12 Best FREE Network Monitoring Tools (2024)

Network monitor software and tools allow you to efficiently monitor and manage your network. A network is a complex mix of hardware, software, and human elements. The network monitoring tools give you a broad view of your network’s health and helps you identify areas of improvement.

Network testing tool helps system admin or network administrator for monitoring potential problems. There are a plethora of network monitoring tools available in the market, and choosing one is difficult.

Hence, I have researched 58+ network monitoring tools over 110+ hours and curated a list of the best free network monitoring tools, including both free and paid options. My in-depth and trusted guide offers unbiased and comprehensive insights into monitoring devices, services, ports, and protocols. This ultimate article is a must-see for discovering the best tools. Read more…

Best Free Network Monitoring Tools & Software

Name	Platform	Free Trial	Link
👍 ManageEngine OpManager	Windows,Linux, iOS, and Android.	30-Days Free Trial	Learn More
👍 Auvik	Web-based	14-Days Free Trial	Learn More
👍 Site24x7	Windows & Linux	30-Days Free Trial	Learn More
Paessler PRTG	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, & iOS	30-Days Free Trial	Learn More
Better Stack	Web-based and Cloud-based	60-Days Free Trial	Learn More

1) ManageEngine OpManager

OpManager is a complete network management software that allows you to monitor network availability, track traffic, and measure the performance of devices such as routers, servers, and switches. I particularly liked how it helped me keep track of key metrics with ease, which makes it one of the best tools for network monitoring.

Features:

• Real-Time Performance Monitoring: This tool allowed me to easily monitor the performance of multi-vendor network devices in real-time. Thus, helping me quickly respond to any network issues.
• Notifications & Alerts: ManageEngine OpManager has advanced notifications and alerts. It sent these alerts via emails and SMS, keeping me informed instantly.
• Physical Server Management: I could actively manage physical servers, like VMs, RAID, storage arrays, in an effective way.
• Monitoring Templates: It provides over 9500 built-in monitoring templates for network devices, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Custom Dashboard: With 100+ performance widgets, it allows you to create a personalized dashboard for monitoring.
• Mobile Network Management: The tool is great for easily managing your network with a mobile app, which helped me watch over my network on the go.
• All-in-One Monitoring: I received contextual integrations for seamless, all-in-one network infrastructure monitoring, saving me time.
• WAN/VoIP Monitoring: You can effectively monitor WAN/VoIP for jitter, packet loss, and latency to maintain call quality.
• Automated Troubleshooting: The tool provides an automated troubleshooting feature, which is essential for quick issue resolution.
• SSL Offload: SSL offloading is included to enhance server performance by reducing the load on the servers.

👉 How to Get ManageEngine OpManager for Free?

• Go to ManageEngine OpManager
• Select “Download” and register to begin your 30-day free trial.

Get Free Now >>

30-Days Free Trial

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2) Auvik

Auvik is a fast, user-friendly and cloud-based network monitoring software. It offered me instant insights into the networks I manage. The tool includes automated network discovery, monitoring, and documentation, which is perfect for keeping everything organized. I liked its real-time network mapping and inventory, as it ensures I receive continuous updates.

Features:

• Quick Installation: Its lightweight collector is installed within minutes and immediately starts discovering network devices. Additionally, its automated network discovery saved time for IT.
• Real-Time Dashboard: This network performance monitoring tool provides a comprehensive single dashboard that displays all my activities.
• Instant Alerts: I received immediate alerts whenever unusual activity occured, which helped me respond swiftly.
• SaaS Package: The software includes a comprehensive SaaS package that offers processing power and storage for monitoring.
• SSH Access: It provides secure SSH access through an in-app terminal, enhancing your system’s security protocols.
• Centralized Monitoring: It allowed me to centralize network monitoring across multiple sites, which simplified my management efforts.
• API Integration: The software allows you to create powerful workflows through its robust API integrations.
• Auto-Discovery Services: It provides automatic network discovery services, which help streamline your monitoring process.
• Platform Compatibility: I found it compatible with Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux for extensive monitoring.

