Observium vs Smokeping
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Observium | Smokeping |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 0 · At risk | 69 · Good |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Shell | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1 | ★ 1,967 |
| First released | 2010 | 2003 |
| Replaces | SolarWinds, PRTG | PRTG |
What are Observium and Smokeping?
Observium
Observium is a network monitoring platform that auto-discovers devices via SNMP and collects performance and health data. It focuses on a clean interface and low-maintenance operation for network infrastructure.
- SNMP auto-discovery
- Network device dashboards
- Low maintenance design
- Historical performance graphs
Smokeping
SmokePing measures network latency and packet loss, storing and graphing the results to reveal connection quality over time. Its distinctive smoke graphs visualize jitter and loss for troubleshooting.
- Latency and packet loss graphs
- Distinctive smoke visualization
- Multiple probe types
- Alerting on degradation
Observium vs Smokeping: key differences
Observium is written in Shell, while Smokeping is built with Perl. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Observium versus GPL-2.0 for Smokeping. Smokeping is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Observium. Smokeping is the more established project (first released 2003), while Observium arrived in 2010. Smokeping has the considerably larger community, at 1,967 GitHub stars versus 1. Smokeping lists first-class Docker deployment; Observium does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Observium if…
- Discovers devices automatically
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Community edition lags the paid version
- SNMP-centric
Choose Smokeping if…
- Excellent for connection quality
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Single-purpose tool
- Dated UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Observium or Smokeping better?
Neither is universally better. Smokeping has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Observium and Smokeping free and open-source?
Yes. Observium is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Smokeping under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Observium and Smokeping with Docker?
Observium: check the project docs for container support. Smokeping: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Observium or Smokeping?
Smokeping has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Observium. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.