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VMware vCenter vs Zabbix comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.5
VMware vCenter offers cost-effective management, enhances scalability and security, and ensures positive financial impact with reliable support.
Sentiment score
7.7
Zabbix's open-source approach offers high ROI by eliminating costs, enhancing system visibility, and reducing operational expenses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
VMware vCenter customer service quality has declined, with inconsistent support and slower response times compared to previous years.
Sentiment score
7.0
Zabbix's support is praised for community assistance, responsiveness, expertise, and effective forums, with room for improvement noted.
The technical support is good.
It is so straightforward that I have never had to use the support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
VMware vCenter is praised for its scalability, robust architecture, and reliability in managing diverse and expansive infrastructures.
Sentiment score
6.9
Zabbix offers efficient scalability and performance for large enterprises, overcoming database and hardware challenges without costly licenses.
The scalability is good in vCenter.
Zabbix is very scalable and lightweight.
I would rate its scalability ten out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
3.0
VMware vCenter is highly stable, reliable, with minimal downtime, offering strong support despite minor log and compatibility concerns.
Sentiment score
7.6
Zabbix is highly stable, reliable, and resource-efficient, though occasional configuration and tuning are needed, especially for databases.
 

Room For Improvement

VMware vCenter users face challenges in cost, management, and usability, requiring improvements in support, integration, and feature simplification.
Zabbix's user interface and features need improvement, with insufficient scalability, modern workload monitoring, and inadequate documentation.
Better redundancy options can be achieved by using multiple vCenter machines.
The protocol interface or web page is not easy to use.
The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the best.
 

Setup Cost

VMware vCenter pricing is complex and expensive, with varied licensing options and potential hidden costs for advanced features.
Zabbix is a cost-effective, open-source enterprise solution with no licensing fees, appealing for its affordability compared to competitors.
 

Valuable Features

VMware vCenter enhances infrastructure with centralized management, high availability, intuitive interface, and features like DRS and vMotion for efficiency.
Zabbix offers flexible, scalable open-source monitoring with strong customization, seamless API integration, and user-friendly features supported by robust documentation.
High availability is employed so if an ESXi server is down, the VM is supported on another ESXi on other servers.
In vCenter, I can easily manage storage and move it from one server to another, which is beneficial for the environment.
If disk usage surpasses a threshold, say 70%, I receive alerts and can take proactive action.
 

Categories and Ranking

VMware vCenter
Ranking in Server Monitoring
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zabbix
Ranking in Server Monitoring
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (8th), Network Monitoring Software (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of VMware vCenter is 0.6%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zabbix is 28.2%, up from 23.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

SivaKuppala - PeerSpot reviewer
Performance monitoring tools help track resource usage, identify performance bottlenecks, and optimize the efficiency of virtual environments
It is like a single point of failure. In an environment, vCenter is deployed as a single instance, which represents a single point of failure. The concern here is that tasks such as provisioning, monitoring, and maintenance may be impacted until the server is restored. This only affects management; users are not impacted. But, again, management capabilities will be impacted. The entire system goes down until recovery is completed. You will not be able to provision new VDI. Also, vCenter requires a lot of additional resources for managing capabilities. It uses a significant amount of CPU, memory, and network bandwidth, which can sometimes slow down. Proper sizing is important for vCenter so that it does not impact end-users. vCentre licensing cost is on the higher side as well.
ASM Naushad Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows any number of customizations but lacks functionality for finding root causes
We have not yet purchased the commercial version so have a lack of technical ability. We do not yet fully know the key points or key features of the solution. We just use what we use along with WhatsUp Gold. Based on our use only, stability is rated a seven out of ten.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Monitoring solutions are best for your needs.
847,959 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
35%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware vCenter?
The filtering capabilities also enhance scalability by optimizing resource allocation.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vCenter?
The pricing and setup cost are rated seven out of ten. It is mentioned that the price might be a little lower to increase customer adoption. The specific details of the financial cost were not prov...
What needs improvement with VMware vCenter?
The performance is well, however, i didnot use different products to say my opinion.
What do you like most about Zabbix?
The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.
What needs improvement with Zabbix?
For me, Zabbix is very straightforward. I cannot think of any improvements needed. It's a very mature product. The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. Amazon 2. Apple 3. ATT 4. Bank of America 5. Cisco Systems 6. CocaCola 7. Dell 8. ebay 9. Facebook 10. Google 11. HP 12. IBM 13. Intel 14. JPMorgan Chase 15. LinkedIn 16. Microsoft 17. Netflix 18. Oracle 19. PayPal 20. SAP 21. Siemens 22. Tesla 23. Toyota 24. Twitter 25. Visa 26. Walmart 27. WeWork 28. World Bank
1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware vCenter vs. Zabbix and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,959 professionals have used our research since 2012.