Icinga 2 vs Observium
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?
Icinga 2
Scalable monitoring system that watches hosts and networks
VS
Observium
Auto-discovering network monitoring platform
| Feature | Icinga 2 | Observium |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,228 | ★ 1 |
| First released | 2014 | 2010 |
| Replaces | SolarWinds, PRTG | SolarWinds, PRTG |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Icinga 2 or Observium better?
Neither is universally better. Icinga 2 has the larger community, while Observium is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Icinga 2 and Observium free and open-source?
Yes. Icinga 2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Observium under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Icinga 2 and Observium with Docker?
Icinga 2: yes. Observium: check the project docs for container support.