SHSelfHostIndex

Cacti vs Icinga 2

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
CA Cacti RRDtool-based network graphing and monitoring solution VS IC Icinga 2 Scalable monitoring system that watches hosts and networks
FeatureCactiIcinga 2
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score85 · Excellent86 · Excellent
CategoryMonitoring & StatusMonitoring & Status
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePHPC++
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, docker, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 1,871★ 2,239
First released20012014
ReplacesPRTG, SolarWindsSolarWinds, PRTG

What are Cacti and Icinga 2?

Cacti

Cacti is a complete network graphing solution that harnesses RRDtool for data storage and graphing. It polls devices over SNMP and scripts, presenting historical performance data through a web interface.

  • RRDtool-based graphing
  • SNMP and script polling
  • Plugin architecture
  • Templating for devices

Read the full Cacti guide →

Icinga 2

Icinga 2 is a modern monitoring system that checks the availability of network resources and notifies users of outages. It is Nagios-compatible, scales across clusters, and pairs with Icinga Web for a polished interface.

  • Distributed cluster monitoring
  • REST API for automation
  • Nagios plugin compatibility
  • Modern Icinga Web UI

Read the full Icinga 2 guide →

Cacti vs Icinga 2: key differences

Cacti is written in PHP, while Icinga 2 is built with C++. Cacti is the more established project (first released 2001), while Icinga 2 arrived in 2014.

Why pick each one

Choose Cacti if…

  • Mature and reliable
  • Detailed graph templates

Watch out for

  • Dated interface
  • Configuration can be tedious
Cacti details

Choose Icinga 2 if…

  • Scales to large environments
  • Active development and community

Watch out for

  • Steep initial setup
  • Multiple components to manage
Icinga 2 details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cacti or Icinga 2 better?

Neither is universally better. Icinga 2 has the larger community, while Cacti is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Cacti and Icinga 2 free and open-source?

Yes. Cacti is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Icinga 2 under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cacti and Icinga 2 with Docker?

Cacti: yes. Icinga 2: yes.

Related comparisons