10 Best Server Monitoring Tools & Software [2025 Reviews]

Server monitoring is a core responsibility for DevOps teams, SREs, and IT operations professionals. Effective server monitoring helps you maintain uptime, optimize resource usage, detect incidents early, and troubleshoot issues across physical, virtual, cloud, and containerized environments. With a wide range of solutions available, choosing the right solution can be challenging. 

In this guide, we will review the best server monitoring tools, focusing on their technical capabilities, pros and cons, pricing, and best-fit scenarios to help you make an informed decision.

• New to server monitoring solutions and comparing for first-time adoption? → Start here.
• Adding a new tool to a multi-stack setup? → Find out how to choose.
• Trying to replace a current service? Transitioning from traditional logging to observability? →  Go to complete tool comparisons.
• Ready to buy? → Check out Sematext’s recommendation.

Jump to: All tools at a glance | Full tool reviews | Sematext’s SaaS | How to choose

What Is Server Monitoring?

Server monitoring is the practice of systematically tracking the health, performance, availability, and resource utilization of servers and their infrastructure. It is a critical component of DevOps, enabling teams to detect issues promptly, troubleshoot efficiently, optimize server performance, and ensure reliability of services and applications.

The monitoring solution of your choice should be able to track these key server components:

• CPU: The percentage of CPU utilization should ideally be peaking to its maximum only rarely, and the peaks should be short. If the CPU is maxed out frequently or very close to the max even during non-peak periods, it’s a sign the system doesn’t have much headroom.
• Used memory: If this indicator is reaching your memory limit, you might want to think about horizontally scaling your servers or adding more RAM.
• Storage: Being aware of disk storage utilization is crucial in production systems—if the disks run out of space, system crashes will ensue.
• Network: By monitoring network bandwidth and throughput, you can see how traffic is being delivered to your server.

The industry is full of tools that help you achieve these goals. Below are our top picks.

Comparison Summary

Here’s a quick side-by-side view of the top server monitoring tools we recommend. Scroll horizontally to see the full comparison.

Tool	Agent/ Agentless	Automated Discovery	Resource Consumption	Log Correlation	Anomaly Detection/ AI	OOB Dashboards	OOB Alerting	Compliance & Audit	Ease of Deployment	Pricing Model	Price Flexibility	Price Value*
Sematext	Agent (lightweight)	Yes	Very low	Yes	Yes (higher plans)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-host, usage-based	High	$$
SolarWinds SAM	Agentless (agent optional)	Yes	Low	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-node license	Medium	$$
Dynatrace	Agent	Yes	Very low	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Very easy	Usage-based, per-hour	High	$$$$
Datadog	Agent	Yes	Low to Moderate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-host, tiered	High	$$
New Relic	Agent	Yes	Low to Moderate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-GB ingest, per-user	High	$$
ManageEngine OpManager	Agentless (agent optional)	Yes	Low	Yes (event logs)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-device, tiered	Medium	$$
AppDynamics	Agent (OpenTelemetry / classic)	Yes	Low	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Per-vCPU, tiered	Low	$$$
Prometheus/ Grafana	Agent / Exporter	Yes	Low (Prometheus). Moderate (Grafana)	No (unless extended)	Yes (Grafana Cloud/Enterprise, plugins)	Yes (Grafana). Minimal (Prometheus)	Yes	Optional (Grafana Enterprise)	Moderate	Free (self-hosted), per-metric (cloud)	High	$**
Sensu Go	Agent	Yes	Low	No	No	Yes	Yes	No explicit mention	Moderate	Per-node, tiered, free up to 100	High	$**
Nagios XI	Agent / Agentless	Yes	Low to Moderate	Yes (log file analysis)	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Moderate	Per-node, tiered, free up to 7	Medium	$**

* Price Value benchmarked on a common scenario: 50 hosts, ~30-day metric retention, mid-tier feature set, 3 power users.

** Self-hosted open source tools have lower direct costs but they require significant internal resources for managing setup and infrastructure. Thus, the TCO (total cost of ownership) is always higher than it appears initially. 

Top Server Monitoring Tools Reviewed

1. Sematext Monitoring

Sematext Monitoring provides unified server monitoring tools for bare metal, VMs, Kubernetes, containers, and cloud instances using a lightweight agent. Its automated discovery and setup process simplifies onboarding, while customizable dashboards and built-in alerting help you visualize and respond to infrastructure health issues in real time. Sematext’s log correlation and inventory monitoring features support rapid troubleshooting and compliance needs.

