# 3 Top-Rated Free Network Monitoring Software | Capterra > Looking for free network monitoring software? Check out these free tools users rate the highest, with research on benefits and pricing, and guidance on how to choose. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/top-rated-free-network-monitoring-software --- Digital SecurityIT & Software Development # 3 Top-Rated Free Network Monitoring Software By Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Published August 28, 2023 7 min read As an IT administrator, you don't want security breaches and issues arising in your network systems. But what can you do to eliminate the possibility of such violations in your system?  One solution is a [network monitoring tool](https://www.capterra.com/network-monitoring-software/) that effectively detects and addresses security and compliance issues within networks and maintains computer networks' health, performance, and safety. This article highlights, in alphabetical order, three top-rated free network monitoring software products based on verified software reviews. [Read more](#methodology). All the products in this article are dedicated network monitoring tools that offer features such as bandwidth monitoring, a centralized dashboard, and server monitoring. ## 1\. [iLert](https://www.capterra.com/p/207205/iLert/) iLert is a network management and incident-alerting platform for IT teams responsible for network performance monitoring. It monitors LAN-based and wireless network activity, maintains network uptime, and notifies teams if there are outages within the network or if specific devices showcase performance and connectivity issues. The free version of the software lets you set up automated alerts that get triggered when there are disruptions in the network. Once triggered, the software sends SMS, email, and push notifications on the mobile app to specific team members who can resolve the issues. You get up to 100 SMS and voice notifications with the free plan. **Free features of interest** - **SMS and voice notifications**: Sends up to 100 SMS and voice notifications to alert team members about network disruptions or device malfunctions.  - **Status page**: Provides a centralized status dashboard to check device connection status for all the devices in your network.  - **Priority-based notification rules**: Lets you define notification rules based on the priority of an alert. This lets you use more obtrusive alerting methods, such as voice and push notifications, for alerts that require immediate attention. **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone support ### Who should consider iLert? IT teams that require 24/7 on-call support for network outages and issues with devices in their network can take advantage of iLert. With its alerting and incident management capabilities, the software helps such teams respond quickly to server-monitoring incidents, troubleshoot problems, and ensure no device and network disruptions occur."\] _Analysis accurate as of August 2023_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $19 per month for up to three users (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty Pro tip Research the tool developer's reputation, commitment to updates, and overall support quality. Such considerations will help you pick the right vendor that is committed to providing quality service through its product. ## 2\. [ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.capterra.com/p/172325/ManageEngine-OpUtils/)  An IP address and switch port management tool first, ManageEngine OpUtils helps IT teams and network administrators track the status, availability, and configuration of network devices such as routers, switches, and servers. The software provides a media access control (MAC) address resolverfeature that lets you identify devices by their manufacturer and classify them in your network accordingly. You can also scan your network to identify devices with connectivity issues and assign them to specific team members for troubleshooting. **Free features of interest** - **MAC address resolver**: Helps identify the device vendor with the help of unique MAC addresses that get assigned to each physical device that is a part of your network. This feature can help you quickly determine the origin of a specific device in your network. - **Network scanner**: Scans and discovers devices in your entire network by specifying and configuring a range of IP addresses or subnets you want to scan. This feature helps identify active devices within your network.  - **DNS resolver**: Diagnoses domain name system (DNS)-related problems, such as IP address mismatches, and maps them to host devices.  **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone support ### Who should consider ManageEngine OpUtils? Network engineers and system administrators who manage multiple network devices can leverage ManageEngine OpUtils to perform IP address management, domain name system (DNS) resolution, and device discovery tasks. Such features can help make informed decisions about network optimization and capacity planning for connected devices.  _Analysis accurate as of August 2023_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade Available on quote #### Device Compatibilty Pro tip Ensure the security aspects that the free network monitoring software provides. These include access control and authentication for a network administrator and audit logs of user activities within your network. ## 3\. [Obkio](https://www.capterra.com/p/186876/Obkio/) Obkio is a device and network monitoring solution that offers end-to-end network infrastructure monitoring to IT teams. The software helps monitor local (LAN, VPN) and third-party networks (WAN, ISP, and internet peering).  