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SolarWinds Observability is positioned for hybrid IT teams that want deployment choice across monitoring domains. Replacing it means deciding whether you still need one broad platform or can split metrics, infrastructure monitoring, and network intelligence. Open-source options can remove vendor subscription fees, but shift server operation and tuning to your team. Hosted alternatives price telemetry or users differently. Treat Reddit reports of renewal increases as signals to model your own inventory and contract, not as a quote.
01Why people leave SolarWinds Observability
Renewal terms can change the economics
One sysadmin thread describes a move from perpetual licenses to subscription renewal and a quoted 70% increase; commenters report different renewal experiences.
Device tiers affect the bill
A commenter reports node-based pricing and a 500-device tier. Compare your own inventory and contract terms before treating any quoted increase as typical.
Self-hosting still needs data-boundary checks
A Reddit evaluation thread asks what telemetry leaves an on-prem deployment. Confirm telemetry controls, data handling, and export paths before rollout.
02The alternatives, ranked by fit
- Flexible telemetry stack
GrafanaGrafanaGrafana fits teams consolidating telemetry or already using OpenTelemetry or Prometheus. Its free plan and open-source option give you room to build around existing signals; the listed starting price is $19. Before migrating dashboards and alerts, map their data sources and check API, SDK, and export requirements. The pricing description also flags that bills can grow with telemetry use.
Trade-off: You own more integration choices, and telemetry growth can raise hosted costs.
7.6/10from
$19/mofree plan - Self-hosted metrics
PrometheusPrometheusPrometheus is a direct fit if your replacement scope is metrics: it is open source, self-hostable, and uses PromQL, with a listed $0 free plan. It avoids usage fees for the software, but your team runs the servers. Plan the move around which metrics and queries you need to preserve, and verify API and SDK fit for your instrumentation.
Trade-off: You operate the servers, and the scope is metrics rather than a broad observability suite.
7.8/10from
Freefree plan - Self-hosted infrastructure
ZabbixZabbixZabbix targets teams that want self-hosted infrastructure monitoring and want to avoid per-device license fees. It is open source, with a free plan listed, so it is worth evaluating when subscription costs drive the change. Budget engineering time for setup and tuning, then validate how your existing monitoring workflows map before planning a cutover.
Trade-off: Setup and tuning take hands-on work; listed pricing is n/a.
7.8/10from
Freefree plan - Hosted observability
New RelicNew RelicNew Relic suits teams that want hosted coverage across observability tools and incident response rather than operating monitoring servers. Its listing has a free plan and a $10 starting price, with a free ingest allowance to evaluate. Model both ingest and user costs against production telemetry, and confirm API and SDK coverage for the signals and workflows you plan to move.
Trade-off: Ingest and user costs can rise as the deployment scales.
7.2/10from
$10/mofree plan - Observability and security
DatadogDatadogDatadog is an option for teams consolidating observability and security, especially those operating Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure. The listed starting price is $500, and usage costs require telemetry management. Before shifting agents, dashboards, and alert workflows, estimate the signals you will send and check API, SDK, and data-export requirements against your codebase.
Trade-off: Usage costs and telemetry hygiene need ongoing attention.
6.2/10from
$500/mo - Automation and tracing
DynatraceDynatraceDynatrace is worth comparing if your replacement needs span observability, automation, and user monitoring. Its listed starting price is $7, but costs and integration details need review before production. Treat migration as an instrumentation and workflow change: confirm supported integrations and API or SDK coverage, then validate the resulting bill against expected usage.
Trade-off: Costs and integration details need checking before production.
7.1/10from
$7/mo - Network intelligence
KentikKentikKentik is the most focused choice here for network operations, multi-cloud infrastructure, and traffic investigations, rather than a general replacement for every observability domain. Its listing shows a $2,000 starting price and annual pricing. Compare its integrations with your network data sources and confirm API fit, pricing terms, and the migration path for existing traffic workflows.
Trade-off: Its focus is network intelligence, and annual pricing needs review.
6.8/10from
$2,000/mofree plan
03Side by side
| Tool | Score | From | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SolarWinds Observability SolarWinds Observability (current) | 6.3 | $8/mo | No | Hybrid IT operations teams |
| Grafana Grafana | 7.6 | $19/mo | Yes | Teams consolidating telemetry signals |
| Prometheus Prometheus | 7.8 | Free | Yes | Teams monitoring systems and services |
| Zabbix Zabbix | 7.8 | Free | Yes | Teams with self-hosting capacity |
| New Relic New Relic | 7.2 | $10/mo | Yes | Teams consolidating observability tools |
| Datadog Datadog | 6.2 | $500/mo | No | Teams consolidating observability and security |
| Dynatrace Dynatrace | 7.1 | $7/mo | No | Teams consolidating observability tools |
| Kentik Kentik | 6.8 | $2,000/mo | Yes | Network operations teams |
Questions people ask
What is the best open-source SolarWinds Observability alternative?
Prometheus is the clearest fit for teams seeking open-source, self-hosted metrics and PromQL. Zabbix is another self-hosted, open-source option for infrastructure monitoring, with no per-device license fees listed. Both shift server operation to your team; Zabbix also requires setup and tuning.
Which alternative avoids per-device license fees?
Zabbix is listed for teams avoiding per-device license fees, and its plan is marked free. Prometheus also has a $0 free plan, but it is a metrics system rather than broad infrastructure monitoring. In either case, account for the engineering work and infrastructure needed to run a self-hosted service.
What should we check before migrating from SolarWinds Observability?
Inventory the signals, dashboards, alerts, and workflows you rely on, then confirm the replacement supports the API, SDKs, and integrations your codebase needs. Check data export and retention requirements, and estimate costs using your expected telemetry, users, or devices. For self-hosted choices, include server operations and tuning in the migration plan.