#15 of 20 infrastructure monitoring tools · Updated October 2026
PRTG review 2026
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor and PRTG Enterprise Monitor · Sensor-priced mid-market favourite
PRTG ranks #15 of 20 infrastructure monitoring tools in the Infrastructure Monitoring Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 59.6 out of 100. Paessler is modernising PRTG around v2 sensors, cross-platform probes and acquired topology and configuration tools, while extending into OT.
Scores
Source: Infrastructure Monitoring Ledger 2026, edition 2026-10-04. How each score works: methodology.
Pros
- Server, virtualization and storage4/5
- Network monitoring4/5
- Application and service monitoring4/5
- Data collection and scale4/5
Cons
- Security and compliance2.5/5
What the Ledger says
Paessler is modernising PRTG around v2 sensors, cross-platform probes and acquired topology and configuration tools, while extending into OT. The record shows steady quarterly releases and a public roadmap, but Proxmox, topology and API v2 arrived late and SSO is still in discovery. Buyers get simple sensor pricing and air-gapped operation, against a Windows-only core, proprietary data files, an end to perpetual licences and a private-equity owner.
AI say-do: 2 announced, 2 GA (anomaly sensor, GPU sensor), 0 preview, 0 dropped; the vendor roadmap adds an AI documentation assistant (shipped), AI Incidents root cause (partial) and an AI sensor builder (pending). Today the AI only flags anomalies.
Capability by area
Buying, lock-in and release record
Buying and licence (commercial risk)(lower is better)
- Price and licence volatility4.5
- Perpetual licences and renewals ended 2024-07; XL1 unlimited licence retired
- Purchase constraints3
- Subscription only, one licence per core server; small tiers and 100-sensor freeware remain
- Channel and access1
- Public prices, freeware, open downloads and manuals, three-tier partner programme
- Owner stability4
- Turn/River majority since 2024-05, also owns SolarWinds; new CEO 2025-09
- Cost of staying supported3.5
- No perpetual maintenance path left; staying supported means annual subscription
Technical lock-in(lower is better)
- Formats4.5
- Proprietary .dat and .raw history files; configuration in one encrypted XML file tied to the host
- Export path3
- History via API as CSV, JSON, XML and Data Exporter to SQL; config not importable elsewhere
- Stack coupling3.5
- Windows-only core with its own store and probe protocol; agentless SNMP, WMI, SSH collection
- Hardware / cloud coupling0.5
- Any Windows server, offline licence activation, fully air-gapped
- Skills and tooling coupling2
- Easy to learn but PRTG-specific; PowerShell community tooling
Release credibility
- Cadence4.5
- Three or four dated stable releases a year plus a preview channel
- Roadmap transparency4
- Written public roadmap by phase (discovery, planning, development); no open issue tracker
- Say-do4
- 18 of 26 items shipped, 2 partial, 6 pending; about 18 of 20 due items delivered, API v2 took up to 24 months
- Velocity3.5
- Mostly sensor additions and v2 rewrites; bigger steps came through acquisitions
- Lifecycle stability2.5
- Perpetual licences and XL1 ended 2024; Python Script Advanced sensor removed 2025
Partners and services
- Partner programme openness4
- Silver, Gold and Platinum partner tiers with portal, deal registration and NFR licences
- Multi-tenancy and self-service3
- MSP edition with per-client probes, group permissions, white-label reports, monthly billing; no hard tenant isolation
- API and infrastructure-as-code3
- API v1 and OpenAPI-based API v2 (GA 2025-11); PrtgAPI, Ansible and Terraform only community
- Skills and certification3
- Paessler Certified Monitoring Expert and Sales Professional exams
Alternatives to PRTG
Is PRTG right for you?
Describe what you run and the free advisor ranks PRTG against the other infrastructure monitoring tools for your case.
Questions about PRTG
Is PRTG any good?
PRTG ranks #15 of 20 infrastructure monitoring tools in the Infrastructure Monitoring Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 59.6 out of 100. Its strongest areas are server, virtualization and storage, network monitoring, application and service monitoring. Its weakest are security and compliance.
What are the best alternatives to PRTG?
The closest by Ledger Index are Netdata (60), LibreNMS (59.1), Opsview (58.3), Broadcom DX (61).
How is PRTG licensed and sold?
Perpetual licences and renewals ended 2024-07; XL1 unlimited licence retired.
How much lock-in does PRTG bring?
PRTG scores 13.5 out of 25 on technical lock-in (lower is better). Export path: History via API as CSV, JSON, XML and Data Exporter to SQL; config not importable elsewhere.
User reviews of PRTG
No reviews yet
Be the first to say how PRTG worked for you.
Write a review
No account needed and no email asked. We read every review before it appears and remove adverts, spam and personal attacks.