Best Self-Hosted Network Monitoring in 2026
Quick Picks
| Use Case | Best Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best for network infrastructure | LibreNMS | SNMP autodiscovery, 1,500+ device types, network topology mapping |
| Best for mixed environments | Zabbix | Monitors servers, network gear, and apps with 500+ templates |
| Best for simple uptime monitoring | Uptime Kuma | HTTP/TCP/DNS checks, 90+ notification channels, easiest setup |
| Best for real-time server metrics | Netdata | Zero-config auto-discovery, per-second metrics, 800+ charts |
The Full Ranking
1. LibreNMS — Best for Network Infrastructure
LibreNMS is purpose-built for monitoring network devices: switches, routers, firewalls, access points, and any SNMP-capable hardware. It autodiscovers your network topology using CDP and LLDP, supports 1,500+ device types out of the box, and provides detailed graphs for bandwidth, errors, and device health. If you’re running managed switches or enterprise networking gear, this is the tool.
Pros:
- SNMP autodiscovery with CDP/LLDP topology mapping
- 1,500+ supported device types (Cisco, Juniper, HP, Ubiquiti, MikroTik, and more)
- Network topology visualizations with automatic mapping
- Bandwidth graphs, error rates, interface utilization
- Alerting rules with customizable thresholds and notification channels
- Active community with device definitions updated regularly
- API for automation and integration
Cons:
- Overkill if you’re only monitoring servers (use Netdata or Zabbix instead)
- Requires SNMP configuration on network devices
- Heavier resource usage than simpler tools (2-4 GB RAM)
- Multi-container stack (web, database, poller, workers)
- Longer initial setup compared to Uptime Kuma
Best for: Network administrators monitoring switches, routers, firewalls, wireless controllers, and other SNMP-enabled infrastructure. Ideal for homelabs with managed switches or small business networks.
Resource Requirements:
- RAM: 2-4 GB (depends on device count)
- CPU: Medium (polling overhead scales with device count)
- Disk: 10+ GB for database and RRD files
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host LibreNMS]
2. Zabbix — Best for Mixed Environments
Zabbix monitors everything: servers, network devices, applications, databases, and cloud infrastructure. It supports agent-based monitoring (push metrics from servers), SNMP polling (network gear), HTTP checks (web apps), and IPMI (hardware sensors). With 500+ official templates and thousands more from the community, Zabbix scales from a homelab to enterprise datacenters. Choose this if you need one tool to monitor your entire infrastructure.
Pros:
- Monitors servers, network devices, applications, and services in one platform
- 500+ official templates (Linux, Windows, Docker, MySQL, Nginx, Proxmox, and more)
- Agent-based (Zabbix agent) and agentless (SNMP, HTTP, IPMI) monitoring
- Advanced alerting with dependency mapping and escalation workflows
- Powerful trigger expressions for complex conditions
- Network discovery and auto-registration for new hosts
- Web-based dashboard builder with widgets and graphs
- Distributed monitoring with proxy servers for remote sites
Cons:
- Complex initial configuration compared to Uptime Kuma or Netdata
- Multi-container stack (server, frontend, database, agent containers)
- Steep learning curve for advanced features
- Template syntax requires time to master
- Heavier resource usage (500 MB to 8+ GB RAM depending on scale)
Best for: Monitoring mixed infrastructure (Linux/Windows servers, Docker containers, network devices, databases, web apps). Perfect for users who want one comprehensive monitoring platform instead of multiple specialized tools.
Resource Requirements:
- RAM: 500 MB (minimal setup) to 8+ GB (hundreds of hosts)
- CPU: Medium to High (depends on agent count and polling intervals)
- Disk: 20+ GB for database (historical data retention)
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Zabbix]
3. Uptime Kuma — Best for Simple Uptime Monitoring
Uptime Kuma is the easiest network monitoring tool to deploy. It checks if your services are up via HTTP, TCP, DNS, Ping, and monitors response times. With 90+ notification integrations (Slack, Discord, Telegram, email, webhooks), you get instant alerts when something goes down. It’s a single Docker container with a clean web UI. If you just need to know when a service dies, start here.
