A Zabbix alternative with the network features built in.
Looking for a Zabbix alternative? Zabbix is free, open source and very flexible, with a large template library, but today it has no built-in flow analysis, syslog receiver or automatic topology map; Zabbix lists all three on its roadmap for Zabbix 8.2. TarleyNode is a commercial, self-hosted network monitor that includes them from the first install, with a free edition for up to 100 sensors.
TarleyNode and Zabbix side by side
| Feature | TarleyNode | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Your own Linux server | Linux and other Unix-like servers [10] |
| Licence | Commercial, priced by sensors | Open source, AGPLv3 [2] |
| Agentless | Yes: SNMP, WinRM, SSH and APIs | Both: own agent and agentless checks [1] |
| SNMP v3 | Yes, with SHA-256 and AES | Yes [1] |
| NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX | Included | No, planned for Zabbix 8.2 [3] |
| Syslog and SNMP traps | Included | Partly: SNMP traps through snmptrapd [4] |
| Windows servers | WinRM: health, services, counters | Agent, WMI and performance counters [5] |
| VMware and Hyper-V | Yes | VMware; Hyper-V by community templates [6] [7] |
| Azure and AWS | Yes | Yes, AWS and Azure templates [1] |
| Remote sites | Connected sites, included | Zabbix proxies, unlimited [1] |
| LLDP and CDP map | Yes | Partly: maps linked by hand [1] |
| High availability | Option, USD 480 a year for 3 servers, with an alert when no server is active | Native HA cluster [8] |
| Single sign-on | OpenID Connect or Microsoft | LDAP, SAML or HTTP [9] |
| Phone apps | No, browser console | Not yet, planned for Zabbix 8.0 [3] |
Numbers in brackets link to the Zabbix page each answer comes from.
Prices
| Plan | Listed price | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Zabbix software | Free | Open source under AGPLv3 |
| Silver support | €245 or $325 a month, billed annually | One Zabbix server, no proxies or native HA, 8x5 support |
| Gold support | From €660 or $825 a month, billed annually | Servers and proxies priced per unit, native HA optional |
Zabbix is free to download and use; the support plans are optional. Zabbix Cloud, the hosted edition, is priced separately. TarleyNode is free for up to 100 sensors after a 30-day trial, then from USD 600 a year for 500 sensors.
Where Zabbix is stronger
- Free and open source under the AGPLv3 licence.
- A large selection of ready-made templates and vendor integrations.
- Its own agent for Linux, Windows, macOS, AIX, Solaris and BSD, for deep server metrics.
- A high availability cluster built into the free product.
- An unlimited number of proxies for remote sites.
- Zabbix says it scales to millions of metrics from hundreds of thousands of devices.
- A hosted edition, Zabbix Cloud, for teams that do not want to run a server.
Where TarleyNode differs
- NetFlow, IPFIX and sFlow traffic summaries are included today, with ready-made commands to send flows from each device.
- Syslog and SNMP trap reception are part of the product, with event rules that turn messages into incidents.
- An LLDP and CDP network map and a switch port mapper are drawn for you.
- Configuration backups over SSH with change history.
- Public status pages, a NOC wall display and monthly service-level reports that cannot be changed afterwards.
- Agentless by design: discovery scans and device templates add checks without installing anything on monitored devices.
Which team should pick which
Pick Zabbix if you want free, open-source software, have the time and skills to build and tune templates, and need deep agent-based server metrics or very large scale.
Pick TarleyNode if you want flow analysis, syslog, network maps and configuration backups working out of the box, with agentless monitoring and published prices.
Switching from Zabbix
- Install TarleyNode on a separate server or virtual machine.
- Run a discovery scan of the networks Zabbix monitors, using the same SNMP and Windows credentials.
- Apply device templates, then compare alerts and reports from both over a few weeks.
- Switch when you are satisfied, and keep Zabbix running until you no longer need it.
Questions
Is TarleyNode free like Zabbix?
Partly. TarleyNode is free for up to 100 sensors after a 30-day trial, then from USD 600 a year for 500 sensors. Zabbix is open source and free at any size, with paid support optional.
Does Zabbix support NetFlow?
Not natively today. Zabbix lists NetFlow data collection and visualisation on its roadmap for Zabbix 8.2. TarleyNode includes NetFlow, IPFIX and sFlow traffic summaries now.
Does TarleyNode need agents like Zabbix?
No. TarleyNode is agentless: it uses SNMP, WinRM, SSH and APIs, so nothing is installed on monitored devices. Zabbix offers both its own agent and agentless checks.
Can I keep custom checks when moving from Zabbix?
TarleyNode supports custom sensors that read values from REST APIs and run scripts over SSH or PowerShell, and it is compatible with Nagios plugins.
Is TarleyNode open source?
No. TarleyNode is commercial software with a free edition for up to 100 sensors. It runs entirely on your own server, so monitoring data stays on your network.
See TarleyNode on your own network
Ask for an invitation through Request a demo; every request is read by a person. An evaluation includes every feature with unlimited sensors for 30 days, and TarleyNode then stays free for up to 100 sensors. It does not change device configuration, so it can run next to Zabbix while you compare.
Guides
Other comparisons
Sources
- Zabbix features
- Zabbix licence
- Zabbix roadmap
- Zabbix manual: SNMP traps
- Zabbix Windows monitoring
- Zabbix VMware monitoring
- Zabbix integrations: Hyper-V
- Zabbix manual: high availability
- Zabbix manual: authentication
- Zabbix manual: requirements
- Zabbix technical support
- Zabbix Cloud
Zabbix details were checked on the vendor’s own website in October 2026. TarleyNode details describe release 0.3.6. If anything here is out of date, tell us at sales@tarleynode.com. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. TarleyNode is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.