PMM is open source and self-hosted, with no per-node license fee for the software. You run and operate PMM Server and PMM Client on your own infrastructure, which is where the real cost lives. Percona sells paid support subscriptions and managed services around it, and some advanced workflows are tied to that support ecosystem.

Buyer’s Guide - August 2026

The best MySQL monitoring tools, ranked by someone who reads the fine print

Q: What MySQL metrics should I monitor?

Start with connections and max connections (saturation is the most common outage cause), slow queries and query latency, InnoDB buffer pool hit rate, replication lag and replica thread status, and table locks and deadlocks. Do not stop at the database: host CPU, memory, and disk I/O explain most database slowdowns, so pick a tool that shows both layers together.

Q: Does Datadog MySQL monitoring cost extra?

Yes. Database Monitoring is an add-on priced per database host per month, and it requires the base Infrastructure Monitoring subscription - you cannot buy it standalone. The bill therefore grows with your database host count on top of your existing infrastructure spend. Practitioners on r/mysql commonly cite Datadog’s cost as its main drawback, especially at fleet scale.

MySQL exposes its health through SHOW GLOBAL STATUS, Performance Schema, and InnoDB internals, and most generic monitors barely scratch that surface. We ranked 10 tools on query-level insight, replication visibility, deployment flexibility, and what the bill actually looks like at scale.

Start with Netdata (free) Jump to rankings

Why this list exists

MySQL monitoring is not a subset of infrastructure monitoring. A server agent that reports CPU and disk will tell you the database host is busy, but not why. The useful signals live in Performance Schema digests, InnoDB buffer pool behavior, wait events, and replication thread status, and the tools in this list differ enormously in how far below SHOW GLOBAL STATUS they actually go.

The mistake buyers make is picking a general-purpose platform and assuming its MySQL integration is deep enough. Then a replication lag incident or a lock storm happens, and the dashboard that looked fine in the demo has no query digests, no explain plans, and no per-thread replication detail. The fix is to decide, before you shortlist, which of these three dimensions actually decides the outcome for your team:

Query-level insight. Do you need explain plans, wait events, and query digests, or is metric-level monitoring (connections, QPS, buffer pool, lag) enough? This single question splits the field in half.
Deployment model. SaaS-only tools are out if you run air-gapped or compliance-bound MySQL. Self-hosted open source is in, but you operate it yourself, and that operational cost is real.
Cost shape at fleet scale. Per-host, per-monitor, per-GB-ingested, and quote-based models all behave differently when you go from 5 databases to 50.

One note on prices: we do not quote competitor list prices on this page. Vendor pricing changes, gets negotiated, and is often gated behind a sales call, so a number we print today would be wrong by the time you read it. Instead we describe the pricing shape and what makes the bill grow, and we link each vendor’s official pricing page so you can get the current figure yourself.

For hands-on configuration once you have picked a tool, our MySQL monitoring guides cover collector setup, alert tuning, and replication checks in operator-runbook form.

We assembled the shortlist from vendor documentation, practitioner threads on r/mysql, and category roundups from SigNoz, ScaleGrid, and Motadata, then verified each tool’s MySQL-specific claims against its official docs. Tools made the list only if they monitor MySQL as a first-class target, not as an afterthought plugin with three charts.

The heaviest weight went to MySQL metric depth and query-level insight, because that is what separates a database tool from a host monitor. Deployment flexibility came second: a surprising number of MySQL estates still run on-premises or air-gapped, and SaaS-only tools are disqualified there regardless of feature depth. Time-to-value, fleet scalability, alerting quality, cost of ownership, and ecosystem integrations filled out the remaining weight.

