The 8 best Zabbix alternatives for IT teams in 2025

Finding the perfect IT monitoring solution has never been more challenging—or more critical. IT infrastructure monitoring in 2025 (and beyond) is much more than uptime checks and basic performance tracking. Now more than ever, IT teams need cutting-edge Agentic AI and automation to detect anomalies and resolve issues quicker. 

As businesses demand more from their technology stacks, many IT professionals are looking beyond traditional tools like Zabbix,  a popular open-source IT infrastructure monitoring tool, toward platforms that offer enhanced automation, better cloud integration, and more intuitive experiences.

This article aims to help you find the best Zabbix alternative for your IT team. We’ll start by reviewing Zabbix’s strengths and limitations and then move on to the best alternatives to Zabbix.

What is Zabbix?

Zabbix is an open-source tool designed to help users monitor parts of their IT infrastructure. It gathers metrics from sources like network devices, IoT sensors, cloud services, apps, services, and web pages and monitors their performance, availability, and health.

Why look for a Zabbix alternative?

After reading hundreds of customer reviews from Zabbix customers and doing our own research, we found that the platform’s key limitations are a steep learning curve, minimal automation and AI, and a lack of documentation.

Let’s see what customers said:

1. Steep learning curve

Zabbix is known for being highly customizable, which, in their case, comes with a steep learning curve.

One G2 user said, “While Zabbix can be highly customized, the initial setup can be quite complex and can require a steep learning curve.” He continued, ” The user interface could benefit from a more modern and intuitive design.”

Many Zabbix users agree with this statement and say that the unintuitive user interface is the primary reason for the steep learning curve.

Related to this, one Capterra user said, “The first downside of Zabbix is you need to configure everything, and it can be intimidating.”

2. Minimal automation and AI

As of 2025, Zabbix doesn’t have any built-in AI capabilities. The only way to use AI to improve your efficiency is to integrate external AI/ML tools via API. 

According to users, the capabilities for automating repetitive tasks are also limited. One Capterra user said, “Not very much automated, which is a necessity now; manual script and work required.”

The reviewer is referring to the fact that Zabbix relies on manual configuration and scripting instead of offering AI-driven scripting and insights.

This is a notable drawback as alternatives, like Atera, offer AI-powered scripting, which removes the manual and repetitive work associated with it.

3. Documentation is lacking

Since Zabbix is an open-source platform that charges extra for technical support, most users have to rely on documentation for onboarding, troubleshooting, and feature implementation.

However, users state that the documentation is lacking. One G2 user said, “Zabbix doesn’t offer much documentation; it is incomplete, and it is messy between versions.”

The reviewer continues by saying, “The terminology should also be improved, and many of the doubts that arise should be discussed with the Zabbix community.”

What are Zabbix’s strengths?

Zabbix has some notable disadvantages but also strengths. Users especially appreciate its open-source nature and the infrastructure monitoring capabilities.

This is what users said:

1. Open-source monitoring software

Despite open-source software having certain cons, some users appreciated Zabbix’s open-source nature, which makes it flexible. One G2 user mentioned, “Zabbix’s open-source nature allows for full customization.”

2. IT infrastructure monitoring

Zabbix allows users to manage their IT infrastructures and monitor their health and performance. One G2 user likes Zabbix’s ability to monitor servers, network devices, and cloud services.

Zabbix pros and cons: Takeaways

To sum up the two previous sections, here are the pros and cons of Zabbix.

The pros:

• An open-source solution that provides flexibility for users
• Allows users to manage their entire IT infrastructure 

The cons:

• Users report a steep learning curve
• Minimal automation for streamlining tasks
• Limited advancements in AI-powered IT infrastructure monitoring
• Documentation is lacking, and technical support is not free

8 Best Zabbix alternatives in 2025

Now that you’re more familiar with Zabbix’s pros and cons, let’s review the best alternatives to Zabbix.

For each alternative, we have listed the key features, pricing, and any notable pros and cons.

1. Atera

Atera vs Zabbix: Key differences

1. Key features: Both Atera and Zabbix are designed for enterprises looking to monitor and manage their IT infrastructure. While Zabbix is an open-source solution, Atera is a cloud-based platform that integrates RMM, Agentic AI, patch management, remote access, and ticket management into a unified platform.

