Softwr

Networking · head to head

Kentik vs ThousandEyes

Kentik logo

Kentik

Networking

Network observability platform built on flow and traffic data, sold on annual-only contracts starting around $24,000/year

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThousandEyes logo

ThousandEyes

Networking

Internet and network path monitoring, owned by Cisco but still sold as a standalone product on its own annual contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kentik contracts are annual only, so there is no monthly option for a team wanting to trial the platform under real production load before committing to a year of spend; ThousandEyes cisco does not publish a current definitive rate card, so any price a buyer finds online is likely outdated and should be confirmed directly with sales before budgeting
  • They diverge on capability: Kentik covers Flow-based traffic analysis, ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kentik and ThousandEyes actually diverge.

Attributes where Kentik and ThousandEyes differ
AttributeKentikThousandEyes
Pricing modelAnnual contract only, per tierquote, unit-based consumption on annual or prepaid contracts

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, API), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Networking).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kentik

  • Flow-based traffic analysis
  • Synthetic testing
  • Cloud network monitoring
  • DDoS detection
  • API-driven querying

Only in ThousandEyes

  • Path visualisation
  • Cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents
  • Internet Insights
  • Cisco ecosystem integration
  • Unit-based consumption billing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kentik

  • A network engineering team at an ISP or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoringnot ThousandEyes
  • A cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providersnot ThousandEyes
  • A security or network operations team wanting DDoS detection layered on top of standard traffic monitoringnot ThousandEyes
  • A team needing synthetic testing alongside passive flow analysis in one platform rather than two separate toolsnot ThousandEyes

ThousandEyes

  • A network operations team at a large enterprise needing to diagnose whether a performance problem sits inside their network, with an ISP, or at the destinationnot Kentik
  • An organisation already standardised on Cisco networking wanting internet path monitoring that integrates with existing Cisco toolingnot Kentik
  • A company needing endpoint agent testing from real employee devices to reproduce user-reported performance issuesnot Kentik
  • An SRE team wanting aggregated internet outage and BGP visibility across a wide customer base rather than building that dataset themselvesnot Kentik

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kentik

  • Contracts are annual only, so there is no monthly option for a team wanting to trial the platform under real production load before committing to a year of spend
  • The Pro tier's $24,000/year starting price is a serious commitment relative to general infrastructure monitoring tools, and it is aimed specifically at flow-level traffic visibility rather than general host monitoring
  • Add-on modules for advanced DDoS protection, service provider analytics and the Firehose pipeline are priced separately, so real deployment cost frequently exceeds the Pro sticker price
  • Premier tier pricing is entirely quote-based, so organisations needing more than Pro's limits (50 users, 1,000 FPS, 120-day retention) cannot get a number without a sales conversation
  • It is a specialised flow and traffic analytics tool, not a general infrastructure monitoring platform, so most buyers will still need a separate tool like PRTG or Icinga for host and service uptime checks
  • Data retention is capped at 120 days for traffic and 45 days for forensic data even on Pro, which may be short for organisations with longer compliance or investigation requirements

ThousandEyes

  • Cisco does not publish a current definitive rate card, so any price a buyer finds online is likely outdated and should be confirmed directly with sales before budgeting
  • A 12-month minimum contract removes the option to trial the platform under real production load on a shorter commitment
  • Unit-based consumption billing across different test types is not always intuitive to forecast, and usage can grow unpredictably as more tests and agents are added
  • Since the Cisco acquisition, purchasing now runs through Cisco's broader enterprise sales and licensing process, which can be slower and less transparent than dealing with a smaller standalone vendor
  • Deep Cisco ecosystem integration is a real advantage only for organisations already standardised on Cisco; it offers less differentiated value for a non-Cisco shop
  • Endpoint agent pricing tiers (Essentials versus Advantage) gate meaningfully different capability, and choosing the wrong tier at signup can mean a contract renegotiation to get needed features

Pricing, plan by plan

Kentik

On request
  • Pro$24000/year
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 flows per second baseline
    • 2.5M synthetics credits
  • Premier$undefined/year
    • 1,000 users
    • 5M synthetics credits
    • Custom dimensions and scheduled reporting

ThousandEyes

On request
  • ThousandEyes$undefined/year
    • Cloud and enterprise agent testing
    • Endpoint agents
    • Internet Insights

Which should you pick?

Choose Kentik if

  • You need flow-based traffic analysis.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want synthetic testing.
Kentik review

Choose ThousandEyes if

  • You need path visualisation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents.
ThousandEyes review

Questions people ask

Is Kentik or ThousandEyes better?
Neither clearly leads. Kentik starts at On request and ThousandEyes at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kentik or ThousandEyes?
Kentik starts at On request and ThousandEyes at On request.
Does Kentik or ThousandEyes run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Kentik best used for?
Kentik is most often used for a network engineering team at an isp or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoring, a cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providers, a security or network operations team wanting ddos detection layered on top of standard traffic monitoring, a team needing synthetic testing alongside passive flow analysis in one platform rather than two separate tools. Of those, a network engineering team at an isp or large enterprise needing flow-level traffic visibility beyond basic uptime monitoring and a cloud-heavy organisation wanting visibility into cloud provider network cost and performance across multiple providers are not what ThousandEyes is typically brought in for.
What can Kentik do that ThousandEyes cannot?
Kentik covers Flow-based traffic analysis, Synthetic testing, Cloud network monitoring, DDoS detection. ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation, Cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents, Internet Insights, Cisco ecosystem integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kentik: Is there a monthly billing option?

No, Kentik states contracts are annual only.

ThousandEyes: Is ThousandEyes still sold as a standalone product after the Cisco acquisition?

Yes, it remains a distinct, purchasable product line rather than being merged into another Cisco offering.

Kentik: What is the entry price?

Pro starts at $2,000/month billed as $24,000/year for 50 users and baseline flow and synthetics quotas.

ThousandEyes: Is there a published, current price list?

No, Cisco does not publish a definitive current rate card; historical unit prices exist online but should not be treated as confirmed 2026 pricing.

Kentik: Does Kentik replace general infrastructure monitoring tools like PRTG?

No, it is focused on flow-based traffic and network observability rather than general host and service uptime monitoring.

ThousandEyes: What is the minimum contract length?

12 months.

Share

Related pages

More on Kentik

More on ThousandEyes

Keep looking

Other head to heads