Tester credit

Compiled by the Netdata team - Updated August 12, 2026

Sources verified

Scoring criteria

MySQL metric depth and query-level insight 25%
Query digests, explain plans, wait events, replication topology - not just SHOW GLOBAL STATUS.
Deployment flexibility 20%
On-prem, air-gapped, hybrid, or SaaS-only.
Time-to-value and setup complexity 15%
Install to actionable dashboards and alerts.
Scalability and fleet management 15%
Many instances, replication topologies, large fleets.
Alerting and anomaly detection 10%
MySQL-aware alerts: slow queries, lag, connection saturation.
Total cost of ownership 10%
Self-hosted operations versus per-host or usage-based billing.
Ecosystem and integrations 5%
Correlation with host, application, trace, and log data.

Vendor 01 / 10 · #netdata

Netdata

High-resolution MySQL metrics with host-level context, ML anomaly detection, and a genuinely free starting point.

Best for

DBAs who want MySQL metrics plus host-level context in one pane
Teams that need high-resolution metrics and ML anomaly detection without building a stack
Fleets from a few nodes to thousands, with a free tier to start

Pricing

Agents are open source (AGPL) and free to run
Netdata Cloud Business is per-node, from $4.50/node/month on annual plans
Per-node price decreases as node count grows
Free Cloud tier covers small fleets

Pros

MySQL collector covers global status, InnoDB, replication, user statistics, and Galera metrics, with a default 5-second interval that is tunable
Live top-queries function reads performance_schema digests to surface the most resource-intensive SQL in real time
Built-in alerts for slow queries, replication lag, connection saturation, and Galera cluster health
800+ integrations put host, container, and application metrics next to MySQL for instant correlation during incidents
Machine learning trains on every metric to flag anomalies and cut false-positive alerts

Where teams pair it

No query explain plan capture; teams doing plan analysis pair it with PMM, Datadog DBM, or a SQL profiler
No slow query log parsing; slow query insight comes from performance_schema digests via the top-queries function
Query analytics are less structured than PMM’s dedicated Query Analytics UI

Verdict

Netdata leads this list because it is the only tool that combines deep MySQL coverage (InnoDB internals, replication, user statistics, Galera) with the host-level metrics that explain why the database slowed down, at a default 5-second resolution, with ML anomaly detection included. The live top-queries function gets you most of the way to query-level insight without a separate database monitoring product. The honest caveat: if your daily work is explain-plan analysis and slow query log forensics, pair Netdata with PMM or a profiler rather than replacing them. For everything from a single RDS instance to a fleet of thousands, the free tier makes evaluation a five-minute decision.

Start free -> See database monitoring ->

Vendor 02 / 10 · #percona-pmm

Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM)

The deepest open-source MySQL query analytics, built by the people who know MySQL internals best.

Best for

MySQL shops that want the deepest open-source query analytics
Teams running Percona Server, XtraDB Cluster, or MariaDB alongside MySQL
DBAs who want automated configuration and security checks from Percona Advisors

Pricing

Open source and self-hosted; you run and operate PMM Server and PMM Client
No per-node license fee for the software
Costs come from your own infrastructure plus optional Percona support and managed services
The bill grows with the infrastructure you run it on and the support coverage you buy

Pros

Query Analytics ranks every query by load and provides explain plans across MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB
Specialized dashboards for InnoDB, MyRocks, Performance Schema waits, replication, table statistics, and user statistics
Percona Advisors continuously scan for security gaps, misconfigurations, and performance problems
Built-in backup and restore with point-in-time recovery for MySQL and MongoDB
Works with Amazon RDS MySQL and Aurora MySQL, with a dedicated Aurora dashboard

Cons

Self-hosted only; you operate the PMM server yourself, and the server is Linux-only
No application tracing or log management; it is deliberately database-focused
Advanced features like advisors and backup management are tied to Percona’s support ecosystem

Verdict

If query-level MySQL analysis is the job, PMM is the strongest open-source answer on this page. Query Analytics with explain plans, Performance Schema wait dashboards, and Percona Advisors give a DBA more MySQL-specific depth than anything else here without a commercial license. The tradeoffs are structural: it is database-only, so you still need something else for host and application context, and it is self-hosted, so you own the operations. Many teams run PMM for query work alongside Netdata or Prometheus for everything around the database.

