cost for the tool, you need to pay additionally for support."

"The pricing can be on the expensive side when considering competing products."

"Pricing is reasonable compared to other products."

"The choice of version depends on the number of points, or devices, that you want to monitor, and this makes the product expensive."

More WhatsUp Gold pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

53%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

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What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?

The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.

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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

What do you like most about WhatsUp Gold?

The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one l...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WhatsUp Gold?

Clients find the licensing calculator confusing, but we simplify this for them by collecting relevant information first. The licensing is based on devices, providing better cost-effectiveness than ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?

Improvements are needed in integration, especially for WhatsApp call and messages. Our region heavily uses WhatsApp Messenger for communication, and integration with this platform would be benefici...

See all answers

Comparisons

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SolarWinds NPM vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

Checkmk vs PRTG Network Monitor

Compared 2% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

Zabbix vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 9% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 8% of the time

ManageEngine OpManager vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 6% of the time

Nagios XI vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

PRTG Network Monitor

March 2025

Download PRTG Network Monitor product report

Buyer's Guide

WhatsUp Gold

March 2025

Download WhatsUp Gold product report

Overview

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

Explore and manage your entire network infrastructure effortlessly with WhatsUp Gold's robust layer 2/3 discovery, creating a detailed interactive map from the edge to the cloud. Monitor devices, wireless controllers, servers, virtual machines, applications, and traffic flows across various environments. Real-time alerts ensure optimal performance, allowing you to meet or exceed SLAs. The platform offers customizable maps, dashboards, and alerts for easy network management. Quickly resolve issues with intuitive workflows, reducing Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR). WhatsUp Gold's integrated log management provides easy visibility and control of device log data, allowing monitoring, filtering, searching, and alerting on syslogs or Windows logs. Archive logs to comply with regulatory requirements and preserve historical data, all through a user-friendly interface. Streamline network monitoring and issue resolution with WhatsUp Gold, making network management efficient and hassle-free.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

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

Artoni Trasporti, Austin Independent School District, Banca Marche, Burke County North Carolina, Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine, Clayco, Community Integrated Care, Desca, Deutsche Bergbau, Flexi-Van, Gropper, Hamleys, Hammonds Furniture, Knowledge IT, Idras S.P.A., Sibeg, Swann Engineering, Trivium Lindenhof

Buyer's Guide

PRTG Network Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

February 2025

Free Report: PRTG Network Monitor vs. WhatsUp Gold

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