2. User interface and support: Atera’s intuitive user interface makes onboarding a breeze. If you face any issues, you can get in touch with our 24/7 live chat support or troubleshoot issues using our extensive knowledge base. Being an open source, Zabbix has paid technical support, but users report that the documentation is limited. Users have also reported that Zabbix’s user interface could use an update.

3. Pricing structure: Atera offers transparent pay-per-technician pricing plans for IT departments and MSPs, ranging from $129/month to $219/month per technician. Zabbix, while being free to install, requires users to invest in hosting, maintenance, technical support, and third-party integrations to achieve similar functionality.

4. AI advancements: Atera integrates the industry’s first (and only) true Agentic AI into the platform through its Action AI™ technology. Whether you’re managing tickets, monitoring devices, or resolving technical issues, Atera’s Action AI™ is right there to assist you in real time. As of 2025, Zabbix hasn’t made any AI innovations into its platform. 

Features and capabilities

Atera’s RMM gives IT teams complete visibility into their IT environments. You can monitor the health and performance of all connected devices and receive real-time alerts on any issues that arise.

Users can monitor a wide range of endpoints, including servers, workstations, printers, routers, and other SNMP-enabled devices. You can receive insights into:

• System health (CPU loads, memory usage, disk space, fan performance, system temperature, etc.)
• Performance (Network bandwidth, application performance, service status, etc.)

Atera’s device page

Atera’s reports and analytics provide information on system health, customer health, agent health, inventory audits, and more.

Pricing plans and value for money

Atera’s transparent pay-per-technician pricing plans are as follows:

Atera pricing plans for IT departments: 

• Professional: $149 per month, per technician
• Expert: $189 per month, per technician
• Master: $219 per month, per technician
• Enterprise: Custom quotation; contact sales to get pricing

Atera pricing plans for MSPs:

• Pro: $129 per month, per technician
• Growth: $179 per month, per technician
• Power: $209 per month, per technician
• Superpower (Enterprise): Custom quotation. Contact sales for pricing.

Get started with Atera on a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

Customer reviews and ratings

Zabbix G2 rating: 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (190+ reviews)

Atera G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (800+ reviews)

What Atera users are saying on G2:

• “In just two weeks with Atera, I had a clear view of my IT infrastructure. The overview of the infrastructure is very practical,” a G2 user says.

• “Atera’s ease of use and AI have transformed our IT workflow. The AI-driven troubleshooting helps us resolve issues 70% faster,” a G2 user says.

Zabbix Capterra rating:

Atera Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (430+ reviews)

What Atera users are saying on Capterra:

• “Atera’s AI Copilot helps us resolve tickets in a very short space by analyzing tickets, suggesting solutions, and helping to respond professionally,” a Capterra user says. 

• “Atera is perfect for remotely administering a variety of different OS and systems. It helps our IT team to keep an overview of all running systems,” a Capterra user says.

2. Datadog

Datadog is a full-stack observability platform that helps organizations monitor services, tools, databases, servers, and other infrastructure components. Its key benefits include improved visibility into IT infrastructure, faster troubleshooting, and proactive monitoring.

Unlike Zabbix, Datadog also monitors applications and helps troubleshoot, optimize, and troubleshoot them. You can set up alerts for different metrics and receive notifications when a threshold is exceeded.

G2 Rating: 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (500+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (300+ reviews)

Datadog Pricing:

• Free: Starting at $0/month, up to 5 hosts
• Pro: Starting at $15 per host, per month
• Enterprise: Starting at $23 per host, per month
• DevSecOps Pro: Starting at $22 per host, per month
• DevSecOps Enterprise: Starting at $34 per host, per month

3. SolarWinds Observability

SolarWinds Observability helps IT teams monitor IT infrastructure, including servers, networks, databases, and applications, as well as application health and performance. The platform features a unified alerting system that keeps users updated when key metrics cross set thresholds.

One Reddit user compares Zabbix and SolarWinds and says, “SolarWinds is going to be running on Windows servers, Zabbix on Linux. Zabbix’s UI is far faster in general, although the navigation can be annoying at times and can’t be (easily) customized like SolarWinds.”

