PRTG Network Monitor vs. UniFi WiFi Access Points

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PRTG
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
PRTG Network Monitor is the flagship offering from German software company Paessler, for monitoring local and wide area networks (LANs & WANs), servers, websites, apps, and more.
$2,149
per year
UniFi WiFi Access Points
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Ubiquiti Networks in San Jose provides the UniFi wi-fi access points. The enterprise products support 1,000+ client capacity, long-range 6 GHz performance, and 10 GbE PoE connectivity with native high availability architecture for critical enterprise environments.N/A
Pricing
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Editions & Modules
PRTG 500
$2,149
per year
Hosted 500
$2,149
per year
PRTG 1,000
$3,899
per year
Hosted 1000
$3,899
per year
PRTG 2,500
$8,099
per year
Hosted 2500
$8,099
per year
PRTG 5,000
$14,199
per year
Hosted 5000
$14,199
per year
PRTG 10000
$17,899
per year
PRTG Enterprise
Custom Pricing
subscription license
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PRTGUniFi WiFi Access Points
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Considered Both Products
PRTG
Chose PRTG Network Monitor
PRTG offers more versatility in monitoring when compared to the other solutions we tested. The other solutions were also limited as far as customization options, which made them less adaptable to our networks.

When compared to Auvik, for instance, we prefer PRTG as it offers …
UniFi WiFi Access Points

No answer on this topic

Features
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Network Performance Monitoring
Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of Product A and Product B
PRTG Network Monitor
7.7
66 Ratings
4% below category average
UniFi WiFi Access Points
-
Ratings
Automated network device discovery7.859 Ratings00 Ratings
Network monitoring9.565 Ratings00 Ratings
Baseline threshold calculation7.756 Ratings00 Ratings
Alerts8.866 Ratings00 Ratings
Network capacity planning6.347 Ratings00 Ratings
Packet capture analysis6.933 Ratings00 Ratings
Network mapping6.646 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable reports6.856 Ratings00 Ratings
Wireless infrastructure monitoring7.548 Ratings00 Ratings
Hardware health monitoring9.063 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Small Businesses
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Score 9.3 out of 10
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Score 9.3 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(66 ratings)
9.0
(51 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(5 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(18 ratings)
2.4
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PRTG Network MonitorUniFi WiFi Access Points
Likelihood to Recommend
Paessler
integrates seamlessly with Windows servers via WMI and PowerShell, providing deep insights into resource usage, performance metrics, and system health. It's excellent at tracking CPU, memory, disk space, and event logs, enabling rapid troubleshooting and proactive maintenance. PRTG Network Monitor also effectively monitors Fortigate devices, providing detailed data on firewall health, traffic patterns, bandwidth utilization, VPN status, and security alerts. This visibility helps detect and resolve network security issues promptly.
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Ubiquiti Networks
I love the equipment for small-scale commercial solutions and quality without the price tag. I might not recommend their products for a large organization with multiple locations and servers. However, the GUI interface will allow remote access and setup across the network. I think this is a great solution for small businesses and families or home office solutions, provided there is some IT knowledge for setup and maintenance.
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Pros
Paessler
  • Switch monitoring and finding out if there are communication issues or throughput alerts are reached
  • Big picture view of the whole infrastructure and what is functioning and what is not
  • Uptime tracking is great and lets us know for how long a device is down or overall uptime
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • Ubiquti WLAN is very easy on setup for fast deployment.
  • The monitoring software is offered at different level. Cloudkey, or just throwing up their free controller on a PC somewhere.
  • It also does a great job of publishing timely updates to firmware, and addressing bug issues.
  • The ease of the interface, without adding a bunch of fluff, makes this literally the best out there in my opinion.
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Cons
Paessler
  • Licensing on a per entity basis can be cumbersome for devices which have a ton of monitoring points like network switches\routers. Each sensor may count against a license, which could be a lot of you were monitoring every TX\RX of an SFP for example
  • A better method to easily template\copy monitors across devices
  • The navigation in the web GUI could be a little more straightforward in terms of the hierarchy
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • Initial configuration of access points can be rather tricky. Each one I have installed was a complete pain to get setup and connected with the UniFi Controller software. I never worked out what causes me problems, but thankfully once I've stumbled through the correct procedure, it does work completely reliably after that, for years on end.
  • The UniFi Controller software will nag you to share usage data. When offered to opt-in, I choose not to do so, but you'll eventually be nagged again on a future login.
  • Some of the 'tooltips' within the Controller software could be more informative.
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Likelihood to Renew
Paessler
I would renew it because the platform has brought us many technical and economic benefits that make the cost-benefit ratio very good. Additionally, to do so does not require large investments in training, licensing or infrastructure, and at the administration level, extensive knowledge is not required to be able to bear it.
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Ubiquiti Networks
No answers on this topic
Usability
Paessler
The tool is very intuitive to use and it is Windows-based (everybody knows how to use Windows) so it's easy to get into. Every time is setup in a hierarchy so if you have a good initial hierarchy design, it will really reduce administrative effort down the road.
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Ubiquiti Networks
Ubiquiti makes great Access points at various tiers provided far better coverage and throughput than consumer-grade wireless repeaters and routers. We have not had any performance complaints from guests or from the administration who use the wifi on a daily basis.
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Support Rating
Paessler
PRTG does everything we need it to do and more. Ease of use, ease of management and maintenance and clarity of monitoring of hundreds of different types of device and service gives this a large advantage over other products on the market that I have tried. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a network monitoring product in their environment and even to people who don't know they need a solution yet!
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Ubiquiti Networks
Ubiquiti support is minimal, which is said to help decrease the cost of the equipment. However, with many reports of emails going directly to the Ubiquiti support line taking days to hear a response, you're better off either engaging with the community forums for help from fellow UniFi users or reaching out to a reseller that has training on the equipment that can assist.
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Implementation Rating
Paessler
It's very important that de project's teams have different member of the TI. We have learned too late the importa of Security Analyst at the design architecture moment. We have to rebuild part of the implementation for made this big mistake.
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Ubiquiti Networks
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Paessler
PRTG offers more versatility in monitoring when compared to the other solutions we tested. The other solutions were also limited as far as customization options, which made them less adaptable to our networks. When compared to Auvik, for instance, we prefer PRTG as it offers immediate notifications through the desktop client - not limited to email notifications as with Auvik. We also appreciate the fact that PRTG can be self/on-prem hosted vs Auvik's cloud model. This makes for an easier deployment and less firewall adjustments to allow traffic to cloud-hosted solutions.
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Ubiquiti Networks
Ubiquiti is overall easier to work with. There is no special training needed to accomplish many of the things required with a Cisco product. Since my time is stretched thin, I need something that I can manage without being weighed down by command-line communications. Also, I am able to use my wireless devices to maintain every Ubiquiti device on my network.
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Return on Investment
Paessler
  • The ability to analyze multiple pieces of information in one place, especially with historical data, has saved our IT department time and headaches. It would be so much more difficult to trace an issue without PRTG, just relying on event logs and an open task manager window.
  • The cost is not cheap, so it's an expense that hits the bottom line like everything else. Figure in hardware costs as well, ideally a server outside of your main environment.
  • I keep saying this, but the historical data piece is worth so much. There's really no good way to collect all of that information in one place without something like PRTG. And that definitely saves time and money in the long run.
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • Can't say it enough, prices are awesome, so ROI is very high IMHO.
  • Remote cloud management allows me to service more clients at greater distances.
  • Project estimates become much more attractive when you can show the savings vs more expensive solutions.
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