Percona PMM product page -> Percona PMM details ->

Vendor 03 / 10 · #datadog

Datadog Database Monitoring

Strongest commercial query-level MySQL monitoring, with explain plans and wait events inside a full SaaS platform.

Best for

Teams already standardized on Datadog for infrastructure and APM
Organizations that want managed SaaS with explain plans and wait event analysis
Cloud-native shops running MySQL on AWS, GCP, or Azure

Pricing

Database Monitoring is priced per database host per month, and requires the base Infrastructure Monitoring subscription - it cannot be bought standalone
The bill grows with database host count and custom metric volume
SaaS subscription only; no self-hosted option

Pros

Database Monitoring provides live and historical query snapshots, wait event analysis, database load, and query explain plans
Standard MySQL integration tracks throughput, connections, errors, and InnoDB metrics
Supports MySQL 5.6 through 8.4, MariaDB 10.5 through 11.4, and Percona 8.0/8.4
Agent-based collection needs minimal MySQL privileges
Correlates database metrics with APM traces and infrastructure metrics in one platform

Cons

SaaS-only; metrics leave your network
Per-database-host pricing on top of infrastructure pricing grows quickly for large fleets
Practitioners on r/mysql frequently cite cost as the main objection

Verdict

Datadog DBM is the most complete commercial package for MySQL query work: explain plans, wait events, and historical query analysis, all correlated with APM traces and host metrics. It genuinely does query-level correlation better than Netdata, and if your organization already pays for Datadog, adding DBM is the path of least resistance. The catch is the cost model. Database Monitoring is an add-on to a per-host infrastructure subscription, so large MySQL fleets compound two per-host bills, and there is no self-hosted escape hatch for air-gapped estates.

Read full Netdata vs Datadog -> Datadog pricing ->

Vendor 04 / 10 · #prometheus

Prometheus + Grafana + mysqld_exporter

The open-source DIY standard: mysqld_exporter scrapes MySQL into Prometheus, visualized in Grafana.

Best for

Kubernetes teams that already run Prometheus and prefer building their own dashboards
Organizations that need full control over metric storage and retention
Engineers comfortable assembling and maintaining a monitoring stack

Pricing

Open source and self-hosted; you run Prometheus, Grafana, mysqld_exporter, and Alertmanager yourself
No license fee, but the bill is your own storage and compute for retention, HA, and long-term querying
Optional Grafana Cloud subscription if you want hosted metrics instead

Pros

mysqld_exporter supports multi-target scraping, so one exporter can monitor many MySQL instances
Collectors cover global status, variables, InnoDB, Performance Schema events, replication, and heartbeat-based lag
PromQL and Grafana give unlimited dashboard flexibility
Huge ecosystem of exporters, alerting rules, and community dashboards

Cons

You assemble and operate the whole stack: exporter, Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, and long-term storage
No query explain plans or slow query log analysis out of the box
Default scrape intervals are typically 15 seconds, coarser than dedicated agents
Long-term retention requires additional components like Thanos or VictoriaMetrics

Verdict

Prometheus plus mysqld_exporter is the right answer if you already run Prometheus and want MySQL metrics in the same PromQL-queryable store as everything else. Multi-target scraping is a genuine operational win for large fleets. But be honest about what you are signing up for: you build every dashboard, tune every alert rule, and bolt on Thanos or VictoriaMetrics when retention matters. There is no query-level analytics layer, so slow query forensics means reaching for another tool. It is the most flexible option here and the most labor-intensive.

Read full Netdata vs Prometheus -> mysqld_exporter repo ->

Vendor 05 / 10 · #zabbix

Zabbix

Open-source full-stack monitoring with official MySQL templates and automatic replication discovery.

