Spiceworks vs Splunk Observability Cloud comparison

Spiceworks and Splunk are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Spiceworks is ranked #45 with an average rating of 8.5, while Splunk is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.6. Spiceworks holds a 0.4% mindshare in IM, compared to Splunk’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Spiceworks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

Spiceworks

Read 47 Spiceworks reviews

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471 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Splunk Observability Cloud

Read 50 Splunk Observability Cloud reviews

1,711 Views
1,010 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Spiceworks

Splunk Observability Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 6, 2025

Spiceworks and Splunk Observability Cloud are both strong contenders in the IT management and monitoring software category. Spiceworks is often preferred for small to medium-sized businesses due to its cost-effectiveness, while Splunk is seen as superior in handling complex, large-scale data monitoring with advanced capabilities.

Features: Spiceworks is notable for its free offering, making it a popular choice for SMBs. It provides hardware and software management tools, along with a straightforward setup. Splunk Observability Cloud offers extensive monitoring and reporting tools with the ability to create custom dashboards, effectively handling large volumes of data. It is particularly beneficial for large enterprises requiring robust analytics and visualization features.

Room for Improvement: Spiceworks users seek enhancements in performance, particularly for large-scale deployments, along with more robust reporting and network scanning capabilities. They also desire improved scalability and readiness for enterprise-level operations. Splunk Observability Cloud users experience concerns regarding its cost and complexity, requesting a simplified configuration and better pricing models. Additionally, there is a need for more intuitive log navigation and expanded integration with third-party tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Spiceworks, generally deployed on-premises, is praised for its easy deployment and vibrant community support, which offsets its limited formal support options. This makes it ideal for smaller businesses. Splunk Observability Cloud offers flexibility with on-premises, private, and public cloud deployments. It requires more configuration but provides access to dedicated support, suiting larger enterprises' complex needs.

Pricing and ROI: Spiceworks' zero-cost model ensures a quick ROI, only requiring time for setup and configuration. It is perfect for organizations looking for cost-effective IT solutions with no additional licensing fees. Conversely, Splunk Observability Cloud, despite being a feature-rich product, faces criticism for high pricing and additional costs related to data volume, making it more suitable for larger enterprises that prioritize advanced monitoring capabilities even at higher expenses.

To learn more, read our detailed Spiceworks vs. Splunk Observability Cloud Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Spiceworks vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

February 2025

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Helped 845,849 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

Spiceworks

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

45th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (17th), IT Asset Management (11th)

Splunk Observability Cloud

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (11th), Cloud Monitoring Software (9th), Container Management (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Spiceworks is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Observability Cloud is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Jeetendar Kumar

Information Technology Analyst at The Aga Khan University Hospital (Pakistan)

Customizable, easy to use, easy to manage, and provides multiple features

I have used many software, but Spiceworks is the best. The tool provides multiple features. It is a valuable product for inventory. It is also useful as a ticketing system. The solution is easy to use and easy to manage. Many people can use it very easily. The features are not complicated. It is very easy to run, install, and understand. That is why my organization decided to use it. The solution’s asset management capabilities have benefitted us in many ways. We are able to manage all the inventory. We have a complete database. We have a record of everything. It is very valuable. I rate the usability of the user interface and dashboard a nine out of ten. The tool is easy to learn compared to other software.

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Lakshmi Padaga

Java Developer at U.S. Bank

Collaborates performance metrics with log data to pinpoint the exact cause of issues and offers error detection

Splunk APM is a robust tool with many capabilities. There are always areas for potential improvement to enhance its functionality and user experience. For Splunk APM, there could be simplified navigation, like streamlining the user interface to make navigation more intuitive for our users, especially those new to APM, which can enhance usability. We can provide more customization options for dashboards and visualizations to help users tailor the platform to their specific needs. There could be more integration capabilities with a wider range of third-party tools and platforms would also be beneficial. By focusing on these areas, Splunk APM can enhance its value proposition, improve user satisfaction, and better meet the evolving needs of organizations monitoring their application performance.

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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

"If you're in the market for a low-cost service desk system, Spiceworks is a good software solution to start out with, especially when it comes to startups and those organizations that don't currently have any existing service desk software in place."