Pros:
- Single-container deployment — simplest setup of any monitoring tool
- HTTP/HTTPS, TCP port, DNS, Ping, and keyword monitoring
- 90+ notification providers (Slack, Discord, Telegram, email, PagerDuty, webhooks)
- Public status pages for external visibility
- Certificate expiration monitoring
- Response time graphs and uptime percentages
- Beautiful, intuitive web interface
- Minimal resource usage (~100 MB RAM)
Cons:
- No SNMP support — can’t monitor network devices
- No detailed server metrics (CPU, RAM, disk) — use Netdata or Zabbix for that
- Limited historical data retention compared to enterprise tools
- No distributed monitoring or proxy agents for remote checks
- Single point of failure (if the container dies, monitoring stops)
Best for: Monitoring web services, Docker containers, and basic TCP services. Ideal for users who need uptime monitoring and alerting without the complexity of LibreNMS or Zabbix.
Resource Requirements:
- RAM: ~100 MB
- CPU: Low
- Disk: 1-2 GB for database
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Uptime Kuma]
4. Netdata — Best for Real-Time Server Metrics
Netdata collects per-second metrics from your servers with zero configuration. Install it, point your browser at port 19999, and you immediately see 800+ charts for CPU, RAM, disk I/O, network traffic, Docker containers, running processes, and more. It’s not a full monitoring solution (no SNMP, limited alerting), but for real-time visibility into server performance, nothing beats it.
Pros:
- Zero-config auto-discovery — install and it just works
- Per-second metric collection (most tools poll every 60 seconds)
- 800+ charts out of the box (CPU, RAM, disk, network, Docker, systemd services)
- Beautiful web UI with interactive graphs and drill-down
- Extremely lightweight (100-200 MB RAM per monitored server)
- Alarm notifications via Slack, Discord, email, PagerDuty, webhooks
- Docker container metrics without additional agents
- Open-source with no telemetry or phone-home
Cons:
- No SNMP support — doesn’t monitor network devices
- Limited historical data retention (in-memory by default)
- No centralized dashboard across multiple servers (use Netdata Cloud or Prometheus/Grafana)
- Alerting is basic compared to Zabbix or LibreNMS
- Not designed for large-scale infrastructure monitoring
Best for: Real-time visibility into server performance and troubleshooting. Perfect for Docker hosts, application servers, and any Linux/Windows machine where you need instant metrics. Use alongside Uptime Kuma (uptime checks) or Zabbix (infrastructure monitoring).
Resource Requirements:
- RAM: 100-200 MB per server
- CPU: Low
- Disk: 1-2 GB (disk-backed mode for historical retention)
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Netdata]
Full Comparison Table
| Feature | LibreNMS | Zabbix | Uptime Kuma | Netdata |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use Case | Network infrastructure | Full infrastructure | Uptime monitoring | Real-time server metrics |
| SNMP Support | ✅ (1,500+ devices) | ✅ (templates available) | ❌ | ❌ |
| Agent-Based Monitoring | ❌ | ✅ (Zabbix agent) | ❌ | ✅ (self-contained) |
| HTTP/TCP Checks | ✅ (via services) | ✅ (web scenarios) | ✅ (primary feature) | ❌ |
| Setup Complexity | Medium | High | Very Low | Very Low |
| Container Count | 4-6 | 3-5 | 1 | 1 |
| RAM Usage | 2-4 GB | 500 MB - 8+ GB | ~100 MB | 100-200 MB |
| Metric Interval | 5 minutes (SNMP) | 60 seconds (default) | 60 seconds (default) | 1 second |
| Historical Retention | Years (RRD) | Configurable (PostgreSQL) | Days to weeks (SQLite) | Hours to days (memory/disk) |
| Alerting | Advanced (rules, thresholds) | Very Advanced (triggers, dependencies) | Basic (up/down) | Basic (thresholds) |
| Notification Channels | 20+ | 50+ | 90+ | 20+ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Best For | Network admins | Mixed infrastructure | Simple uptime | Server performance |
Choosing the Right Tool
Start with Uptime Kuma If…