Best for

Organizations that want one open-source monitor for servers, network, and databases
Teams that need low-level discovery for MySQL databases and replication topologies
On-premise shops comfortable with a steeper initial setup

Pricing

Open source and self-hosted; you run Zabbix server, proxies, and agents
No license fee; a paid technical support subscription is available from Zabbix
The bill grows with the infrastructure you run it on

Pros

Official MySQL templates for Zabbix agent, agent 2, and ODBC, tested on MySQL 5.7 through 9.4, Percona 8.4, and MariaDB 10.6/11.8
Monitors connections, queries per second, slow queries, InnoDB buffer pool, row locks, and binlog cache
Low-level discovery auto-creates items for databases and replication masters
Replication triggers alert on lag, stopped I/O thread, and stopped SQL thread

Cons

Metric-level only; no query explain plans or slow query log analysis
Requires Zabbix agent and MySQL client setup on each host
Dated user interface compared to modern observability platforms
No application tracing or log management built in

Verdict

Zabbix is the best open-source choice when MySQL is one of many things you need to monitor and you want a single system of record. The official templates are genuinely good - replication thread triggers and low-level discovery are more MySQL-aware than most general-purpose tools manage. What you will not get is query-level analytics or a modern UI, and the initial setup asks more of you than a SaaS agent install. For on-premise shops already running Zabbix for network and server monitoring, adding the MySQL templates is the obvious move.

Read full Netdata vs Zabbix -> Zabbix pricing ->

Vendor 06 / 10 · #solarwinds

SolarWinds Database Observability

Microsecond-resolution query capture with passive agents, aimed at DBAs running mixed database estates.

Best for

DBAs who need per-query latency, throughput, and explain plans across mixed database estates
Teams that want SaaS collection without opening inbound network access
Organizations monitoring MySQL alongside SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL

Pricing

Per-database-instance subscription, quote-based with no public price list
The bill grows with the number of monitored database instances
30-day free trial available

Pros

Captures query-level metrics at microsecond resolution: latency, throughput, errors, warnings, index usage, and execution plans
Passive agents use network traffic capture and system views, using less than 1 percent CPU
Top Queries view provides per-second drill-down into query samples with EXPLAIN plans
Preconfigured dashboards for query throughput, latency, connections, and buffer pool usage

Cons

SaaS-only; no self-hosted option
Quote-based pricing makes budgeting a sales conversation
Full observability platform may be overkill for MySQL-only monitoring
Smaller community and review footprint than Datadog or New Relic

Verdict

On pure MySQL query instrumentation, SolarWinds is one of the strongest tools on this page. Microsecond-resolution capture with sub-1-percent-CPU passive agents is a real engineering achievement, and the per-second drill-down with EXPLAIN plans is exactly what a DBA wants during a latency investigation. The reasons it sits at rank six rather than three are commercial, not technical: quote-based pricing with no public list, SaaS-only delivery, and a platform scope that assumes you are monitoring several database engines, not just MySQL.

Read full Netdata vs SolarWinds -> SolarWinds MySQL page ->

Vendor 07 / 10 · #newrelic

New Relic

Query-level MySQL monitoring with explain plans and blocking sessions, correlated to application traces.

Best for

Teams that want MySQL metrics correlated with application traces and browser monitoring
Organizations already invested in New Relic for APM
Engineers who want query plans and wait events without running their own stack

Pricing

Usage-based: per-GB data ingestion plus per-user seats
The bill grows with data volume and the number of users on the account
A free tier with limited ingestion is available

Pros

On-host integration collects InnoDB, connection, query, replication, and backup metrics via the MysqlSample event
Query-level monitoring captures slow queries, individual queries, explain plans, wait events, and blocking sessions
Supports MySQL 5.7+ and MariaDB 10.x+ on Linux, Windows, Kubernetes, and Amazon ECS
Correlates database performance with distributed traces and real user monitoring

Cons

Usage-based pricing makes large MySQL fleets expensive and hard to predict
Per-user seat pricing punishes wide operations teams
SaaS-only; data leaves your network
MySQL-specific metric depth is shallower than dedicated database tools like PMM

Verdict

New Relic’s MySQL story is better than its reputation as an APM tool suggests: explain plans, wait events, and blocking session analysis are all there, and the trace-to-query correlation is the best argument for it. If your incident workflow starts in the application and drills down to the database, that correlation is worth paying for. The problem is the pricing model. Per-GB ingestion plus per-seat fees means both your data growth and your team growth push the bill, and forecasting either is harder than counting hosts. For cost-sensitive or air-gapped MySQL shops, look elsewhere on this list.