👉 How to Get Auvik for Free?

• Go to Auvik
• Click “Start Free Trial” and register to enjoy a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Get Free Now >>

14-Days Free Trial

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3) Site24x7

Site24x7 allowed me to see detailed network monitoring of devices and interfaces. I noticed that it is a SaaS-based tool that covers all aspects needed for DevOps and IT. It is a top-of-the-line monitoring solution that I suggest for comprehensive network management.

Features:

• Network Monitoring: It is a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) based solution that monitors network anomalies immediately. According to my research it also has IT automation and can identify and fix issues.
• Performance Monitoring: I could monitor network devices’ health, performance, and availability to ensure smooth operations. It also showed me performance metric for a more detailed view.
• Multi-Vendor Support: It is one of the best tools offering multi-vendor support and cloud-based monitoring solutions.
• Real-Time Monitoring: I received 24×7 monitoring of the network in real-time, which helped me avoid any downtime.
• High Availability: You will notice that its monitoring remains uninterrupted, thanks to high availability mechanisms used in the network monitoring solution.
• Root Cause Analysis: It contains a root cause analysis feature, allowing you to diagnose and solve network issues quickly.
• Network Mapping: I received complete network mapping with layer 2 maps, providing full visibility into my network’s structure.

👉 How to Get Site24x7’s Network Monitoring for Free?

• Go to Site24x7’s Network Monitoring
• Click “Start 30-Day Free Trial” and create your account to begin your trial period.

Get Free Now >>

30-Days Free Trial

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4) Paessler PRTG

Paessler PRTG stands out as one of the best network monitoring software available for free, with strong infrastructure management features. I noticed that its user interface is powerful yet simple to use for beginners. It helped me oversee the entire IT infrastructure using impressive technologies like SNMP, WMI, HTTP requests, Pings, and SSH. 

Features:

• Network Monitoring: It monitors all devices, systems, and traffic in your IT infrastructure comprehensively and efficiently. I could also monitor servers in real-time to make sure that their accessibility, availability, and capacity are always optimal.
• Device Health Monitoring: This tool includes SNMP sensors that gather essential health information from all connected devices. I could also view the performance of the database, going beyond just network monitoring.
• Database Monitoring: It monitors specific datasets from your database using individually configured PRTG sensors for accuracy.
• Application Management: I could use it to entirely manage and receive detailed statistics of all running applications in my network.
• LAN and Wireless Monitoring: It supervises both LANs and wireless networks, making sure they run smooth operation at all times.
• Auto-discovery: I received auto-discovery features, which allowed me to create and maintain a current device inventory.
• Live Topology Maps: It provides live topology maps in various formats that helped me visualize network structure.
• Protocol Analysis: PRTG includes a protocol analyzer to help you identify high-traffic applications easily.
• Multi-site Support: This free networking monitoring software can support multi-site capabilities effectively.

👉 How to Get Paessler PRTG for Free?

• Go to Paessler PRTG
• Click “Free Download” to access a 30-day trial at no cost.

Get Free Now >>

30-Days Free Trial

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5) Better Stack

Better Stack offers an improved observability platform as it has the ability to integrate monitoring, log management, and observability dashboards. The tool helped me manage incidents and status pages in a single product, making it an excellent option for network monitoring.

Features:

• Dashboard Functionality: It offers real-time observability dashboards that provided me instant insights into your system’s performance. I could also select from multiple plugin dashboards to view my logs and metrics.
• Extensive Integrations: BetterStack has out-of-the-box integrations including Datadog, New Relic, Prometheus, and others, which are perfect for diverse environments.
• Monitoring Coverage: Its monitoring covers uptime, ping, HTTPS, SSL & TLD expiration, DNS, and Cron jobs, which are essential for system reliability.
• Cloud Licensing: It has a cloud-based licensing. which is the most effective solution for scalable and accessible network monitoring, in my opinion.
• Monitoring Frequency: I received a 30-second monitoring frequency that made sure to detect near-instantaneous issues in my system.
• Alerting: It allowed me to set actionable threshold alerts based on multiple hosts, ensuring prompt responses.
• Incident Management: Incident management and on-call alerting are built in, which is great for quick response to problems.

