15 Best Netdata Alternatives and Competitors in 2025

TL;DR – Quick Summary

Netdata offers high-resolution, per-second system monitoring, but it lacks deep alerting, integrations, and enterprise readiness. Whether you’re scaling your observability stack or need something easier to manage, here are the top Netdata alternatives to consider in 2025:

• #1. Prometheus – Scalable metrics collection with Grafana
• #2. Zabbix – Full-stack monitoring with alerting and templates
• #3. Grafana Cloud – Unified observability with metrics, logs, traces
• #4. Datadog – Cloud-native monitoring with AI-driven insights
• #5. Nagios – Classic infrastructure monitoring with plugins
• #6. Checkmk – Scalable performance and uptime monitoring
• #7. InfluxDB + Telegraf – Time-series metrics and agent-based input
• #8. New Relic – Full observability suite with APM and infra monitoring
• #9. Sensu – Monitoring as code with plugins and integrations
• #10. Site24x7 – SaaS monitoring for infrastructure, apps, and logs
• #11. LogicMonitor – Enterprise-grade hybrid IT monitoring
• #12. Glances – Terminal-based system performance tool
• #13. Collectd + Graphite – Lightweight metric collection and graphing
• #14. VictoriaMetrics – Scalable time-series DB for Prometheus data
• #15. AppDynamics – Application + infra performance analytics

What is Netdata?

Netdata is an open-source performance monitoring tool known for its real-time, per-second metrics and beautiful web dashboards. It offers zero-configuration deployment, auto-detection of system services, and deep insights into CPU, memory, disks, network, and application metrics. Netdata’s strength lies in simplicity—it’s agent-based, fast, and lightweight, with minimal setup required.

Netdata is ideal for troubleshooting performance issues or visualizing real-time metrics, but its use cases are limited to system-level monitoring. For advanced alerting, log ingestion, or multi-host observability, many teams explore Netdata alternatives that integrate better with cloud infrastructure, support scaling, and offer long-term storage or full observability stacks.

Key Features of Netdata

• Real-time metrics: Per-second updates across hundreds of system metrics with zero lag.
• Auto-detection: Automatically identifies running services, processes, and hardware stats.
• Web-based dashboards: Includes interactive, out-of-the-box charts with no manual config.
• Pluggable architecture: Supports collectors and external plugins via Netdata Agent or Cloud.
• Lightweight installation: One-line install script with minimal resource usage.
• API and alerts: Exposes metrics over HTTP and supports basic notification alerts.
• Streaming and federated mode: Supports remote streaming of metrics to central dashboard nodes.

Why Look for Netdata Alternatives

1. Lacks long-term storage: Netdata is great for short-term visibility but doesn’t retain historical data effectively.
2. Limited multi-node visibility: Requires federation or Netdata Cloud for centralized views.
3. No deep application monitoring: Doesn’t track distributed traces or app-level metrics like APM tools do.
4. Alerting is basic: Lacks flexible alert policies, integrations, or anomaly detection compared to other tools.
5. No native log collection: Requires integration with other tools for logs or event streams.
6. Not optimized for Kubernetes: Has limited support for modern orchestration environments.
7. Cloud plans are limited: Netdata Cloud lacks features compared to other SaaS observability platforms.
8. Doesn’t scale well for large infra: Designed for host-level monitoring; complex topologies require external setup.
9. No alert correlation or root cause analysis: Lacks ML/AI features found in Datadog or LogicMonitor.
10. Better integrations elsewhere: Tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and Zabbix offer broader ecosystem support.

Netdata Competitors Comparison Table

#	Tool	Open Source	Best For	Key Differentiator
#1	Prometheus	Yes	Time-series metrics	Pull-based model with Grafana dashboards
#2	Zabbix	Yes	Infrastructure monitoring	Auto-discovery, alerting, dashboards
#3	Grafana Cloud	No	Unified observability	Hosted metrics, logs, traces in one stack
#4	Datadog	No	Cloud observability	Unified APM, logs, infra + AI alerts
#5	Nagios	Yes	Traditional monitoring	Plugin-based checks and alerting
#6	Checkmk	Yes	Hybrid infra monitoring	Nagios-compatible with modern GUI
#7	InfluxDB + Telegraf	Yes	Custom metrics pipelines	Time-series DB + plugin-based agent
#8	New Relic	No	Full-stack observability	Real-time APM + infra + user monitoring
#9	Sensu	Yes	Monitoring as code	Custom checks, auto-remediation
#10	Site24x7	No	SaaS monitoring	Cloud infra + web uptime + logs
#11	LogicMonitor	No	Hybrid observability	AI-based alerts + custom dashboards
#12	Glances	Yes	CLI monitoring	Terminal-based live system metrics
#13	Collectd + Graphite	Yes	Custom metric graphing	Modular agent + time-series charting
#14	VictoriaMetrics	Yes	High-volume metrics	Fast Prometheus-compatible time-series DB
#15	AppDynamics	No	Enterprise APM	Application + infra analytics and alerts

Top 15 Netdata Alternatives to Consider in 2025

#1. Prometheus

Prometheus is a widely used open-source Netdata alternative focused on time-series metrics and alerting. It’s pull-based, integrates with Grafana, and excels at infrastructure and Kubernetes monitoring.

Features:

• Built-in time-series database
• Service discovery and exporter support
• Works natively with Kubernetes
• Custom dashboards via Grafana
• Powerful query language (PromQL)

#2. Zabbix

Zabbix is a robust Netdata alternative offering host, application, and network monitoring. It supports agent-based, agentless, SNMP, and JMX monitoring with powerful templates and dashboards.

