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Networking · head to head

LibreNMS vs Prometheus

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
Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Networking

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

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; Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • They diverge on capability: LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LibreNMS and Prometheus actually diverge.

Attributes where LibreNMS and Prometheus differ
AttributeLibreNMSPrometheus
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partneropen-source
PlatformsLinux, WebLinux, macOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 LibreNMS

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

Only in Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

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

Prometheus

  • Monitoring and alerting systemnot LibreNMS
  • Time-series databasenot LibreNMS
  • Infrastructure metrics collectionnot 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

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

Pricing, plan by plan

LibreNMS

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

Prometheus

Free
  • Prometheus (Open Source)Free
    • 100% open source
    • Community-driven project
    • Apache 2 License

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 Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus review

Questions people ask

Is LibreNMS or Prometheus better?
Neither clearly leads. LibreNMS starts at Free and Prometheus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LibreNMS or Prometheus?
LibreNMS starts at Free and Prometheus at Free.
Does LibreNMS or Prometheus run on more platforms?
LibreNMS runs on Linux, Web. Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Prometheus is typically brought in for.
What can LibreNMS do that Prometheus cannot?
LibreNMS covers SNMP auto-discovery, Device and OS support, Alerting, API. Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery.

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.

Prometheus: What does Prometheus cost?

Prometheus is completely free and open source. There are no pricing tiers or paid plans. The entire project is licensed under Apache 2 and hosted on GitHub.

Source
LibreNMS: Who provides paid support?

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

Prometheus: Is Prometheus commercial software or free?

Prometheus is 100% open source and community-driven. It is a CNCF graduated project with no commercial restrictions or licensing fees.

Source
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.

Prometheus: How is Prometheus licensed?

Prometheus is licensed under the Apache 2 License, which permits free use, modification, and distribution for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

Source
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