G2 Rating: 4.3 out of 5.0 stars (700+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: n/a

SolarWinds Observability Pricing:

• Application Observability: $27.50 per application instance
• Network and Infrastructure Observability: $12 per active network device
• Log Observability: $5 per GB, per month

4. ManageEngine OpManager

Similar to Zabbix, ManageEngine OpManager is a network monitoring tool that allows users to monitor applications, infrastructure, and networks from one platform. According to a G2 user, the best parts of OpManager are the real-time monitoring of network devices, alert management, and automation.

For more functionality, OpManager can be integrated with other ManageEngine products, although some Reddit users state they don’t work nearly as well when integrated together.

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

ManageEngine OpManager Pricing:

• Custom quotation. Contact ManageEngine’s sales team for pricing options.

5. Paessler PRTG

Paessler PRTG is designed for monitoring the performance and health of your network components. It helps you monitor network parameters like CPU usage, memory load, quality of service, and bandwidth usage.

This is how one Reddit user compares PRTG and Zabbix: “Zabbix is great once you get over the learning curve. PTRG was more user-friendly in the beginning. Zabbix can do more once you understand how to set up the triggers.”

G2 Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (90+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (200+ reviews)

Paessler PRTG Pricing:

• Prices start from $2,149 per year for monitoring up to 500 aspects of devices within your network

6. Dynatrace

Dynatrace is an observability and security platform that provides users with insights into infrastructure health, application performance, and user experience. With it, users can detect vulnerabilities and protect their infrastructure from threats. Like Atera, Dynatrace offers AI-powered insights for detecting vulnerabilities within your infrastructure.

Comparing Dynatrace to Zabbix, most users agree that Dynatrace is much more expensive. One Reddit user simply commented, “Dynatrace is very expensive and one of the larger money pits in our environment.”

G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (1,300+ reviews)

Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (50+ reviews)

Dynatrace pricing:

• Pricing is determined by the amount of usage. Initial price points begin at $0.08 per hour for an 8 GiB host for full-stack monitoring.

7. Microsoft SCOM

Microsoft SCOM is part of Microsoft’s System Center and assists users in application performance management and infrastructure monitoring. It enables IT administrators to monitor installed services and applications, operations, and connected devices.

The main difference from Zabbix? As one Reddit user says, SCOM works best for monitoring Windows devices, while Zabbix can monitor Windows, Linux, and Mac devices. SCOM’s Windows-only approach may be advantageous to some IT teams, but disadvantageous to those with multi-OS environments.

G2 Rating: 4.1 out of 5.0 stars (500+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (90+ reviews)

Microsoft SCOM Pricing:

• The pricing is based on a custom quotation.

8. New Relic

New Relic is a cloud-based observability platform that allows users to track performance metrics and identify issues within the IT infrastructure. In addition to infrastructure monitoring, New Relic includes application monitoring, log management, and anomaly detection.

Compared to Zabbix, users see New Relic as a more cloud-friendly and scalable observability solution, especially for organizations with a heavy cloud presence. One Reddit user said, “New Relic can pull metrics from other sources, including cloud provider APIs, which is great for companies with large cloud presences.”

G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (490+ reviews)

Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (180+ reviews)

New Relic pricing:

• Free: 100 GB data ingest for free
• Standard: Based on a custom quotation
• Pro: Based on a custom quotation
• Enterprise: Based on a custom quotation

Agentic AI IT infrastructure monitoring, only with Atera

As of 2025, Atera is the only IT management platform incorporating true Agentic AI capabilities into its platform through Action AI™, which makes it the best overall Zabbix alternative.

You may wonder, what are its benefits?

Atera’s AI Copilot learns about your IT environment in real-time and provides actionable insights into questions such as “How can I optimize my server performance?” or “What proactive measures can I take to prevent network downtime?”

Atera’s AI helps to automate repetitive tasks, streamline complex workflows, and generate actionable insights. It’s like having access to a 24/7 virtual IT team member for tasks like scripting, device troubleshooting, and ticketing.
So, if you want to future-proof your IT, Atera can help. An easy way to get started is by signing up for Atera’s 30-day free trial or by contacting our sales team for a custom demo.