Key Features

• Lightweight agent (~40 MB RAM, ~1% CPU) to minimize server resource use.
• Automatic discovery of running processes, installed packages, and services for inventory and compliance.
• Correlates server, pods, and container metrics with logs for easier troubleshooting.
• Prebuilt dashboards and alert rules for key server metrics (CPU, memory, disk, swap, load) with customizable thresholds.
• Monitors servers across cloud and container platforms like AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and Docker.
• Anomaly detection and reporting to spot unusual server behavior (in higher plans).

Pros and Cons

Sematext is easy to set up and has a lightweight agent, which helps reduce the load on your servers. Its ability to automatically discover processes and correlate metrics with logs makes troubleshooting server issues faster. The tool works well across cloud, on-prem, hybrid, and container environments. Some advanced features, like anomaly detection, are only available in higher plans. Compared to open-source options, Sematext is less customizable at the code level but requires less manual setup and maintenance.

Pricing

Sematext’s pricing is usage-based, starting at $2.8/host/month (Basic) with higher tiers for extended retention and advanced features. Unlimited users and sources are included. A 14-day free trial is available, and custom plans can be arranged for larger deployments.

Best for

Sematext is a strong choice if you want fast setup, minimal agent overhead, and unified monitoring. It’s well-suited for DevOps teams and SREs who need strong log correlation, inventory/compliance features, and transparent, usage-based pricing. Sematext is likely to fit well if you value quick onboarding and broad integration support, or if you’re overwhelmed by the high cost that comes with other server monitoring service providers such as Datadog, Dynatrace, New Relic, or Splunk AppDynamics.

2. SolarWinds Server & Application Manager

SolarWinds SAM is a SaaS delivering end-to-end monitoring for servers and applications across on-premises, virtualized, and cloud environments. It provides agentless monitoring, application dependency mapping, and hardware health checks, making it suitable for complex, hybrid IT infrastructures.

Key Features

• Agentless hardware health checks for physical and virtual servers from multiple vendors.
• Maps application dependencies to show how servers and services are connected.
• Forecasts server resource needs to help with scaling and avoid running out of capacity.
• Correlates server performance metrics with application and infrastructure data in hybrid environments.
• Ready-made monitoring templates for server-related services like Active Directory, SSL, Windows Server, and Docker.

Pros and Cons

SolarWinds SAM provides strong server monitoring, especially for hardware health and capacity planning across different vendors. Its agentless approach makes deployment easier, but it may not capture as much detail as agent-based solutions. The platform is feature-rich, but setup and customization can be complex for smaller teams or those new to monitoring. Its focus on mapping dependencies and forecasting resource needs is helpful for managing larger server environments.

Pricing

SolarWinds offers a simple, transparent per-node pricing model for its Monitoring & Observability platform, starting at $6 per node/month with volume discounts available for larger on-prem, hybrid, or cloud-native deployments. You can choose the fully managed SolarWinds Observability SaaS (starts at $12/month, 30-day free trial) or self-hosted deployment (starts at $6/node/month)

Best for

SAM is a good fit if you require agentless monitoring, hardware health checks, and deep application/server dependency mapping in hybrid or on-premises environments. It’s especially suitable for IT operations teams, MSPs, and enterprises that need integration with other SolarWinds modules and compliance support.

3. Dynatrace

Dynatrace provides automated, AI-powered server monitoring across physical, virtual, cloud, and containerized environments. Its agent auto-discovers infrastructure, applications, and dependencies, and uses AI for anomaly detection and root cause analysis.

Key Features

• Automatically detects and monitors new servers, VMs, and containers as they appear.
• Tracks network usage at the process level to see which processes use the most bandwidth.
• Detects virtualization events (like vMotion) and tracks server performance in virtual environments.
• Uses AI to learn normal server behavior and spot anomalies.
• Maps server dependencies to show how issues affect the wider infrastructure.

Pros and Cons

Dynatrace stands out for its automated server discovery and process-level monitoring, which helps you quickly spot resource issues and network bottlenecks. Its AI-driven anomaly detection can reduce manual effort in identifying server problems. The tool’s depth and automation may be more than needed for smaller teams. Pricing is geared towards enterprises and can be complex if your server usage changes often.

Pricing

Infrastructure monitoring starts at $0.04/hour per host, with full-stack monitoring at $0.08/hour per 8 GiB host. Kubernetes and other capabilities are priced separately. Usage is billed hourly, with discounts for annual commitments. A free trial is available.

Best for

Dynatrace is best suited for organizations that need automated discovery, AI-powered anomaly detection, and unified observability across large, dynamic, or complex infrastructures. If you value process-level metrics, minimal manual configuration, and advanced root cause analysis, Dynatrace is likely to meet your needs—especially in enterprise or cloud-native settings.

