PingPlotter vs. PRTG Network Monitor

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PingPlotter
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
PingPlotter is a graphical traceroute and ping tool that visualizes network performance in a way that makes identifying the source of problems quicker and easier for everyone from online gamers and video streamers to VoIP admins and IT pros. Features for remote deployment, network monitoring, scripting, and a web interface are included along with several additional capabilities.
$0
per user
PRTG
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
PRTG Network Monitor is the flagship offering from German software company Paessler, for monitoring local and wide area networks (LANs & WANs), servers, websites, apps, and more.
$2,149
per year
Pricing
PingPlotterPRTG Network Monitor
Editions & Modules
PingPlotter Free
$0.00
per user
PingPlotter Free
$0.00
per user
PingPlotter Standard
$6.99
per user per month
PingPlotter Professional
$29.00
per user per month
PingPlotter Standard
$39.99
per user
PingPlotter Professional
$349.00
per user
PRTG 500
$2,149
per year
Hosted 500
$2,149
per year
PRTG 1,000
$3,899
per year
Hosted 1000
$3,899
per year
PRTG 2,500
$8,099
per year
Hosted 2500
$8,099
per year
PRTG 5,000
$14,199
per year
Hosted 5000
$14,199
per year
PRTG 10000
$17,899
per year
PRTG Enterprise
Custom Pricing
subscription license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PingPlotterPRTG
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PingPlotterPRTG Network Monitor
Features
PingPlotterPRTG Network Monitor
Network Performance Monitoring
Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of Product A and Product B
PingPlotter
8.2
Ratings
0% above category average
PRTG Network Monitor
8.3
Ratings
1% above category average
Automated network device discovery9.30 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Network monitoring8.80 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Baseline threshold calculation7.00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Alerts9.20 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Customizable reports6.90 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Network capacity planning00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Packet capture analysis00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Network mapping00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Wireless infrastructure monitoring00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Hardware health monitoring00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
User Ratings
PingPlotterPRTG Network Monitor
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PingPlotterPRTG Network Monitor
Likelihood to Recommend
The best scenario and best results are seen when the path does not reuse the same device for the "next hop". It is less well suited in situations where the path is being tricked by the re-use of devices for the next interface. This is seen required in many networks where the proper type of connection is not on an end device and the core device is used to provide a fiber to copper sort of "pass-through" connection.
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It is well suited for an environment that deploys networking equipment and is needing monitoring 24/7. It works well to deliver real time data and alerts that are suited for taking action and notifying groups of members. It is less appropriate for use cases that involve only a few devices that don’t have dedicated teams looking for problems or uptime.
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Pros
  • Monitor traffic in network
  • Measure stops when contacting network locations such as websites
  • Measures the lag and latency it takes to contact network locations
  • Gives you both induvidual measurements as well as good oversight
  • identifies when network lag or disconnect occurs
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  • Very, very configurable. You can create all kinds of monitors for all kinds of things. Plus it has loads of suggestions out of the box. It can get complicated but monitoring is complicated. Pretty decent interface and good support - active community.
  • I really liked how easy it was to add alerts by SMS. So easy to setup.
  • I like their sizing models (for purchase). We're actually small enough that we are free. But it's not free as in stripped down - it's free because we don't use many "sensors" and don't honestly have the need.
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Cons
  • Its a little confusing to see which targets are currently running pings and which ones are displayed in the plots.
  • Starting and stopping pings requires a right click and that would be better with a play/pause button I think.
  • Ability to drag and drop the graphs to reorder them.
  • more columns to show which targets are running and which are displayed. Currently this is done with symbols so you cant sort by just the running targets for example I've found.
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  • Licensing on a per entity basis can be cumbersome for devices which have a ton of monitoring points like network switches\routers. Each sensor may count against a license, which could be a lot of you were monitoring every TX\RX of an SFP for example
  • A better method to easily template\copy monitors across devices
  • The navigation in the web GUI could be a little more straightforward in terms of the hierarchy
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
I would renew it because the platform has brought us many technical and economic benefits that make the cost-benefit ratio very good. Additionally, to do so does not require large investments in training, licensing or infrastructure, and at the administration level, extensive knowledge is not required to be able to bear it.
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Usability
I installed it and it just started working. I realized I could then tweak it to show what I needed but didn't have to spend a long time configuring it before use, editing YAML files etc. Maybe that's fine for a network professional, but I only need this software if something goes wrong, and then need it to work quickly out of the box.
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The tool is very intuitive to use and it is Windows-based (everybody knows how to use Windows) so it's easy to get into. Every time is setup in a hierarchy so if you have a good initial hierarchy design, it will really reduce administrative effort down the road.
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Support Rating
I have not had much contact with the PingPlotter support, only one time have I went to them and it was a positive experience. The questions I had were answered quickly and professionally. I have no issue with the experience I had with the Support team. This was from before and after the purchase of the product.
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I am giving this a 6 simply because I have never had to contact support. The online documentation is adequate for most things, and the user-maintained knowledgebase is excellent. The few times I have run into issues that were not easily resolvable with intuitive UI, I was able to find the answers that I needed either in the PRTG-provided documentation, the knowledgebase, or with a quick online web search.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
It's very important that de project's teams have different member of the TI. We have learned too late the importa of Security Analyst at the design architecture moment. We have to rebuild part of the implementation for made this big mistake.
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Alternatives Considered
PingPlotter has better visualizations and a stronger ability to capture historical data than other tools I've used. This makes it easier to find the root cause by looking back in the log data to find where latency or packet loss occurred.
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When I evaluated Centreon back in 2014, it felt overly complex compared to PRTG Network Monitor. Centreon's configuration required deeper technical expertise, involving manual setup and extensive scripting. The interface seemed less intuitive and demanded more time to manage and maintain. In contrast, PRTG Network Monitor offered simpler sensor-based monitoring and a more user-friendly interface, which ultimately influenced my choice.
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Return on Investment
  • Great ROI, troubleshooting time has been reduced by 90%
  • Network Discoveries used to take 2 to 3 hours and were inconsistent - now it is a matter of minutes
  • lacks integration into our MSP toolkit, and we now use it as a stand alone product
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  • PRTG has definitely had a positive impact on the business as monitoring can all be done from a central location and is easily accessible by all the relevant stakeholders.
  • It can easily give us stats on up time etc which is used for statistics and SLA monitoring etc - this provides customers with detailed information which we wouldn't' otherwise be able to provide.
  • For the price, I think it is the best product available on the market
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ScreenShots

PingPlotter Screenshots

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