Why teams are leaving SolarWinds
The exodus is driven by ownership, licensing and reputation rather than raw capability:
- Take-private. SolarWinds was acquired by Turn/River Capital in a $4.4 billion all-cash deal (announced 7 Feb 2025, closed 16 Apr 2025) and delisted from the NYSE.
- Subscription-only pricing. Perpetual licences were retired; from 1 August 2025 the platform is subscription-only, typically on multi-year commitments, with renewal increases independently reported up to roughly 300%.
- Sales reputation. Aggressive renewal tactics are a long-standing, cross-platform complaint — documented on SolarWinds’ own THWACK community and on sales-rep review sites.
- Security context. The 2020 Sunburst supply-chain breach still features in risk assessments when teams re-evaluate the platform.
The best alternatives, by segment
There is no single winner — the right replacement depends on whether you self-host, buy commercial, or need enterprise-scale support. Engineers tend to favour open source; buyers and MSPs weight the commercial track more heavily.
Open source / self-hosted
LibreNMS, Zabbix and Prometheus + Grafana — strong SNMP and streaming-telemetry coverage with no per-node licence, at the cost of more setup and operational ownership.
Easy commercial / MSP
Auvik — fast, cloud-managed network monitoring and automated topology, popular with managed service providers and lean teams.
Mid-market commercial
PRTG, LogicMonitor, ManageEngine OpManager and Checkmk — predictable commercial support without enterprise-tier pricing.
Enterprise
DX NetOps (Broadcom) — scaled, multi-vendor fault and performance management for large, complex estates.
Decision matrix
Compare the alternatives on segment, licensing, deployment, relative cost and protocol support. Filter by segment:
| Tool | Segment | Licensing | Deployment | Cost | Protocols | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreNMS | Open source | Open source (free) | Self-host | Free software | SNMP, autodiscovery | Free, SolarWinds-like autodiscovery |
| Zabbix | Open source | Open source (free) | Self-host | Free software | SNMP, agents, IPMI | All-in-one self-hosted monitoring |
| Prometheus + Grafana | Open source | Open source (free) | Self-host | Free software | Metrics/exporters, streaming | Cloud-native, metrics-heavy stacks |
| Auvik | Commercial | Subscription | SaaS | £££ per device | SNMP, autodiscovery, mapping | MSPs and lean teams; fast setup |
| PRTG | Commercial | Subscription (sensor-based) | Self-host | ££ | SNMP, flow, packet sniff | SME all-rounder |
| LogicMonitor | Commercial | Subscription | SaaS | £££ | SNMP, streaming, cloud | Hybrid infra, agentless SaaS |
| ManageEngine OpManager | Commercial | Perpetual or subscription | Self-host | ££ | SNMP, flow, WMI | Windows-centric mid-market |
| Checkmk | Commercial | Open core + commercial | Self-host | Free tier / ££ | SNMP, agents | Scalable hybrid, free tier to start |
| DX NetOps | Enterprise | Subscription | Self-host | ££££ | SNMP, streaming, multi-vendor | Large, complex, carrier-grade estates |
Cost bands are relative and vary by modules, scale and negotiation. Open-source tools are free software; you still pay for infrastructure and operations.
Compare in depth
Head-to-head comparisons for the most-requested match-ups:
- LibreNMS vs SolarWinds
- Zabbix vs SolarWinds
- Prometheus + Grafana vs SolarWinds
- SWQL vs SPL — when to use which
In progress: PRTG vs SolarWinds, Auvik vs SolarWinds, How to migrate off SolarWinds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free SolarWinds alternative?
The leading free, open-source options are LibreNMS, Zabbix and Prometheus paired with Grafana. All are free software with no per-node licence — you pay only for the infrastructure and the time to run them. LibreNMS and Zabbix are closest to SolarWinds’ all-in-one, autodiscovery model; Prometheus + Grafana suit metrics-heavy, cloud-native environments.
Why are teams leaving SolarWinds in 2026?
Mainly economics and ownership. SolarWinds was taken private by Turn/River Capital (deal closed April 2025) and moved to subscription-only licensing from 1 August 2025, typically on multi-year commitments, with renewal increases independently reported up to around 300%. The 2020 Sunburst supply-chain breach also still features in risk reviews.
Is there a like-for-like replacement for SolarWinds?
No single product matches it one-for-one. The right choice depends on your segment: open-source self-hosted (LibreNMS, Zabbix, Prometheus), easy commercial or MSP (Auvik), mid-market (PRTG, LogicMonitor, OpManager, Checkmk), or enterprise (DX NetOps).
What do MSPs use instead of SolarWinds?
Auvik and LogicMonitor are common MSP choices — both are cloud-managed (SaaS), multi-site, with automated topology and per-device or per-site commercial pricing.
How much does SolarWinds cost now?
Since 1 August 2025 SolarWinds is subscription-only, generally on three-year commitments. Independent commentary reports renewal increases up to roughly 300% versus prior perpetual pricing; the exact figure depends on modules and negotiation.