Softwr

Networking · head to head

Netdata vs ThousandEyes

Netdata logo

Netdata

Networking

Per-second metrics collection with automatic dashboards and on-node anomaly detection

From
Free
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

  • Only Netdata has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Netdata the dashboard interface is under a restrictive Netdata licence rather than GPL and is served from Netdata infrastructure by default, so the deployment is not fully self-contained without extra configuration.; ThousandEyes cisco does not publish a current definitive rate card, so any price a buyer finds online is likely outdated and should be confirmed directly with sales before budgeting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: Netdata covers Per-second collection, ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Netdata and ThousandEyes actually diverge.

Attributes where Netdata and ThousandEyes differ
AttributeNetdataThousandEyes
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote, unit-based consumption on annual or prepaid contracts
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, WindowsWeb, API

Identical on both: 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 Netdata

  • Per-second collection
  • Zero-configuration discovery
  • Edge machine learning
  • Tiered database engine
  • Streaming and replication
  • Health alarms

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.

Netdata

  • Diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirelynot ThousandEyes
  • Kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability costnot ThousandEyes
  • Adding dense host visibility to an estate that already has Prometheus for application metricsnot ThousandEyes
  • Small teams with no monitoring engineer who need working dashboards on the day of installationnot 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 Netdata
  • An organisation already standardised on Cisco networking wanting internet path monitoring that integrates with existing Cisco toolingnot Netdata
  • A company needing endpoint agent testing from real employee devices to reproduce user-reported performance issuesnot Netdata
  • An SRE team wanting aggregated internet outage and BGP visibility across a wide customer base rather than building that dataset themselvesnot Netdata

Where each one falls short

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

Netdata

  • The dashboard interface is under a restrictive Netdata licence rather than GPL and is served from Netdata infrastructure by default, so the deployment is not fully self-contained without extra configuration.
  • Retention is limited by disk on each node unless you build and maintain a parent tier, which makes it a poor archive for year-over-year capacity planning.
  • Per-second collection consumes noticeable CPU and memory on small or heavily loaded nodes, and on constrained edge hardware the monitoring becomes part of the problem.
  • Default alerting is generous and fires on conditions many teams consider normal, so the first weeks involve pruning alarms rather than responding to them.
  • Fleet-level features that make it usable across hundreds of nodes sit in Netdata Cloud, so the free agent alone leaves you visiting individual node dashboards.

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

Netdata

Free
  • Netdata AgentFree
    • GPLv3 agent with unlimited nodes
    • Per-second metrics and edge anomaly detection
    • Local dashboards and alerting
  • Netdata Cloud paid tiers$undefined/month
    • Per-node subscription for fleet management features
    • Role based access control and longer alert history
    • Business and enterprise support options

ThousandEyes

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Netdata if

  • You need per-second collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, Windows.
  • You also want zero-configuration discovery.
Netdata 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 Netdata or ThousandEyes better?
Neither clearly leads. Netdata starts at Free and ThousandEyes at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Netdata or ThousandEyes?
Netdata has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Netdata and On request for ThousandEyes.
Does Netdata or ThousandEyes run on more platforms?
Netdata runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Docker, Kubernetes, Windows. ThousandEyes runs on Web, API.
Can I use Netdata for free?
Yes. Netdata has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ThousandEyes starts at On request.
What is Netdata best used for?
Netdata is most often used for diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirely, kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability cost, adding dense host visibility to an estate that already has prometheus for application metrics, small teams with no monitoring engineer who need working dashboards on the day of installation. Of those, diagnosing a short-lived performance incident where one-minute averages hide the spike entirely and kubernetes clusters where per-series billing from a hosted vendor has become the largest observability cost are not what ThousandEyes is typically brought in for.
What can Netdata do that ThousandEyes cannot?
Netdata covers Per-second collection, Zero-configuration discovery, Edge machine learning, Tiered database engine. ThousandEyes covers Path visualisation, Cloud, enterprise and endpoint agents, Internet Insights, Cisco ecosystem integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Netdata: Is Netdata fully open source?

The agent is GPLv3. The current dashboard interface is under a separate restrictive licence, so the complete product is open core rather than open source.

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.

Netdata: Can it run without any connection to Netdata Cloud?

Yes, agents work standalone and dashboards can be served locally, but you lose fleet-wide views and need to configure local interface serving deliberately.

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.

Netdata: Does it replace Prometheus?

For host and container infrastructure metrics it often does. For custom application metrics with an existing exporter ecosystem and long retention, most teams keep both.

ThousandEyes: What is the minimum contract length?

12 months.

Share

Related pages

More on Netdata

More on ThousandEyes

Keep looking

Other head to heads