👉 How to Get Better Stack for Free?

• Go to Better Stack
• Click “Sign up” to Start monitoring for free 60 days trial.

Get Free Now >>

60-Days Free Trial

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6) Network Bandwidth Analyzer

Network Bandwidth Analyzer is an impressive network monitoring tool that I evaluated, which helps you manage the network across multiple vendors. As per my experience, it is great for quickly addressing network problems, ensuring that your operations continue without disruption.

Features:

• Network Performance Detection: I could easily detect and resolve network performance issues, reducing disruptions effectively. It can also diagnose the exact issue clearly, so you know the root cause.
• Bandwidth Monitoring: You can easily monitor Cisco NetFlow, Juniper J-Flow, sFlow, Huawei NetStream, and IPFIX flow data and identified the bandwidth-hogging applications.
• Flow Record Monitoring: I could effortlessly view and analyze IPv4 and IPv6 flow records for comprehensive network insights.
• Alert Configuration: It lets you set alerts if network monitoring software stops sending performance data, ensuring uninterrupted monitoring.
• Traffic Data Conversion: The Analyzer collects traffic data and converts it into a usable format, allowing easy network traffic monitoring.
• East-West Traffic Filtering: It supports VMware vSphere distributed switch to filter east-west traffic on specific hypervisors effectively.
• Root Cause Analysis: You get a drag and drop network performance metrics on a common timeline to accelerate root cause identification.
• Cisco NBAR2 Support: It supports Cisco NBAR2, providing visibility into HTTP and HTTPS traffic without additional probes or spanning ports.
• Scheduled Reporting: I could create a schedule and deliver in-depth network traffic analysis and bandwidth reports for better management.

👉 How to Get Network Bandwidth Analyzer for Free?

• Go to Network Bandwidth Analyzer
• Select “Download Free Trial” and register to activate your 30-day free trial.

Link: https://www.solarwinds.com/network-bandwidth-analyzer-pack/

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7) WhatsUp Gold

During my analysis, I explored WhatsUp Gold, a network monitoring software that offers comprehensive monitoring from the edge to the cloud. It is a superior choice for those seeking a free tool that provides complete visibility into the performance of network devices and alerts users to any problems. I particularly liked how it allowed me to stay ahead of potential issues.

Features:

• Network Mapping: The WhatsUp Gold’s discovery and mapping feature aims to combine layer 2 and 3 methods to create comprehensive and customizable maps.
• Comprehensive Discovery: It helps you discover and map everything connected to your network with ease. I could monitor and map everything starting from the edge to the cloud including wireless and virtual machines.
• Dynamic Mapping: This network management tool allows you to perform dynamic changes in maps effortlessly.
• Network Optimization: It is best for optimizing network traffic and bandwidth utilization.
• Real-Time Alerts: This tool made sure I receive real-time alerts when CPU and bandwidth thresholds exceeded.
• Flexible Views: It allowed me to switch easily between physical, virtual, and dependency views, which helped in resolving issues quickly.
• Bandwidth Analysis: WhatsUP Gold helps you analyze bandwidth consumption across networks, servers, etc., for better management.
• Cloud Control: It gave me control over AWS and Azure cloud environments, which made the management easier.

👉 How to Get WhatsUp Gold for Free?

• Go to WhatsUp Gold
• Select “Download Free Trial” and complete the form to download your free trial.

Link: https://www.whatsupgold.com/

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8) Zabbix

Zabbix is an open-source monitoring tool which is great for monitoring both servers and network devices. In review process, it helped me predict future behavior by analyzing past data. This free software tracks key metrics like CPU load, network usage, and disk space. 

