Side by side
ntopng vs WhatsUp Gold
Both stand on network monitoring. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3
ntopng combines traffic collection, protocol identification and performance metrics in a web interface. The Community edition has stated suggested network limits, while paid options are perpetual licenses with maintenance included.
Visit ntopng Free trial APISelf-hostedWeb+1
WhatsUp Gold brings infrastructure monitoring, topology mapping, automation, and integrations into one product. Its deployment and licensing limits are worth checking against the size and platform requirements of an environment.
Visit WhatsUp GoldThe facts
| ntopng | WhatsUp Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | A free trial |
| Open source | Yes | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows | API, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Pro: €299.95, paid once | Network Detection & Response Lite: $866 a year |
| Plans published | 6 | 6 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | ntop.org | whatsupgold.com |
| On network monitoring | #2 of 55 | #45 of 55 |
ntopng: what it does well
- Explores traffic in real time and historically
- Detects more than 450 Layer-7 protocols
- Includes latency, throughput and packet-loss metrics
- Offers an HTTP-based REST API and Lua scripting
- Free Community edition is available
What to know first
- Community edition suggests a maximum of eight interfaces
- Community edition suggests a maximum of 256 live local hosts
- Pro costs €299, paid once
- Paid license includes one year of maintenance
WhatsUp Gold: what it does well
- Monitors networks, servers, applications, storage, and cloud resources.
- Topology maps show relationships, dependencies, and device status.
- Can automate common fixes with scripts and policies.
- Integrates with AWS CloudWatch and Azure Monitor.
What to know first
- Server software requires Windows Server 2019, 2022, or 2025.
- Business costs $1,229 a year for 50 devices.
- A single server can poll at most 100,000 metrics.
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