"Spiceworks is generic and free."

"The most valuable features are the inventory and personalization."

"Tickets by e-mail, with actions by hastag."

"The software is cloud-based, so I do not need to store any data locally."

"Helpdesk and inventory are both equally valuable, and they form the true core of the product."

"Spiceworks' dashboard allows you to drill down to the notes, where I can take an inventory of the network and see the devices I need to monitor."

"It lets us know whether devices are getting out of date and tracked warranties. Spiceworks also gave me visibility in terms of what software was installed on each device and its status."

More Spiceworks pros

"I find the monitoring console very helpful. With one click, I can see how we are performing, and at the same time, I can see what data is flowing."

"Splunk has drawn our attention to how the network is running. If there are alarms on things that are not functioning, it gives us early warning on problems that could arise."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring gives us complete visibility without the need for storage."

"Dashboards help the application support teams to have a quick look at how their systems are running. It helps other teams as well."

"The most valuable features are troubleshooting and optimizing application performance."

"Splunk APM has helped us to standardize logging and monitoring procedures."

"The ability to create custom dashboards is one of the best features and that's typically why most people deploy Splunk. Users can create dashboards for just about anything."

"The product retains a lot of log data for subsequent analysis."

More Splunk Observability Cloud pros

Cons

"The customer service is okay, however, I would appreciate much more clarity on what I want to know exactly."

"One of the biggest ways in which Spiceworks could improve is by developing better and more automated workflows. For example, in another solution called ServiceDesk by ManageEngine, you can have levels of approval in the event that there is a request for new software, or when someone requests a VPN or WiFi connection. This kind of multi-stage approval feature provided by ServiceDesk does not appear to exist in Spiceworks, and it is one of their main shortcomings for me."

"They've also tried to integrate it with social logins, like Twitter and LinkedIn, and that type of login authentication has no place in a corporate application."

"The network mapping could be improved. Putting together an actual bonafide network map would be really nice."

"The SNMP sniffer requires a lot of work to get right."

"I would like to see more information when drilling down into access permissions, assignments management, or tagging. When I click a note or a device, I should be able to see more details about the router and modem. For example, I want to see the version, downtime, availability, latency, etc. I should have easy access to everything about our assets at a glance."

"The GUI must be improved."

"Since Spiceworks is a free tool, it's not very scriptable or customizable."

More Spiceworks cons

"I've been using the Splunk query language, and it can be a bit time-consuming to set up the queries I need."

"Primarily, the logs in Splunk APM can be challenging to navigate and comprehend, making it difficult to understand the details within each log. Compared to other tools like LogDNA, which are more intuitive in this aspect, the logs in Splunk APM can require more effort to understand."

"We have both on-prem and cloud, and the challenge is getting all our log data aggregated or streams aggregated so that it is real-time. We do a pretty good job of that, but our organization is not using it as a security platform when it can do a great job of that."

"The UI enhancements could be a way to improve the solution in the future."

"There is a lot of room for improvement with the automation."

"The dashboards are used mainly to visualize information about the infrastructure, but it isn't easy to construct or use the dashboards. While we tried to resolve the issue by calling support, it would be easier if they had an AI co-pilot to identify the problem and help you solve it."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring's data analytics can be improved by including suggestions for various types of continuous monitoring."

"A lot of customers had a hard time effectively searching within the data in Splunk. There is a learning curve from searches to indexes and using all the macros that we have created. It is a little difficult for somebody who has not used it quite a bit and does not have a lot of practice with it, but the AI features that we have been hearing about through Splunk will make it a lot easier for us to use human language to search this data. That is big. That is pretty powerful, and that will help a lot with our customers."

More Splunk Observability Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's free."

"Seeing that it is a low-cost solution, I would advise you to go ahead with Spiceworks and experiment with it to see if you can get things working properly, especially if you currently don't have any existing service desk software in place."

"The tool is cheap."

"It might be about $300 annually for a bigger company. If you pay annually, it's better and cheaper."

"The product is free! Get it now."

"Splunk APM is expensive."

"The pricing is based on several factors, including the scale of deployment."