Read a more comprehensive guide on Sematext vs. Dynatrace to learn more about how these two platforms stack up against each other! We also have a comprehensive comparison between all Dynatrace alternatives.

4. Datadog

Datadog offers server monitoring as a service with unified observability across metrics, traces, and logs. Its tag-based approach enables granular investigation, and its extensive integration library supports a wide range of environments and technologies.

Key Features

• Collects server metrics using tags for detailed filtering and analysis.
• Visualizes server health and usage with host and container maps.
• Gives rightsizing recommendations based on past CPU and memory usage.
• Detects anomalies and outliers in server metrics to highlight problem hosts.
• Live process monitoring for deep server investigations (Enterprise tier).

Pros and Cons

Datadog makes it easy to monitor servers in real time, with strong filtering and visualization solutions for large or dynamic environments. Its tag-based approach and rightsizing recommendations help optimize server resources. However, Datadog is a pretty expensive tool to have as costs can add up with many hosts or custom metrics, and some advanced server monitoring features are only in higher tiers. Datadog is straightforward to use but may require tuning to avoid alert fatigue.

Pricing

Free tier for up to 5 hosts. Pro tier starts at $15/host/month (annual), with higher pricing for enterprise features and security add-ons. Add-ons and volume discounts are available. A 14-day free trial is offered.

Best for

Datadog is a strong option if you want unified, real-time monitoring with deep integrations and automated insights for hybrid, cloud, and container environments. It’s well-suited for DevOps, SRE, and IT operations teams that need granular, tag-based alerting and a scalable SaaS platform. If you require robust integration with cloud providers, CI/CD, and collaboration tools, Datadog is worth considering.

Check out a more in-depth comparison between Sematext and Datadog or our comprehensive list of Datadog alternatives.

5. New Relic

New Relic provides unified infrastructure and application monitoring, correlating server health with application performance and deployment changes. Its entity mapping and change tracking features support rapid troubleshooting and root cause analysis.

Key Features

• Tracks changes to correlate server health with deployments or config updates.
• Automatically maps server dependencies for faster root cause analysis.
• High-density views to spot health issues across many servers at once.
• Combines server metrics, logs, and events for better troubleshooting.
• Unlimited server monitoring with per-GB pricing, not per host.

Pros and Cons

New Relic gives you a clear view of server health and lets you track how changes affect performance. Its mapping of server dependencies and high-density views are useful for large server fleets. The per-GB pricing model can be cost-effective if you have many servers but moderate data volumes, yet its multi-tier, per-GB-plus-user structure can become significantly complex. Some advanced features require higher plans, and costs may rise with heavy data ingestion.

Pricing

Free tier includes 100 GB/month data ingestion and one full platform user. Standard edition charges $0.35/GB beyond the free limit, with additional user-based fees. Pro and Enterprise editions offer more features and support at higher prices.

Best for

New Relic is a good fit if you need unified infrastructure and application monitoring with change tracking and per-GB pricing. It’s especially useful for DevOps and SRE teams operating in hybrid or multi-cloud environments, and for organizations with compliance requirements. If you want to correlate deployment changes with server health and application performance, New Relic is likely to be effective.

Not sure what’s the best pick? Get a more detailed review from our Sematext vs. New Relic comparison guide. You can also discover even more options in our New Relic alternatives comparison.

6. ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager is a comprehensive server and network monitoring platform supporting multi-vendor, hybrid, and distributed environments. It offers real-time tracking, automated remediation, and security/event log monitoring.

Key Features

• Monitors server health and uptime using SNMP, WMI, ICMP, and TCP for mixed environments.
• Automates restarting or stopping server processes and services remotely.
• Monitors security and event logs on Windows and Linux servers for unauthorized access or failed logins.
• Severity-based alerts and workflow automation for fixing server issues.
• Shows hardware health for physical servers and IPMI devices.

Pros and Cons

OpManager covers a wide range of server monitoring needs, including hardware health, process management, and security log monitoring. The interface can be complex for new users, and some advanced automation features are only in higher editions. 

Pricing

Free edition monitors up to 3 devices. Standard edition starts at $245 for 25 devices, with higher tiers for larger environments and advanced features. Licensing is device-based, and add-ons are available for extended functionality.

Best for

ManageEngine OpManager is well-suited for IT operations teams, MSPs, and enterprises that need centralized, real-time monitoring for multi-vendor, hybrid, or distributed environments. If you require security/event log monitoring, automation, and compliance support, or if you manage data centers or regulated environments, OpManager is a strong candidate.