- You need uptime monitoring for web services and Docker containers
- You want the simplest possible setup (one container, 5 minutes)
- You don’t need detailed server metrics or network device monitoring
- You’re monitoring fewer than 50 services
- You want a clean, modern web interface
Use Netdata If…
- You need real-time visibility into server performance
- You’re troubleshooting performance issues (CPU spikes, memory leaks, disk I/O)
- You want per-second metrics instead of 1-minute averages
- You’re monitoring Docker hosts or application servers
- You don’t need SNMP or network device monitoring
Choose LibreNMS If…
- You’re monitoring managed switches, routers, firewalls, or access points
- You need network topology mapping and bandwidth graphs
- You have SNMP-enabled devices (Cisco, Juniper, Ubiquiti, MikroTik, HP)
- You want interface utilization, error rates, and optical signal levels
- You’re running a homelab with managed network gear or a small business network
Choose Zabbix If…
- You need one tool to monitor servers, network devices, applications, and databases
- You’re managing 10+ servers or a mix of Linux/Windows/Docker/VMware
- You want advanced alerting with dependency mapping and escalation
- You need distributed monitoring across multiple sites (Zabbix proxies)
- You’re comfortable with a steeper learning curve for enterprise-grade features
Multi-Tool Strategy
Most self-hosters run multiple monitoring tools because each excels at different things:
Common combinations:
- Uptime Kuma + Netdata: Simple uptime checks (Uptime Kuma) + real-time server metrics (Netdata)
- LibreNMS + Netdata: Network infrastructure monitoring (LibreNMS) + server performance (Netdata)
- Zabbix + Grafana: Comprehensive monitoring (Zabbix) + beautiful dashboards (Grafana)
- Uptime Kuma + LibreNMS: Service uptime (Uptime Kuma) + network gear (LibreNMS)
The tools are not mutually exclusive. Uptime Kuma monitors service availability. Netdata monitors server performance. LibreNMS monitors network devices. Zabbix does all three but requires more setup.
How We Evaluated
We tested each tool in a homelab environment with:
- 3 Linux servers (Ubuntu 22.04, Docker hosts)
- 2 managed switches (Ubiquiti UniFi and MikroTik)
- 1 router/firewall (pfSense)
- 10+ Docker containers running self-hosted services
- 20+ HTTP/HTTPS services to monitor
Evaluation criteria:
- Setup time: How long from
docker compose upto first useful metrics - Resource usage: Measured RAM/CPU on a 4-core, 8 GB server
- Device/service coverage: SNMP support, agent availability, HTTP checks
- Alerting flexibility: Notification channels, threshold configuration, dependency logic
- Data retention: How long historical data is stored by default
- Community and documentation: GitHub activity, available templates/device definitions
- Ease of use: Web UI quality, configuration complexity, learning curve
All tools were tested with default configurations before tuning. Resource usage numbers reflect real-world deployments, not vendor marketing claims.
Final Verdict
For most self-hosters: Start with Uptime Kuma. Deploy it in 5 minutes, monitor your critical services, and get instant alerts when something breaks. Add Netdata if you need server performance metrics.
For network admins: Use LibreNMS. If you’re running managed switches, routers, or enterprise networking gear, LibreNMS’s SNMP autodiscovery and topology mapping justify the heavier resource usage.
For mixed environments: Choose Zabbix. If you’re monitoring 10+ servers, network devices, databases, and applications, Zabbix’s unified platform saves you from juggling multiple tools. The learning curve is steep but the payoff is worth it.
For real-time troubleshooting: Run Netdata on every server. Per-second metrics make performance issues obvious. It’s lightweight enough to run everywhere.
The best monitoring setup is the one you’ll actually check. A simple tool you use daily beats a complex tool you ignore.
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