Shinken 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?
Shinken
Python monitoring framework compatible with Nagios
VS
Pandora FMS Community
Flexible enterprise-grade monitoring system
| Feature | Shinken | Pandora FMS Community |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,136 | ★ 472 |
| First released | 2009 | 2008 |
| Replaces | 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 Shinken or Pandora FMS Community better?
Neither is universally better. Shinken has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Shinken and Pandora FMS Community free and open-source?
Yes. Shinken is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Pandora FMS Community under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shinken and Pandora FMS Community with Docker?
Shinken: check the project docs for container support. Pandora FMS Community: yes.