Obkio's free plan allows you to monitor one device that is a part of your network. You can also monitor your device's CPU and detect intermittent network problems caused by high CPU usage. The software also measures and collects network performance history for up to seven days, so that you can analyze, compare, and troubleshoot performance from the past. **Free features of interest** - **CPU monitoring**: Detects intermittent network problems caused by high CPU usage. - **Interface bandwidth monitoring:** Monitor bandwidth usage and errors for network device interfaces. - **Network events**: Sends alerts for session up/session down, latency, jitter, packet loss, packet reordering, packet duplication, and mean opinion score(MOS).  **Customer support options**: Chat, email, and phone support ### Who should consider Obkio? Network administrators who face frequent network bottlenecks, latency, and other performance-related problems can utilize Obkio's real-time insights into network traffic patterns, bandwidth utilization, and application performance. These insights allow them to optimize network resources and ensure minimal packet loss. _Analysis accurate as of August 2023_ #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $399 per month for two users (billed annually) #### Device Compatibilty ## What is the cost of upgrading from a free network monitoring software plan to a paid one? Upgrading to a paid network monitoring software tool can cost as low as $15 per month or increase to $399+ per month, depending on various factors—number of devices and users in your network, integrations, and other features. A free network monitoring tool typically includes these subscription plans during upgrade: - **Free trial:** No-cost plans, ranging from 14 to 30 days, give users access to all or limited software features. - **Free version:** Free software plans offer basic features and limited premium feature access, ideal for small businesses or individuals with a limited budget. - **Entry-level:** Range between $15 to $18 per month and offer limited or unlimited access to device monitoring and management, website integrations, database monitoring, and other basic features. - **Mid-tier:** Range between $19 to $22 per month and offer unlimited access to network and device monitoring, advanced IP scanner, network bandwidth analyzer, and application vulnerability management.  - **High-end:** Range between $22 to $399+ per month and offer unlimited access to entry and mid-level features with priority customer support. ### Hidden costs associated with network monitoring software In addition to the software license itself, there may be charges associated with network monitoring software, including: - Additional users and devices in your network.  - Deployment and integration fees, which small businesses should budget for when considering a new network monitoring tool. ## Frequently asked questions when selecting free network monitoring software What types of monitoring does the software offer? Identify the types of monitoring supported by the software, such as bandwidth monitoring, device health monitoring, network configuration, and a network topology map, and check if such features align with your business requirements. Does the free software provide historical data and reporting? Historical data and reporting are crucial to analyzing network availability trends and devices' performance over time. Most free tools limit the availability of historical performance data, so finding a tool that provides such data without limits in its free plan is advised. What kind of integrations are available with the free plan? Check if the software provides cloud service and API integrations with its free plan. Such integrations help monitor network resources hosted in the cloud and integrate data and functionality with other systems and tools. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **Methodology** We selected three products with the highest ratings to feature in this article. To be considered for this list, products must: - Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within the past two years, with an average rating of 3.0 or higher (as of August 9, 2023).  - Offer a free, stand-alone version of the software (not a trial version of the software where you must purchase the product after a limited amount of time). - Meet our network monitoring software market definition: “_Network monitoring software tracks and monitors computer network systems for failed or delayed components and notifies network administrators of any network issues_” Read more about our editorial independence Product research for this article was contributed by [Akriti Sharma](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/akriti-sharma/). Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Capterra's [network monitoring software](https://www.capterra.com/network-monitoring-software/) directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in the Capterra directory that offer them. Only products with publicly available pricing information as of August 9, 2023, were considered for pricing calculation. * * * ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Ashish Upadhyay](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/aupadhyay/) Ashish Upadhyay is a writer at Capterra. He provides insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing over 550,000 Capterra user reviews and nearly 48,000 interactions between Capterra software advisors and buyers. 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