The 8 Best Free Network Monitoring Software in 2024

Monitoring your network on a shoestring budget? You're not alone. 

Many network administrators and IT professionals at small businesses face the challenge of managing complex networks while keeping tabs on the bills. Fortunately, help comes in the form of a growing suite of free network monitoring tools. These solutions offer essential features like real-time performance monitoring, network topology mapping, and alert notifications to keep everything running smoothly without draining your resources. 

This listicle covers the best free network monitoring software according to authentic user feedback. We look at detailed reviews, features, pros and cons, and pricing options in case you're ever ready to invest in a paid plan.

How did we select and evaluate the best network monitoring software?

At G2, we rank software solutions using a proprietary algorithm that considers customer satisfaction and market presence based on authentic user reviews. Our market research analysts and writers spend weeks testing solutions against multiple criteria set for a software category. We give you unbiased software evaluations – that's the G2 difference! We don’t accept payment or exchange links for product placements in this list. Please read our G2 Research Scoring Methodology for more details.

The 8 best free network monitoring software of 2024

Network monitoring software continuously watches out for potential issues, such as slowdowns, outages, or security breaches on your network. To maintain your network’s health, it offers features like real-time monitoring, performance analysis, network mapping, and detailed reporting.

The free-edition list of network monitoring software below includes real user reviews. Please note that in the context of this list, software that requires payment after a free trial is considered free. 

To be included in this category, a solution must:

• Continuously monitor the entire computer network’s performance
• Establish a baseline for performance metrics 
• Alert administrators of crashes or deviations
• Recommend solutions to performance issues
• Provide network performance visualizations

This data was pulled from G2 in 2024. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity. 

1. Dynatrace

Dynatrace uses artificial intelligence (AI) to give visibility into process-to-process network communications. It offers automatic discovery and mapping, end-to-end visibility for infrastructure to applications, and root cause analysis.

What users like best:

“My team isn't really big on using logs, so being able to log values in real-time is great. While I usually work on the frontend side of things, having the ability to debug the backend live helps me navigate through contexts I usually lack.”

- Dynatrace Review, Alon N.

What users dislike:

“One thing I don't like is the alert monitoring threshold it provides since we have gotten multiple false signals when testing the application. The synthetic monitoring is beneficial, but smaller organizations cannot use it owing to encryption. Dynatrace with its range of features is like an ocean that a novice or newbie would find impossible to navigate. The initial phase requires an experienced user.”

- Dynatrace Review, Eleanora M.

2. NinjaOne 

NinjaOne, custom-built into a remote monitoring and management (RMM) system, supplies you with a centralized view of all your simple network management protocol (SNMP) devices. Some features of NinjaOne include real-time network device monitoring, hardware performance data, alert customization, and detailed traffic reporting.

What users like best:

"My favorite thing is definitely the ease of use. It's very intuitive, with very good patch management and the ability to monitor devices such as switches, firewalls, and printers. On top of that, the price is really interesting considering all the features included."

- NinjaOne Review, Luca R.

What users dislike:

“Would like the ability to set multiple patch maintenance windows for servers without having to create a bunch of new policies. ”

- NinjaOne Review, Ryan A.

3. LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is a cloud-based tool with solutions for managed services providers (MSPs) and enterprise IT. Focused on optimizing IT operations, it offers auto-discovery of network devices, auto-generation of topology maps, troubleshooting for network issues, intelligent alerting, and log-based anomaly detection.

What users like best:

“The first plus point for the LogicMonitor software is that it’s fully cloud-based. The user interface is convenient and useful, and the installation process is much simpler compared to other hybrid programs. The installer is fully automated, and the software is easily hosted on the Linux operating system, making it versatile. While dashboards can be complex to configure on other cloud platforms, I found this one to be very simple after installation. I also want to emphasize the powerful options for alerts and reports within the platform. You can run HTTP requests, send emails, or SMS for alerts.”

- LogicMonitor Review, Shravan K.

What users dislike:

“It’s a fairly advanced tool, so the learning curve is quite steep – not the best for newbies. Also, for tracking multiple resources, a consolidated report is not possible.”

- LogicMonitor Review, Wesley C.

4. Auvik

Auvik shows you everything you need to know about network performance in real time. This online network management solution lets you onboard clients faster, centralize network documentation, easily find and fix issues, and integrate with multiple third-party applications.

What users like best:

“Auvik's strongest aspect is its network management. It provides clear outlines for our network configuration and makes it easy to supervise devices, traffic, and performance in a control panel. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates with other applications, including ticketing platforms and monitoring tools.”

- Auvik Review, Vitou C.

What users dislike:

“It has limited capabilities for monitoring system resources, such as CPU usage, temperature, and sensors. You will need to deploy a separate monitoring platform if you want full coverage of network and system resources.”

- Auvik Review, Marvimar C.