Features:

• Bandwidth Monitoring: It helps easily monitor network bandwidth usage across your entire network. I could view the bandwidth usage and also analyze the long-term usage trends.
• Data Gathering Flexibility: Zabbix provides flexible and extendable data gathering for Windows systems, essential for customization. It helps keep your data consistent, no matter where it was collected from.
• Automatic Network Discovery: This network monitoring tool automatically starts discovering networks, making sure you monitor all devices under Zabbix agents.
• Protocol Support: It supports both protocol agents and SNMP protocols, which is a great way to ensure comprehensive coverage.
• Pre-built Templates: I could rely on a number of out-of-the-box templates, which made my network monitoring set up quick and easy.
• Configuration Change Detection: It can automatically detect device configuration changes, that keeps your network settings up to date.
• Downtime Prediction: As per my research, it predicts network downtimes which can help maintain the performance.
• Custom Report Generation: It helped me generate custom reports, remediation scripts, and retrieve monitoring data, which is a great option for detailed analysis.

👉 How to Get Zabbix for Free?

• Go to Zabbix
• Select “Download” to get your free copy.

Link: https://www.zabbix.com/network_monitoring

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9) Icinga

Icinga is a robust open-source tool designed for infrastructure and service monitoring. It helped me monitor my network and provided the health report of my IT environment with impressive accuracy. In my experience, it is essential for maintaining system stability.

Features:

• Service and Monitoring Flexibility: I could effectively monitor services to ensure smooth operations without interruptions. It also had added flexibility for supporting both direct and SNMP monitoring methods to tailor the network monitoring process.
• Clustering and Zone Monitoring: Its clustering and zone monitoring offers an enhanced organization and management of network segments.
• Configuration and Templates: I could easily configure settings and use pre-designed templates for consistent monitoring setups.
• Alert Dependencies Display: The dashboard clearly shows alert dependencies, which help you understand the root cause of issues.
• Alert Notifications: The alerts are sent via SMS, email, or mobile apps, making sure you are notified immediately of any issues.
• Data Collection and Troubleshooting: It effectively collects data and helps in troubleshooting, which makes sure that you resolve issues faster.
• Anomaly Detection: Icinga instantly informed me of any anomalies occurring in the system, so I could quickly take an action.
• Data Synchronization: It automatically generates, imports, and synchronizes third-party data from several sources, streamlining data management.

👉 How to Get Icinga for Free?

• Go to Icinga
• Click “Get Started,” then choose “Download” to access your free download.

Link: https://icinga.com/products/monitoring-automation/

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10) Nagios

Nagios provides a way to monitor, graph, and report on your organization’s systems, such as servers and networks. As per my research, this free networking monitoring software helps you get comprehensive details about IT infrastructure performance.

Features:

• Monitoring Engine: Nagios Core 4 allows you to achieve the highest level of server performance monitoring. It helped me monitor the complete IT infrastructure and makes sure you get an optimal server performance.
• Dashboards: The powerful dashboards allow monitoring of detailed information, including third-party data, effectively. It offers a high-level over-view of network flow data, checks and sources.
• Customization: The GUI provides flexibility for customizing layouts, designs, and preferences for each user.
• Ease of Use: I found it easy to use due to its integrated web-based configuration interface, making tasks simpler.
• Multi-Tenancy: As per my research, its multi-tenant capabilities make it a great option for managing multiple clients efficiently.
• Network Issue Management: Administrators can easily identify and resolve network issues before they escalate into major problems.

👉 How to Get Nagios for Free?

• Go to Nagios
• Click “Download Now” to access your free download.

Link: https://www.nagios.com/products/nagios-xi/

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11) OP5 Monitor

OP5 Monitor is built on Naemon, which is a fork of Nagiosm and is highly compatible with all Nagios plugins. It helped me monitor servers and networks with an Open Source foundation. OP5 Monitor displays the IT network’s status, health, and performance, making it an essential tool.