7. Splunk AppDynamics

Splunk AppDynamics delivers full-stack observability, correlating server, application, and business performance across hybrid and on-premises environments. It combines server monitoring with APM, business analytics, and security monitoring.

Key Features

• Monitors server resources with process-level details (CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU).
• Automated health rules to detect when server resources cross set thresholds.
• Uses AI/ML to spot unusual server resource usage.
• Supports both agent-based and OpenTelemetry data collection for different server setups.
• SAP server monitoring with detailed diagnostics and dashboards (add-on).

Pros and Cons

AppDynamics provides detailed server resource monitoring and process-level insights, which help with troubleshooting and capacity planning. Its automated health rules and AI-based anomaly detection can reduce manual checks. Some features, like SAP monitoring, are add-ons. The pricing model is based on vCPU, which may not fit all server setups and can become pretty expensive. The platform may be more complex than needed for basic server monitoring.

Pricing

Infrastructure edition starts at $6/vCPU/month (annual), with higher tiers for advanced application and business analytics. Add-ons are available for security, RUM, synthetics, and SAP monitoring. A 30-day free trial is offered.

Best for

AppDynamics is a strong choice if you want full-stack observability with business impact analytics, AI/ML-driven insights, and SAP/Cisco integration. It’s best for enterprise IT and DevOps teams that need to correlate server health with application and business performance, especially in complex, hybrid, or mission-critical environments.

Want to see how Sematext stacks up? Check out our page on Sematext vs AppDynamics.

8. Prometheus and Grafana

Prometheus (for metrics collection and alerting) and Grafana (for visualization and dashboarding) form a popular open-source stack for server monitoring. Prometheus uses a pull-based model and supports extensive service discovery, while Grafana provides advanced visualization and alerting capabilities.

Key Features

• Pulls server metrics using service discovery for dynamic environments like Kubernetes and cloud.
• Exporters collect detailed server stats (e.g., node_exporter for Linux/Windows).
• PromQL enables advanced queries and aggregations on server metrics.
• Alertmanager handles label-based server alerts and notifications.
• Grafana supports version-controlled dashboards for server monitoring.

Pros and Cons

Prometheus and Grafana are highly flexible for server monitoring, especially in dynamic or cloud-native environments. You can collect detailed server metrics and build custom dashboards, but you need to manage setup, scaling, and maintenance yourself. Unlike managed solutions, you are responsible for updates and ensuring high availability.

Pricing

Both tools are free and open source when self-hosted. Grafana Cloud offers a free tier and paid plans for managed hosting, increased retention, and enterprise features.

Best for

Prometheus and Grafana are ideal if you want open-source, highly customizable monitoring for Kubernetes, microservices, or cloud-native environments. This stack is best for teams comfortable with open-source tools and infrastructure management. It’s also a good choice if you want to avoid vendor lock-in and need flexibility in your observability pipeline.

9. Sensu Go

Sensu Go is an open-core observability pipeline designed for dynamic, cloud-native, and ephemeral infrastructure. It supports monitoring as code, automated registration/deregistration, and extensive integrations, enabling you to efficiently monitor physical, virtual, and cloud-based servers with repeatable, scalable configurations.

Key Features

• Uses code-based configuration for server monitoring, making it easy to version and automate.
• Automatically registers and deregisters servers in dynamic environments like cloud or Kubernetes.
• Advanced filtering and routing to reduce noise from server alerts.
• Supports multiple metric formats (Nagios, Prometheus, StatsD) for both old and new server setups.
• Can trigger automated fixes when server issues are detected.

Pros and Cons

Sensu Go is flexible for server monitoring, especially in dynamic or cloud environments. Its code-based configuration and automated registration make it easy to manage changing server fleets. The solution supports both legacy and modern metric formats, which helps with migrations. Initial setup may take more effort than managed tools, and some enterprise features require a paid plan.

Pricing

Free for up to 100 nodes. Pro plan is $3/node/month (annual, min 100 nodes), and Enterprise is $5/node/month (annual, min 300 nodes), with commercial features and support included.

Best for

Sensu Go is ideal if you want monitoring as code, automated registration for dynamic infrastructure, and extensive integration options. It’s a good fit for DevOps, SRE, and operations teams migrating from legacy tools or needing scalable, code-driven monitoring for cloud-native, ephemeral, or multi-cloud environments.

10. Nagios XI

Nagios XI is a widely used infrastructure monitoring platform with a focus on extensibility, multi-tenancy, and centralized monitoring.It delivers a comprehensive set of server monitoring features via built-in checks and a large plugin ecosystem.