5. Atera

Atera delivers an all-in-one IT management platform that combines network monitoring, remote management, and help desk functionalities. To make life easier for the IT department, they can rely on features like automated patch management, ticketing and customer support, cybersecurity, AI integration, and remote access technology.

What users like best:

“Atera is much more than just an RMM. It provides additional functionality such as a knowledge base, script library, and numerous application programming interfaces (APIs) to software like Acronis. Through its feature board, all users can make suggestions for new features, and Atera is consistently implementing and improving its offerings. The customer support is unparalleled compared to any company I have dealt with before, providing immediate and helpful responses over chat.”

- Atera Review, Dominique R.

What users dislike:

“Atera's platform falls short in offering comprehensive control over networking hardware like routers, switches, and printers. This is a significant drawback for organizations that require detailed management of their network infrastructure.

Additionally, networking scanning and deployment features are not included in the base subscription; instead, they require an additional subscription that applies to all technician seats, increasing costs.

The platform's permission system is also not as refined as it could be – technicians need admin-level access for tasks that should ideally require lower permission levels. This poses a security risk and limits the granularity of access control.”

- Atera Review, Nigel N.

6. Datadog

Datadog is a cloud-based monitoring, security, and analytics platform that provides insights into the performance of applications, infrastructure, and services. Use it to better understand the health of your systems, identify potential issues, and refine operations.

What users like best:

“Datadog has a multitude of useful features and integrations for our applications, from metrics and monitoring to dashboards and cost optimization. The dedicated support team is readily available to assist us in the adoption of any new features and tools for our applications. Many of the monitoring and observability tools offered by the platform are easily integrated into our applications, especially those migrated to Kubernetes.”

- Datadog Review, Taylor S.

What users dislike:

“I find the documentation for setting things up a bit difficult to understand. Sometimes, we realize that we need an upgrade to use the next feature, but the docs don't explicitly mention that. There are a lot of changes from one version to the next, so it would be helpful to have a guide.”

- Datadog Review, Grace K.

7. SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability makes it easy for you to manage a complex hybrid IT environment. Powered by AI and machine learning, it optimizes distributed networks and reduces downtime with features like self-hosted observability, multi-vendor network monitoring, advanced alerting, and network traffic analysis.

What users like best:

“I like the ability to automate tasks and responses to alerts. It allows the configuration of custom actions to resolve issues without the need for human intervention. The system's ability to integrate with other SolarWinds and third-party tools is a standout feature, furthering the expansion of monitoring capabilities. Moreover, it offers a wide range of reporting and analytical functions, allowing for performance evaluation over time, trend identification, and informed decision-making.”

- SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability Review, Nestor Azael O.

What users dislike:

“The initial stage of network discovery and node addition takes longer than expected. The one-time license cost is very high. Additionally, the tool generates numerous false positive alerts, and it would be beneficial to have additional features to identify and eliminate them.”

- SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability Review, Sanjay B.

8. Progress WhatsUp Gold

Progress WhatsUp Gold allows you to check the status and performance of applications, network devices, and servers, whether they are in the cloud or on-premises. It offers network mapping, performance assessment, real-time alerts, intuitive workflows, and log management capabilities.

What users like best:

“It has a user-friendly and intuitive interface that makes it easy to determine and scan performance at a glance. Its quick and timely alerts let users identify and fix network problems before end users realize there's an issue. It also facilitates decision-making by offering suggestions for improvement. WhatsUp Gold is a comprehensive performance monitor with data visualization, performance baseline, and other elements that help understand the general status of a network.”

- Progress WhatsUp Gold Review, Natasha B.

What users dislike:

“WhatsUp Gold has a licensing fee compared to open-source monitoring tools, which is a consideration for companies with tight budgets. Also, scaling it up for extremely large and complicated networks calls for more hardware or resources, which raises the total cost of ownership.”

- Progress WhatsUp Gold Review, Aashu K.

Comparison of the best free network monitoring software 

Feeling overwhelmed with all the details? Check out this comparison table for free network monitoring software to explore the key points.

Frequently asked questions about free network monitoring software

Q. What features are typically included in the free version of network monitoring software?

Common features of free network monitoring tools include fundamental network performance monitoring, bandwidth usage analysis, device discovery, alert notifications, limited customization, and basic reporting. 

Q. What are the key factors to think about when choosing free network monitoring software?

Consider your network size, complexity, specific monitoring needs, desired features, and the level of support required.

Q. How do I ensure data privacy and security when using free network monitoring software?

Research the software provider's security practices, data handling policies, and customer reviews.

Q. Can free network monitoring software handle large-scale networks?

Some free tools can handle medium-sized networks, but larger environments might require paid network monitoring software.

Secure your network

As network failures and security threats redouble, you have to do the work to maintain a secure and efficient network. Fortunately, these free monitoring tools offer powerful solutions to keep your IT systems running smoothly without hurting your budget.

We hope our list of the best free network monitoring software is helpful in your search for the right tool.

Looking to track a particular application’s performance? Check out application performance monitoring (APM) tools.