Checkmk vs LibreNMS
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?
Checkmk
Comprehensive IT infrastructure monitoring
VS
LibreNMS
Auto-discovering network monitoring system
| Feature | Checkmk | LibreNMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,336 | ★ 4,823 |
| First released | 2009 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Nagios, Datadog | Nagios |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Checkmk or LibreNMS better?
Neither is universally better. LibreNMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Checkmk and LibreNMS free and open-source?
Yes. Checkmk is licensed under GPL-2.0 and LibreNMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Checkmk and LibreNMS with Docker?
Checkmk: yes. LibreNMS: yes.