Read full Netdata vs New Relic -> New Relic pricing ->

Vendor 08 / 10 · #signoz

SigNoz

Open-source, OpenTelemetry-native observability that monitors MySQL through the OTel Collector.

Best for

Teams standardizing on OpenTelemetry for metrics, logs, and traces
Organizations that want an open-source Datadog alternative with MySQL dashboards
Kubernetes-native shops that prefer OTel collectors over proprietary agents

Pricing

Open source and self-hosted; you run and operate SigNoz yourself
No per-node license fee for the self-hosted option
SigNoz Cloud is available as a subscription where the bill grows with ingestion volume

Pros

Monitors MySQL via the OpenTelemetry Collector mysql receiver with a configurable collection interval
Pre-configured MySQL dashboard template for connection health and query metrics
Can emit query samples and top queries from performance_schema (experimental)
Unified metrics, logs, and traces in one open-source platform

Cons

MySQL query-level analytics are experimental and less mature than PMM or Datadog DBM
Requires running and configuring the OpenTelemetry Collector yourself
Some metrics require MySQL Enterprise edition or specific Performance Schema settings
Smaller ecosystem of MySQL-specific dashboards and alert rules than Zabbix or Prometheus

Verdict

SigNoz is the most interesting architectural bet on this list: if your organization is converging on OpenTelemetry as the collection standard, monitoring MySQL through the same OTel Collector as everything else removes a whole class of agent sprawl. The metric-level MySQL coverage and prebuilt dashboard are solid. The honest caveat is maturity: query samples and top queries are experimental, some metrics need specific Performance Schema configuration or MySQL Enterprise, and the MySQL-specific alerting ecosystem is thin. Choose it because you believe in the OTel strategy, not because it is the deepest MySQL tool here.

Read full Netdata vs SigNoz -> SigNoz pricing ->

Vendor 09 / 10 · #manageengine

ManageEngine Applications Manager

Agentless MySQL monitoring with slow query alerts and ML-based capacity forecasting for mid-market teams.

Best for

Mid-market teams on a tight budget that want agentless MySQL monitoring
IT teams that also monitor applications, servers, and cloud services from one console
Organizations that want ML-based forecasting for capacity planning

Pricing

Per-monitor subscription; the bill grows with the number of monitors
Free edition available with a limited number of monitors
On-premises and cloud deployment options

Pros

Agentless MySQL monitoring via the MySQL Java Connector with minimum user privileges
Tracks connections, requests, threads, table locks, key cache hits, replication, queries, sessions, and variables
Slow query monitoring with threshold alerts and root-cause reports
ML-based forecasting predicts growth and utilization trends
Integrates with ManageEngine APM to trace MySQL queries in Java, .NET, Node.js, and PHP applications

Cons

Metric-level MySQL coverage; no explain plans or wait event analysis
Monitor-count licensing adds up as the estate grows
Smaller community and fewer MySQL-specific integrations than Zabbix or Prometheus
UI and workflows feel dated compared to modern observability platforms

Verdict

Applications Manager is a pragmatic mid-market pick. Agentless collection over JDBC with minimal privileges is easy to get past a security review, the slow query threshold alerts cover the most common MySQL paging scenario, and the ML forecasting is genuinely useful for capacity planning conversations. What it cannot do is take you below the metric level: no explain plans, no wait events. If your MySQL troubleshooting regularly reaches the query plan, you will outgrow it. For IT teams that want one console for databases, servers, and applications at a predictable per-monitor cost, it does the job.

Read full Netdata vs ManageEngine -> ManageEngine pricing ->

Vendor 10 / 10 · #site24x7

Site24x7

Quick SaaS MySQL monitoring for small teams that want alerts without running any infrastructure.

