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Networking · head to head

Twingate vs Zabbix

Twingate logo

Twingate

Networking

Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zabbix logo

Zabbix

Networking

Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Twingate the control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.; Zabbix the database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • They diverge on capability: Twingate covers Outbound only connectors, Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Twingate and Zabbix actually diverge.

Attributes where Twingate and Zabbix differ
AttributeTwingateZabbix
Pricing modelPer user per monthOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, DockerLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web

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 Twingate

  • Outbound only connectors
  • Per resource access
  • Identity provider integration
  • Device posture checks
  • Split routing
  • Access logging

Only in Zabbix

  • Agent and agentless collection
  • Templates
  • Low-level discovery
  • Distributed proxies
  • Trigger expressions
  • Escalation actions

What people use each for

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

Twingate

  • Retiring a VPN concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticatesnot Zabbix
  • Giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate networknot Zabbix
  • Reaching private cloud resources across several accounts without building peering and bastion hostsnot Zabbix
  • Producing per user access logs for an audit that a network level VPN cannot supplynot Zabbix

Zabbix

  • A service provider monitoring thousands of customer devices where per-device commercial licensing is the largest line itemnot Twingate
  • Branch or industrial sites with unreliable links that need local collection and bufferingnot Twingate
  • Mixed estates where the same tool must poll SNMP switches, Linux hosts, Windows servers and Java applicationsnot Twingate
  • Replacing an aging Nagios installation while keeping script-based checks that already existnot Twingate

Where each one falls short

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

Twingate

  • The control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • Every device needs the client installed and running, so unmanaged machines, appliances and third parties who will not install software are awkward to accommodate.
  • Pricing is per user per month, so an organisation with many occasional contractors pays full seats for accounts that connect twice a month.
  • Connections are client initiated, so server initiated flows back to a user device, and protocols that need arbitrary inbound reachability, do not fit the model.
  • It replaces remote access but not site to site networking, so an organisation that also needs offices and datacentres meshed together still runs a second network product alongside it.

Zabbix

  • The database is the scaling limit, and high frequency polling grows history tables fast enough that untuned installations hit housekeeping stalls and query timeouts within months.
  • Initial configuration is heavy; getting useful alerting rather than noise requires understanding trigger expressions, macros and template inheritance, which is a multi-week learning curve for a team new to it.
  • The AGPLv3 change at version 7.0 affects anyone offering Zabbix over a network as part of a commercial service, and that obligation is easy to inherit accidentally during an upgrade.
  • The web interface is functional rather than pleasant, and many sites end up running Grafana alongside it purely for presentation, which is a second system to maintain.
  • Upgrades between major versions touch the database schema and can take hours on large history tables, so the maintenance window is proportional to how much data you kept.

Pricing, plan by plan

Twingate

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Small number of users
    • Limited remote networks
    • Community support
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month billing
    • Device posture checks
    • Identity provider group sync
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom terms and volume pricing
    • Advanced controls and support commitments
    • Dedicated onboarding

Zabbix

Free
  • ZabbixFree
    • No device, node or metric limits
    • Full feature set with no paid edition of the software
    • AGPLv3 from version 7.0 onward
  • Zabbix Technical Support$undefined/year
    • Tiered subscriptions with defined response times
    • Access to Zabbix engineers for configuration and performance issues
    • Bug fix priority and backports

Which should you pick?

Choose Twingate if

  • You need outbound only connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
  • You also want per resource access.
Twingate review

Choose Zabbix if

  • You need agent and agentless collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want templates.
Zabbix review

Questions people ask

Is Twingate or Zabbix better?
Neither clearly leads. Twingate starts at Free and Zabbix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Twingate or Zabbix?
Twingate starts at Free and Zabbix at Free.
Does Twingate or Zabbix run on more platforms?
Twingate runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker. Zabbix runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Twingate for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Twingate best used for?
Twingate is most often used for retiring a vpn concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticates, giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate network, reaching private cloud resources across several accounts without building peering and bastion hosts, producing per user access logs for an audit that a network level vpn cannot supply. Of those, retiring a vpn concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticates and giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate network are not what Zabbix is typically brought in for.
What can Twingate do that Zabbix cannot?
Twingate covers Outbound only connectors, Per resource access, Identity provider integration, Device posture checks. Zabbix covers Agent and agentless collection, Templates, Low-level discovery, Distributed proxies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Twingate: Can I self host it?

No. Connectors run in your network but the control plane is a hosted service, which is the main structural difference from the open source mesh tools.

Zabbix: Is Zabbix genuinely free for commercial use?

The software has no licence fee at any scale. From version 7.0 it is AGPLv3, so offering it as a network service to third parties carries source distribution obligations.

Twingate: Does it replace a site to site VPN?

No. It is remote access from users to resources. Connecting networks to each other is a different product category.

Zabbix: What is the real cost of running it?

Database administration and the person who tunes it. Budget for PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB and someone who owns the retention policy.

Twingate: What happens if Twingate is unavailable?

Established sessions may continue, but new connections depend on the hosted service to broker them, so plan a break glass path for administrators.

Zabbix: How does it compare to a commercial per-device tool?

It removes the licence line entirely and adds an operations line. Below a few hundred devices the commercial tool is often cheaper in total; above that Zabbix wins clearly.

Twingate: Is the free tier usable for a small team?

For a handful of users and a small number of remote networks, yes. Group based policies and posture checks are the practical reason to move up.

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