Cacti vs Pandora FMS Community
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?
Cacti
RRDtool-based network graphing and monitoring solution
VS
Pandora FMS Community
Flexible enterprise-grade monitoring system
| Feature | Cacti | Pandora FMS Community |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,852 | ★ 472 |
| First released | 2001 | 2008 |
| Replaces | PRTG, SolarWinds | SolarWinds, PRTG |
Why pick each one
Choose Pandora FMS Community if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Cacti or Pandora FMS Community better?
Cacti is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Pandora FMS Community if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Cacti and Pandora FMS Community free and open-source?
Yes. Cacti is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Pandora FMS Community under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cacti and Pandora FMS Community with Docker?
Cacti: yes. Pandora FMS Community: yes.