Features:

• Custom thresholds and alerts
• Auto-discovery and templates
• Web-based UI with maps and graphs
• Flexible integrations (email, Slack, scripts)
• Ideal for medium to large environments

#3. Grafana Cloud

Grafana Cloud is a managed observability suite from Grafana Labs that supports logs, metrics, and traces. As a full-stack Netdata alternative, it offers hosted Prometheus, Loki, Tempo, and Grafana in one platform.

Features:

• Prometheus, Loki, Tempo backend support
• Customizable, multi-source dashboards
• Alerting and SLO management
• Integrates with 100+ data sources
• Free tier and pay-as-you-go options

#4. Datadog

Datadog is a popular SaaS Netdata alternative offering unified metrics, logs, traces, and security monitoring. It’s ideal for cloud-native and multi-cloud environments requiring centralized observability.

Features:

• 400+ integrations for cloud and apps
• Real-time dashboards with drag-and-drop
• Custom alert conditions and anomaly detection
• Infrastructure map and service map
• Used by DevOps, SRE, and security teams

#5. Nagios

Nagios is a well-established Netdata alternative for infrastructure and service monitoring. It uses plugins to check server health, log files, processes, and remote services, with custom alert thresholds.

Features:

• Check-based monitoring model
• Email, SMS, or custom script alerts
• Extensible via community plugins
• Core (open-source) and XI (commercial) options
• Best for simple infra visibility

#6. Checkmk

Checkmk is a high-performance Netdata alternative that extends Nagios Core with a modern UI, monitoring agents, and auto-discovery. It’s ideal for hybrid environments needing SNMP, agent, and API monitoring.

Features:

• GUI-based config and dashboards
• Built-in check plugins and service discovery
• API support for automation
• Open-source and enterprise editions
• Good for legacy and modern infrastructure

#7. InfluxDB + Telegraf

InfluxDB is a time-series database paired with Telegraf, a lightweight agent. This combo forms a flexible Netdata alternative for storing and visualizing metrics at high resolution.

Features:

• Agent-based collection with Telegraf plugins
• Supports long-term data storage and retention
• Easy integration with Grafana
• Custom measurement schemas and tags
• Open-source and InfluxDB Cloud options

#8. New Relic

New Relic is a full-stack Netdata alternative offering APM, infrastructure, browser, and synthetic monitoring in one platform. It provides out-of-the-box dashboards and alerts with advanced query capabilities.

Features:

• One agent for infra + app metrics
• Custom queries with NRQL
• Dashboards for logs, users, metrics
• Alerts, anomalies, and SLO tracking
• Free tier with generous limits

#9. Sensu

Sensu is a flexible and extensible monitoring solution ideal as a Netdata alternative. It supports agent-based, API-driven, and plugin-powered checks across infrastructure and containers.

Features:

• Built for observability pipelines
• Supports Nagios plugins and custom scripts
• Check scheduling, alerting, and remediation
• Integrates with Prometheus, Graphite, and InfluxDB
• Commercial support via Sensu Go

#10. Site24x7

Site24x7 is a cloud-based observability tool offering monitoring for websites, infrastructure, networks, and logs. As a SaaS-based Netdata alternative, it delivers visibility into hybrid and cloud-native environments.

Features:

• Real-time dashboards for servers, websites, and apps
• Includes RUM, APM, log, and synthetic monitoring
• Preconfigured checks and integrations
• Works across cloud providers and environments
• Flexible alerting and incident response tools

#11. LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is an enterprise-grade SaaS platform offering unified observability. As a commercial Netdata alternative, it supports hybrid infrastructure, cloud, and on-prem environments with predictive alerting.

Features:

• Agentless and agent-based monitoring
• Over 2,000 prebuilt integrations and templates
• AI-based anomaly detection and forecasting
• Detailed performance graphs and dashboards
• Enterprise features like RBAC and SLAs

#12. Glances

Glances is a real-time system monitoring tool for the terminal. It’s a lightweight Netdata alternative for sysadmins needing a quick, console-based view of system health, processes, and usage.

Features:

• Cross-platform with CLI and web modes
• Tracks CPU, memory, network, and disk I/O
• Python-based and extensible with plugins
• Can export metrics via API or to InfluxDB
• Ideal for devs and sysadmins on SSH

#13. Collectd + Graphite

Collectd is a metrics collector and Graphite is a visualization platform. Together, they make a powerful open-source Netdata alternative for long-term performance monitoring and alerting.

Features:

• Collectd agents for system-level metrics
• Graphite stores and visualizes time-series data
• Highly customizable dashboard creation
• Scalable storage and processing of metrics
• Widely used in enterprise and HPC clusters

#14. VictoriaMetrics

VictoriaMetrics is a high-performance, Prometheus-compatible time-series database. As a Netdata alternative, it excels at large-scale metrics ingestion and long-term retention.

Features:

• Supports Prometheus remote write and read
• Optimized for high throughput and low storage use
• Works with Grafana for dashboarding
• Clustered version available for HA setups
• Used in observability pipelines and TSDB replacement

#15. AppDynamics

AppDynamics is an enterprise application performance monitoring solution from Cisco. It’s a full-stack Netdata alternative offering deep visibility into apps, servers, networks, and user behavior.

Features:

• Application, infrastructure, and business monitoring
• End-to-end transaction tracing
• Alerts, SLA management, and smart baselining
• Enterprise-focused dashboards and RBAC
• Integrated with DevOps and cloud platforms

Conclusion

Netdata is great for real-time metrics and quick troubleshooting, but it falls short on advanced alerting, historical analysis, and multi-host scaling. These Netdata alternatives provide deeper observability, cloud-native integrations, and more extensibility for teams needing scalable, production-grade monitoring in 2025.

Netdata Alternatives FAQs