Best for

Small and mid-size teams that want quick SaaS MySQL monitoring without running infrastructure
IT teams that also monitor websites, servers, and cloud services from one console
Organizations that want alerts routed to Slack, Microsoft Teams, and ServiceNow

Pricing

Per-monitor subscription; the bill grows with the number of monitors
30-day free trial available
SaaS-only

Pros

Monitors MySQL health, queries, throughput, latency, error statements, and replication groups
Tracks cache metrics, binlog, and transactional and non-transactional storage engines
Threshold-based alerts integrate with Slack, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, and other tools
Inventory reports and historical trend analysis support capacity planning

Cons

SaaS-only; no self-hosted option
MySQL monitoring is a plugin, not a deep database observability product
No query explain plans or wait event analysis
Per-monitor pricing grows with fleet size

Verdict

Site24x7 earns its place as the fastest route from nothing to MySQL alerting on this list. The plugin covers the metrics that matter for availability work - connections, throughput, replication groups, binlog - and the notification integrations mean alerts land where your team already lives. It is not a tool for performance engineering: there are no explain plans, no wait events, and no query digests. Small teams that need to know when MySQL is sick will be well served; teams that need to know why will want one of the tools ranked above it.

Read full Netdata vs Site24x7 -> Site24x7 pricing ->

Frequently asked questions

What MySQL metrics should I monitor?

What is the best open-source MySQL monitoring tool?

Netdata, Percona PMM, Prometheus, and Zabbix are the strongest open-source MySQL monitoring tools, each optimized for different needs. Netdata gives you high-resolution MySQL metrics with ML anomaly detection and a free Cloud tier. Percona PMM has the deepest query analytics, including explain plans. Prometheus with Grafana and mysqld_exporter offers maximum DIY flexibility. Zabbix covers MySQL as part of full-stack open-source monitoring with official templates. All four are self-hosted, so you run and operate them yourself - that operational cost is real even when the license is not.

How do I monitor MySQL slow queries?

Enable performance_schema and the slow query log on the server first. Netdata’s top-queries function then surfaces the most resource-intensive statements from performance_schema digests in real time. If you need explain plans alongside, Datadog Database Monitoring, SolarWinds, New Relic, and Percona PMM all provide query-level analytics with plan capture. Whatever the tool, set threshold alerts on slow query counts so you hear about degradation before users do.

Is Percona PMM free?

Can I monitor MySQL on AWS RDS?

Yes, though setup varies by tool. Percona PMM has a dedicated Amazon Aurora MySQL dashboard and supports RDS MySQL. Datadog Database Monitoring supports both RDS MySQL and Aurora. Netdata can monitor RDS through remote MySQL connections, since you cannot install an agent on the RDS host itself. Check each tool’s RDS-specific documentation for the required user privileges and Performance Schema settings.

How often should I collect MySQL metrics?

Aim for 1 to 5 seconds for production MySQL monitoring, balancing resolution against the query overhead that collection adds to the monitored server. Netdata defaults to 5 seconds for the MySQL collector (tunable) and 1 second for system metrics. Prometheus typically scrapes every 15 seconds. Busy production primaries may warrant a coarser interval, while a database you are actively diagnosing deserves the finest resolution your tool offers.

Does Datadog MySQL monitoring cost extra?

What is the difference between MySQL monitoring and database observability?

Monitoring tracks metrics: connections, queries per second, buffer pool hit rate, replication lag. Observability adds query-level analytics, explain plans, wait events, and correlation with application traces - the why, not just the what. Tools like Percona PMM, Datadog DBM, and SolarWinds sit at the observability end. Netdata bridges the two by adding ML-based anomaly detection and live performance_schema top queries on top of high-resolution metrics.

The best MySQL monitoring tools, ranked by someone who reads the fine print

How we evaluated MySQL monitoring tools

Netdata

Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM)

Datadog Database Monitoring

Prometheus + Grafana + mysqld_exporter

Zabbix

SolarWinds Database Observability

New Relic

SigNoz

ManageEngine Applications Manager

Site24x7

Frequently asked questions

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