Real-Time Intelligence That Scales With Your Infrastructure

Netdata collects and visualizes metrics every second with sub-2-second total latency, providing 10-60× more granular visibility than PRTG’s typical 60-second polling. This difference is critical: most operational anomalies last 2-10 seconds, meaning minute-level monitoring misses 90% of transient issues. Per-second data reveals microbursts, brief stalls, and cascading failures that averaged minute-level data completely obscures. For high-frequency environments like financial services, gaming, or microservices, per-second visibility is essential - not optional.

Yes, fundamentally. PRTG has an architectural hard limit of 10,000 sensors (5,000 recommended for optimal performance) due to its centralized design. Netdata’s distributed edge-native architecture scales linearly from 1 to 100,000+ nodes without architectural changes or performance degradation. We’ve proven 4.6 million metrics/second in single-installation benchmarks and process 4.5+ billion metrics/second globally. Each Netdata Agent operates independently, eliminating the centralized bottleneck that limits PRTG. Adding nodes to Netdata doesn’t affect existing performance - it’s true horizontal scaling.

No. PRTG’s core server requires Windows Server licensing, forcing Windows infrastructure costs even for Linux-only environments. Netdata runs natively on Linux, Windows, macOS, and FreeBSD - no Windows Server requirement. Netdata Cloud (optional) runs on Kubernetes. This multi-platform approach eliminates Windows licensing costs while providing consistent monitoring across all platforms. Netdata fully supports Windows Server monitoring (2016/2019/2022/2025) with native agents, but doesn’t require Windows for the core infrastructure.

PRTG’s sensor-based pricing creates unpredictable cost escalation as monitoring needs grow - each metric counts toward your quota. Netdata uses transparent per-node pricing with volume discounts and unlimited metrics included. For comprehensive monitoring scenarios, Netdata’s unlimited metrics, ML anomaly detection, and AI features provide significant value. No sensor counting, no surprise bills, no forced multi-year commitments. For detailed pricing information, visit https://www.netdata.cloud/pricing/.

Netdata runs unsupervised machine learning on every metric automatically - 18 k-means models per metric train locally with consensus-based detection achieving theoretical 10^-36 false positive rate. PRTG relies entirely on static threshold-based alerts requiring manual configuration and tuning. Netdata’s ML detects anomalies you weren’t looking for and adapts to changing baselines automatically. The Anomaly Advisor correlates anomalies across all metrics, surfacing root causes in the top 30-50 results. PRTG has no comparable ML capabilities - it’s threshold-based monitoring only.

Yes, through parallel deployment. Install Netdata agents alongside your existing PRTG setup - they coexist without conflict. Run both systems in parallel during evaluation (typically 2-4 weeks), comparing dashboards, detection speed, and ease of use. Once confident, decommission PRTG at your own pace. Netdata’s zero-configuration deployment means you can have full visibility in 60 seconds per node, making the transition smooth and low-risk. We provide migration assistance, documentation, and support throughout the process. Contact us at https://www.netdata.cloud/contact-us/?subject=prtg-migration for dedicated help.

Yes, Netdata supports SNMP monitoring for network devices, switches, routers, and firewalls with extensive SNMP profiles. However, PRTG has decades of SNMP expertise and deeper network device specialization - this is PRTG’s core strength. For organizations with pure network monitoring focus, PRTG’s SNMP depth may be preferred. Netdata excels at full-stack infrastructure and application observability with per-second granularity, ML, and AI - complementing network monitoring with comprehensive visibility. Many organizations use both: PRTG for network devices, Netdata for servers, containers, and applications.

Netdata: 60 seconds from installation to full visibility with zero configuration. Dashboards generate automatically, ML trains automatically, alerts configure themselves. No query language required - point-and-click analysis with NIDL framework. PRTG: 15-30 minutes installation, hours to weeks configuring sensors manually, steep learning curve for advanced features. Users report significant time investment to learn and use effectively and complex interface overwhelming for new users. Netdata’s zero-configuration philosophy means engineers are productive from day one, focusing on solving problems instead of managing monitoring tools.

Netdata significantly exceeds PRTG for Kubernetes and container monitoring. Netdata provides native Kubernetes integration with Helm charts, automatic pod/service discovery, per-second container metrics, and namespace-aware organization. PRTG uses probe-based monitoring requiring manual configuration for each container. For cloud-native environments, Netdata’s auto-discovery, per-second granularity, and zero-configuration deployment are essential. PRTG’s minute-level polling and manual setup make it challenging for dynamic container environments where pods appear/disappear frequently.

Yes, extensively. Netdata’s AI Co-Engineer provides natural language troubleshooting - ask questions in plain English, get answers backed by real metric data and ML analysis. Anomaly Advisor automatically correlates anomalies across all metrics, surfacing root causes in top 30-50 results. AI Insights generates professional reports (infrastructure summary, capacity planning, performance optimization) in 2-3 minutes. Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration enables bring-your-own LLM for custom AI workflows. PRTG has no AI capabilities - it’s threshold-based monitoring only, requiring manual investigation and analysis.

Your PRTG knowledge transfers: both monitor infrastructure, both provide dashboards and alerts, both support SNMP. The difference is Netdata eliminates manual configuration, provides per-second visibility, and includes ML/AI automatically. Your monitoring expertise remains valuable - you’re upgrading the platform, not relearning monitoring. Many organizations run both during transition: PRTG for network devices (its strength), Netdata for servers/containers/applications (Netdata’s strength). This hybrid approach maximizes value from both investments while modernizing observability capabilities.

Both support high availability, but with different approaches. PRTG uses failover clustering (2-5 nodes) with performance halving per node and 2,500 sensor recommended maximum per cluster. Netdata uses distributed architecture where each Agent operates independently - no single point of failure. Parents can be clustered for centralized data with active-active replication. Agents buffer locally during network issues (1+ hour retention) and automatically replay data when connectivity restores. Netdata’s edge-native design means monitoring continues working even during network partitions or parent downtime - true resilience.

Netdata fully supports Windows Server monitoring (2016/2019/2022/2025) and Windows 10/11 with native agents providing per-second visibility, ML anomaly detection, and zero-configuration deployment. However, PRTG’s Windows Server core and decades of Windows integration create deep familiarity for Windows-centric IT teams. For pure Windows environments, PRTG may feel more natural. For hybrid environments (Windows + Linux + cloud + containers), Netdata provides unified visibility across all platforms with consistent experience. Many organizations modernize gradually: keep PRTG for Windows infrastructure, add Netdata for cloud-native workloads.

Netdata offers tiered support: Community (public forums, Discord, 76,300+ GitHub community), Business (email/ticket support during business hours with SLA), and Enterprise (24/7 availability, dedicated support team, phone support). We provide migration assistance, architecture design, deployment help, and training programs. Comprehensive documentation at https://learn.netdata.cloud, video tutorials, and AI Chat for instant troubleshooting help. Active community provides peer assistance. For PRTG migrations specifically, we offer dedicated migration support - contact us at https://www.netdata.cloud/contact-us/?subject=prtg-migration.

Yes. Netdata Agents operate completely offline with local dashboards, storage, ML, and alerts - no internet required. For centralized dashboards in air-gapped environments, Netdata Cloud On-Premises provides full control plane within your datacenter (Kubernetes cluster). All observability data stays on your infrastructure by design - Netdata Cloud (if used) only receives metadata (node names, chart titles), never metric or log data. This architecture satisfies GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and regional data residency requirements automatically. SOC 2 Type 2 certified for security and compliance.