"I am not in that circle, but we are currently licensing based on our queries. That is working out for us. Previously, it was by volume of data, and now, we can store as much data as we want."

"The solution's pricing is competitive. I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten. The price of the solution could be cheaper."

"I would rate the price of Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring is an expensive solution."

"The solution's pricing is costly."

"Splunk offers a 14-day free trial and after that, we have to pay but the cost is reasonable."

More Splunk Observability Cloud 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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

University

Real Estate/Law Firm

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Spiceworks?

The solution is easy to use and easy to manage.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Spiceworks?

The tool is cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Spiceworks?

I am unable to provide suggestions for improvement at this moment, however, I can provide feedback later. Currently, there do not seem to be any issues.

See all answers

What do you like most about SignalFx?

The most valuable feature is dashboard creation.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SignalFx?

There is room for improvement in the alerting system, which is complicated and has less documentation available. We sometimes encountered issues in setting up alerts. The custom detector could be m...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SignalFx?

The main purpose of using Splunk APM is to optimize our application. We use Splunk APM primarily to understand how the application works, how it uses resources, and its response time in connection ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zabbix vs Spiceworks

Compared 31% of the time

ServiceNow vs Spiceworks

Compared 28% of the time

Lansweeper vs Spiceworks

Compared 21% of the time

Freshdesk vs Spiceworks

Compared 9% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs Spiceworks

Compared 7% of the time

More Spiceworks Competitors

Observe vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 21% of the time

Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence) vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

Dynatrace vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

Rancher Labs vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

ServiceNow IT Operations Management vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

More Splunk Observability Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Spiceworks

March 2025

Download Spiceworks product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk Observability Cloud

March 2025

Download Splunk Observability Cloud product report

Also Known As

No data available

Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring

Overview

From network inventory and network monitoring to help desk software, and mobile device management (MDM) to cloud services detection, Spiceworks helps you manage everything about your IT workday from one easy place.

Spiceworks

Splunk Observability Cloud combines log search, data integration, and dashboards for seamless monitoring, enhancing infrastructure visibility and security. Its cloud integration and scalability support diverse environments, improving operational efficiency.

Splunk Observability Cloud offers comprehensive monitoring tools with user-friendly interfaces, enabling end-to-end infrastructure visibility. Its real-time alerting and predictive capabilities enhance security monitoring, while centralized dashboards provide cross-platform visibility. Users benefit from fast data integration and extensive insights into application performance. Despite its advantages, improvements could be made in integration with other tools, data reliability, scalability, and cost management. Users face challenges in configuration complexity and require better automation and endpoint protection features. Enhancing AI integration, alerts, and adaptation for high-throughput services could further improve usability.

What are the key features of Splunk Observability Cloud?

Log Search: Efficiently search and analyze log data for enhanced insights.
Data Integration: Fast integration across platforms for comprehensive visibility.
Custom Dashboards: Powerful and adaptable dashboards for real-time monitoring.
Cloud Integration: Seamless integration with cloud services for scalable solutions.
Application Performance Monitoring: Advanced tools for improving application performance.

What benefits and ROI should be expected?

Infrastructure Monitoring: Improved visibility and monitoring across infrastructure components.
Operational Efficiency: Enhancements in data analysis lead to efficient operations.
Business Resilience: Supports adaptability and swift responses to changing needs.
Security Management: Enhances threat identification and response through real-time alerts.
Compliance Support: Aids in meeting compliance and auditing requirements effectively.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Splunk Observability Cloud is implemented for application performance monitoring and infrastructure metrics. Its ability to track incidents and analyze machine data benefits network infrastructure, while distributed tracing and log analysis aid in tackling security threats. Organizations often integrate it for compliance and auditing purposes, enhancing visibility into network traffic and optimizing performance.

Splunk

Sample Customers

Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Symantec, Webroot, EMC, Pertino

Sunrun, Yelp, Onshape, Tapjoy, Symphony Commerce, Chairish, Clever, Grovo, Bazaar Voice, Zenefits, Avalara

Buyer's Guide

Spiceworks vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

February 2025

Free Report: Spiceworks vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

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