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Networking · head to head

LibreNMS vs Ory Kratos

LibreNMS logo

LibreNMS

Networking

Free, community-driven network monitoring with commercial support sold by a third-party partner, not the project itself

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory Kratos logo

Ory Kratos

Cybersecurity

Headless identity and user management API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LibreNMS there is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market; Ory Kratos headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • They diverge on capability: LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Ory Kratos covers Headless API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LibreNMS and Ory Kratos actually diverge.

Attributes where LibreNMS and Ory Kratos differ
AttributeLibreNMSOry Kratos
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partnerOpen-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network
PlatformsLinux, WebLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryNetworkingCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 LibreNMS

  • SNMP auto-discovery
  • Device and OS support
  • Alerting
  • API
  • Distributed polling

Only in Ory Kratos

  • Headless API
  • Self-service flows
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Pluggable identity schemas

What people use each for

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

LibreNMS

  • A network team wanting SNMP-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deploymentnot Ory Kratos
  • An organisation with in-house Linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contractnot Ory Kratos
  • A team wanting an alternative to Icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoringnot Ory Kratos
  • A company wanting SLA-backed support for LibreNMS but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner insteadnot Ory Kratos

Ory Kratos

  • Products needing complete control over the look and flow of authenticationnot LibreNMS
  • Applications that must not hand user identity data to a third partynot LibreNMS
  • Teams building identity as infrastructure across several servicesnot LibreNMS

Where each one falls short

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

LibreNMS

  • There is no official LibreNMS company; commercial support runs through a single designated third-party partner, Config Services Ltd, rather than a broad vendor support market
  • Self-hosting and maintaining LibreNMS requires real Linux and SNMP expertise, and there is no vendor obligated to fix issues without a separate paid support arrangement
  • Device and OS support quality varies because it is community-contributed, so obscure or newer hardware may have thinner or less accurate polling templates than mainstream vendors
  • The web interface, while functional, is less polished out of the box than commercial tools like PRTG, and dashboard customisation takes more manual configuration
  • Scaling to a very large device count requires manually configuring distributed polling, which is more operational work than a SaaS tool that scales transparently
  • Project direction depends on community and contributor priorities rather than a company roadmap, so feature development pace and priorities can be less predictable than a commercial vendor's

Ory Kratos

  • Headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • More moving parts than a monolithic IAM: Kratos handles identity, and OAuth2 needs Ory Hydra alongside
  • Documentation assumes real familiarity with identity concepts and is not a gentle introduction
  • Self-hosting identity carries the security and availability burden that hosted providers absorb

Pricing, plan by plan

LibreNMS

Free
  • LibreNMSFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community forum and GitHub support

Ory Kratos

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full identity server
    • All flows
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose LibreNMS if

  • You need snmp auto-discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want device and os support.
LibreNMS review

Choose Ory Kratos if

  • You need headless api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want self-service flows.
Ory Kratos review

Questions people ask

Is LibreNMS or Ory Kratos better?
Neither clearly leads. LibreNMS starts at Free and Ory Kratos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LibreNMS or Ory Kratos?
LibreNMS starts at Free and Ory Kratos at Free.
Does LibreNMS or Ory Kratos run on more platforms?
LibreNMS runs on Linux, Web. Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use LibreNMS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is LibreNMS best used for?
LibreNMS is most often used for a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment, an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract, a team wanting an alternative to icinga that is focused specifically on network device polling rather than general infrastructure monitoring, a company wanting sla-backed support for librenms but without wanting to build that capability in-house, contracting the designated partner instead. Of those, a network team wanting snmp-based device monitoring with zero licence cost and full control over the deployment and an organisation with in-house linux and networking expertise that does not need a vendor support contract are not what Ory Kratos is typically brought in for.
What can LibreNMS do that Ory Kratos cannot?
LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Device and OS support, Alerting, API. Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LibreNMS: Is LibreNMS really free with no paid tier of the software?

Yes, the software itself has no licence fee; only optional third-party support is paid.

Ory Kratos: Is Ory Kratos free?

Yes, open source and free to self-host. Ory Network is a paid managed service.

LibreNMS: Who provides paid support?

Config Services Ltd is the designated partner offering SLA-backed support and consultancy for LibreNMS.

Ory Kratos: What does headless mean here?

Kratos provides identity flows as APIs and no user interface. You build the login, registration and recovery screens yourself.

LibreNMS: Does LibreNMS require SNMP access to every device?

Yes, its core monitoring approach relies on SNMP polling, so devices must have SNMP enabled and reachable.

Ory Kratos: Does Kratos do OAuth2?

No. Kratos handles user identity; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider functionality is Ory Hydra, a separate component.

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