Nagios Core vs Zabbix
Nagios Core
IT infrastructure monitoring with 4000+ plugins
Zabbix
Enterprise-class infrastructure monitoring
| Feature | Nagios Core | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring | Monitoring |
| Sub-category | Infra Monitor | Infra Monitor |
| Maturity | mature | mature |
| Complexity | intermediate | intermediate |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| License type | copyleft | copyleft |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 2.0K | 5.0K |
| Contributors | 100 | 300 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | none |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Nagios | Zabbix |
| Funding model | community | open_core |
| Min RAM | 256 MB | 1 GB |
| Min CPU cores | 1 | 2 |
| Scaling pattern | single_node | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | Yes | Yes |
| Offline capable | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | C | C, PHP |
| API type | REST | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | small, medium, enterprise | small, medium, enterprise |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Nagios Core
- ✓ Primary: server-monitoring
- ✓ Primary: network-monitoring
- ✓ Primary: service-checks
When to use Zabbix
- ✓ Primary: server-monitoring
- ✓ Primary: network-monitoring
- ✓ Primary: auto-discovery
Nagios Core anti-patterns
- ✕ Outdated UI
- ✕ Complex configuration files
- ✕ Plugin quality varies widely
- ✕ Less cloud-native than alternatives
Zabbix anti-patterns
- ✕ UI feels dated
- ✕ Complex initial setup
- ✕ PHP-based frontend less modern