Key Features

• Bulk import and auto-discovery to quickly add many servers for monitoring.
• Setup wizards for common server checks (CPU, memory, disk, network).
• Predicts server failures using historical data to prevent downtime.
• Multi-tenant monitoring and role-based access for managing servers across teams or clients.
• Centralized log analysis to detect server security issues and errors.

Pros and Cons

Nagios XI is strong for centralized server monitoring, with bulk import and auto-discovery making it easier to manage large environments. Its predictive failure analysis and log monitoring help prevent downtime and spot security issues. The interface and setup can be complex, especially for new users, and scaling to very large environments may need extra planning. Some advanced features are only in the Enterprise add-on.

Pricing

Free edition monitors up to 7 nodes or 100 services. Standard edition starts at $2,495 for 100 nodes, with higher pricing for larger environments and Enterprise add-ons. Support is included in paid licenses.

Best for

Nagios XI is a good option if you need a customizable, extensible platform with multi-tenant support and a large plugin library. It’s suitable for IT operations teams, MSPs, and enterprises requiring centralized monitoring for servers, applications, and networks, with compliance and audit features. If you want to leverage a mature, community-driven tool for diverse or distributed infrastructure, Nagios XI is a good contender.

So, What Is the Best Server Monitoring Solution for You?

At the end of the day, all server performance monitoring tools get the job done, one way or the other, for more or less money. Choosing the right one depends on your organization’s requirements and the resources—effort and money—you have to invest. Below are a few key aspects to look for in your solution to ensure effective monitoring:

1. Performance metrics: Monitoring CPU load, memory usage, disk I/O, network traffic, and latency to identify issues and trends.
2. Availability and uptime monitoring: Regularly verifying that your servers respond correctly to requests, ensuring minimal downtime.
3. Resource management: Analyzing resource usage patterns to plan capacity and scaling requirements accurately.
4. Alerts and notifications: Immediate alerts triggered by thresholds or incidents, enabling you to respond promptly to problems.
5. Log monitoring and analysis: Collecting and analyzing server logs for troubleshooting, identifying errors, and maintaining compliance.
6. Anomaly detection: Use machine learning to automatically identify unusual patterns or deviations, reducing manual threshold configuration.
7. Identity federation and access control: Integration with your existing identity management solutions (LDAP, SAML, SSO), allowing secure and streamlined user access management.
8. Minimal configuration overhead: Minimal setup and ongoing maintenance, offering practical default settings for alerts and dashboards, reducing the time spent on tool management.
9. Total cost of ownership: Minimal operational complexity, maintenance overhead, and overall costs compared to managing self-hosted platforms.

To make it easier, here is a quick guide to help you pick the right one for your scenario:

If you...	Pick this tool…
Need fast setup, low overhead, unified monitoring, and strong log correlation.	Sematext, Datadog, New Relic
Prefer agentless monitoring, hardware checks, and integration with IT modules.	SolarWinds SAM, ManageEngine OpManager
Want open-source, highly customizable monitoring for cloud-native environments and don’t mind investing time in maintenance.	Prometheus/Grafana, Sensu Go, Nagios XI
Need automated discovery, AI-driven insights, and unified observability.	Dynatrace, AppDynamics
Require a customizable, extensible platform with multi-tenant support.	Nagios XI, ManageEngine OpManager
Need full-stack observability with business analytics and SAP/Cisco integration.	AppDynamics, Dynatrace
Want monitoring as code and automated registration for dynamic infrastructure.	Sensu Go, Prometheus/Grafana
Have a generous budget.	Datadog, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, New Relic

Wrap-Up

Selecting the right server monitoring tool depends on your infrastructure complexity, team expertise, integration needs, and budget. 

Evaluate your specific requirements—such as automation, compliance, integration, and scalability—and consider trialing a few tools to see which best fits your workflows and infrastructure. Each tool reviewed here brings unique strengths to server monitoring, helping you maintain reliability, optimize resources, and respond quickly to incidents in your DevOps journey.If you’re still unsure, give Sematext a go! With the 14-day free trial you get access to all its capabilities to help you decide whether this is the best server monitoring tool for you and your team.

 

Images: courtesy of brands.

 

Author Bio

Nilesh Jayanandana
Nilesh is an accomplished Software Architect with over eight years of industry experience. Skilled in developing full-stack applications, cloud computing, DevOps, and SRE. Expert in all things related to Kubernetes and the Cloud Native stack. He is passionate about assisting the community by sharing information via media articles and speaking at community events. Nilesh is now working as an architect on the development of an iPaaS solution based on Kubernetes.