Key features:

• IT Estate Consolidation: It allowed me to consolidate monitoring tools, providing a complete IT estate through a single pane of glass. I could also monitor the estate remotely, which makes it a convenient tool.
• API Integration: OP5 Monitor provides a REST API, which supports automation and integration with other systems seamlessly.
• Log Server Monitoring: It ensures comprehensive monitoring of all log servers, offering accurate data collection across your network.
• Interactive Dashboards: This network management tool offered me fully customizable and interactive dashboards for enhanced visibility.
• Service Level Reporting: It visually presents all your data in service level reports, helping to monitor servers and networks effectively.
• Container Monitoring: I could monitors everything, including the server’s containers, which allowed me to keep track of all components.
• IT Environment Scaling: It helps with the scaling of all aspects of your IT environment, according to specific requirements.
• Technology Stack Compatibility: According to my review, it ensures accurate data collection regardless of the technology stack, which is helpful to maintain consistency.

👉 How to Get OP5 Monitor for Free?

• Go to OP5 Monitor
• Click “Book a Demo” to schedule your personalized, one-on-one free demo.

Link: https://www.itrsgroup.com/products/network-monitoring-op5-monitor

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12) LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is the network monitoring software which allowed me to supervise my IT infrastructure’s performance effectively. The tool monitors, alerts, and graphs every aspect on a secure platform, which I found great for maintaining a reliable system.

Key features:

• Quick Deployment: I noticed that the deployment takes only a few minutes with the agentless and cloud-based collector, which allows you to avoid lengthy setup times.
• Troubleshooting Efficiency: LogicMonitor offers a complete view of the network, which allowed me to easily navigate and troubleshoot issues. I found this feature particularly helpful for quick diagnostics.
• Network Analysis: It has network topology mapping, root cause analysis, and intelligent alerting that provide essential insights for maintaining network health.
• Comprehensive Monitoring: Its monitoring is available via SNMP, jFlow, NetFlow, sFlow, WMI, NBAR2, and IPFIX, providing a complete network overview.
• Visualization and Dashboards: This tool provided me powerful visualization and custom dashboards that helped me understand my system, connections, and performance issues instantly.
• Auto-Discovery Integration: It offers over 2000 out-of-the-box integrations with top brands to offer auto-discovery of any device on any network, making management more effective.

👉 How to Get LogicMonitor for Free?

• Go to LogicMonitor
• Click “Try It Free” to access its free version.

Link: https://www.logicmonitor.com/network-monitoring

How to select a Network Monitoring Software?

Selecting the right network monitoring software is crucial for ensuring smooth and efficient network operations. Understanding the needs of your network will guide you to the best software solution.

Here are the points that I recommend paying attention to while selecting a network monitoring tool:

• Real-Time Monitoring: Network monitoring tools should provide real-time performance monitoring, offering visualization to enhance network visibility.
• Training Costs: Consider the potential cost involved in training employees effectively on using the network monitoring tool.
• Customizability: Network monitoring tools should be customizable to fit each user’s specific roles and responsibilities.
• Security Considerations: It is essential to consider the security options offered by network monitoring software providers for data protection.
• Product Pricing: Evaluate the product price to ensure it aligns with your budget and provides value for the features offered.
• Feature Requirements: Make sure the network monitoring product features align with your specific requirements for efficient network management.
• Integration with ERP: Integration with management software, such as ERP, is desirable to streamline network monitoring processes.

Note that, there is no best tool! You need to select a tool that best caters to your requirements.

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Verdict

Network monitoring is essential for maintaining the health and performance of IT infrastructure. I have reviewed some of the most popular tools available for free. They offer impressive capabilities to monitor and manage networks efficiently. I have provided this verdict to show which tools stood out the most for me during my analysis.

• ManageEngine OpManager is a powerful and user-friendly tool that offers a comprehensive set of features for monitoring networks in real-time.
• Auvik is a remarkable choice for small to medium-sized businesses, providing customizable and secure monitoring options.
• Site24x7 is a top-rated solution that delivers robust and reliable monitoring, ideal for organizations that require a cost-effective tool.