7 Best Checkmk alternatives for infrastructure monitoring

Checkmk is an infrastructure monitoring tool used to monitor a range of devices. While suitable for this, many users are forced to search for Checkmk alternatives due to its steep learning curve, varying support response times, and expensive pricing.

Plus, no real Agentic AI developments have been made, which many Checkmk alternatives (including Atera) have already implemented. Whether you already use Checkmk or are just looking for alternatives, this article can help. 

The 7 best Checkmk alternatives for 2026

These are the Checkmk alternatives we’ve selected:

1. Atera
2. Datadog
3. Dynatrace
4. LogicMonitor
5. Zabbix
6. PRTG Network Monitor
7. ManageEngine

Below, we’ve reviewed the best Checkmk alternatives and listed each one’s features, pricing, and reviews.

1. Atera

Atera vs. Checkmk: Key differences

1. Key features: Atera and Checkmk both offer IT monitoring capabilities, allowing you to monitor workstations, servers, SNMP-enabled devices, and other network devices. Of the two, only Atera complements this with patch management, remote control, ticketing, and reporting, all powered by autonomous IT agents.

Atera’s all-in-one, Agentic AI approach makes it the best overall Checkmk alternative.

With Atera’s RMM, you can monitor devices in real-time, receive alerts for potential issues, remotely access devices for troubleshooting, deploy patches, and more. Plus, Atera’s AI agents assist with this entire process, resolving issues, suggesting next steps, generating scripts, summarizing tickets, and more.

2. Agentic AI: Of Atera and Checkmk, only Atera powers its platform with Agentic AI, capable of instantly eliminating 40% of your IT workload. Atera’s Robin handles your first-tier support, while AI Copilot assists technicians in resolving manual and repetitive tasks efficiently.

A few other Checkmk alternatives also incorporate Agentic AI, but Atera is widely considered the industry leader.

3: Ease of use: According to G2’s comparison, Atera is rated higher by customers across all ease of use categories. This is another factor making Atera the leading Checkmk alternative. Atera’s dashboards are highly intuitive, and onboarding can be done in a matter of minutes.

Atera’s Network Discovery tool assists with the onboarding process by automatically scanning all devices in your IT environment.

Pricing and value for money

Another factor making Atera stand out is its per-technician pricing, which lets you manage unlimited devices for a fixed monthly cost.

Below are Atera’s pricing plans laid out.

Atera pricing plans for IT departments:

• Professional: $149 per month, per technician
• Expert: $189 per month, per technician
• Master: $219 per month, per technician
• Enterprise: Custom quotation; contact sales to get pricing

Atera pricing plans for MSPs:

• Pro: $129 per month, per technician
• Growth: $179 per month, per technician
• Power: $209 per month, per technician
• Superpower (Enterprise): Custom quotation; contact sales to get pricing

Customer reviews and ratings

Atera’s G2 Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (830+ reviews)

What Atera users are saying on G2:

• “We have managed to reduce our ‘Level 1’ support tickets by nearly 50% because the platform resolves many of these issues before they escalate,” a G2 user says.

• “One of Atera’s crucial features is monitoring of all our IT infrastructure, which it has done a marvelous job of,” a G2 user says.

Atera’s Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (440+ reviews)

What Atera users are saying on Capterra:

• “Atera uses AI technology to automate and streamline IT operations, thus saving us time and eliminating manual work and repetitive tasks,” a Capterra user says.

• “It is easy to use and makes managing IT tasks a lot simpler. The setup was quick, and the interface is user-friendly,” a Capterra user says.

2. Datadog

Datadog is an IT monitoring tool for cloud infrastructure, applications, containers, and logs. It works by collecting metrics and turning them into visualization boards and alerts, so no potential issues go unnoticed.

Like most Checkmk alternatives, Datadog’s pricing is based on usage. Per-technician pricing, such as that offered by Atera, is often better for organizations looking to scale while keeping costs down.

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (600+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (300+ reviews)

Datadog Pricing:

• Free: $0/month for up to 5 hosts
• Pro: Starting at $15/month per host
• Enterprise: Starting at $23/month per host

3. Dynatrace

Dynatrace is used for monitoring across infrastructure and applications. It monitors different performance metrics, uses AI to find root causes, and triggers remediation actions to solve issues.

According to its users, Dynatrace has the same con as Checkmx, its steep learning curve. In comparison, while Atera is fully customizable to your liking, it’s still designed to be easy to use for all users.

G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (1,000+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (70+ reviews)

Dynatrace Pricing:

• Foundation & Discovery: $7/month per host
• Infrastructure Monitoring: $29/month per host
• Full-Stack Monitoring: $58/month per host

4. LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is used by organizations with hybrid environments. It helps to monitor on-prem infrastructure, cloud resources, and network devices. It’s Collector gathers data from your devices, encrypts it, and turns it into dashboards and reports.

Like Atera, LogicMonitor competes in the Agentic AI space.  While LogicMonitor landed in 27th spot on G2’s list of AIOps tools, Atera landed on the #1 spot, solidifying its spot as the best Checkmk alternative with Agentic AI.

G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (600+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

LogicMonitor Pricing:

• Essentials: $16 per hybrid unit
• Advanced: $27 per hybrid unit
• Signature: $53 per hybrid unit

5. Zabbix

Zabbix is an open-source platform used to monitor servers, networks, and applications via agents, SNMP, and integrations. It’s selected by teams using self-hosting, although free RMM software and infrastructure monitoring tools can pose issues.

According to a G2 user, Zabbix’s main drawback is the lack of support, due to its open-source nature. To avoid similar issues, Atera offers 24/7 support for all of its users.

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (200+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

Zabbix Pricing:

• Zabbix has both cloud-based and self-hosted options available. The pricing for the cloud version starts at $50/month  

6. PRTG Network Monitor

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is used for SNMP monitoring of network devices, bandwidth, and availability. It uses a sensor model to track metrics on routers, switches, and servers.

While basic automation is available, PRTG hasn’t yet incorporated any Agentic AI capabilities, unlike Atera.

G2 Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (250+ reviews)

Paessler PRTG Pricing:

• PRTG 500: $137/month for about 50 devices
• RTG 1000: $242/month for about 100 devices
• PRTG 2500: $508/month for about 250 devices
• PRTG 5000: $908/month for about 500 devices
• PRTG 10000: $1,225/month for about 1,000 devices

7. ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager is a network monitoring software that helps to monitor device health and performance for workstations, routers, and servers. 

For ticketing and patch management, OpManager can be integrated with other ManageEngine products, although this comes at an extra cost. Atera integrates all of these capabilities under one platform, one subscription.

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

Capterra Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (100+ reviews)

ManageEngine OpManager Pricing:

• Custom quotation. Contact ManageEngine’s sales team for pricing options.

Checkmk alternative with Agentic AI technology

Agentic AI isn’t about automation; it’s about transformation in how IT environments are managed. More and more IT teams face increasingly complex infrastructures and limited resources for managing them. Agentic AI is the solution.

While a few Checkmk alternatives have started incorporating Agentic AI, Atera is at the forefront of this development. We’re considered leaders in the AIOps market, with G2 and SourceForge selecting Atera as the number one best AIOps tool. Alongside our unique pricing and all-in-one approach, Agentic AI is another key factor making Atera the best Checkmk alternative.

Atera’s two autonomous IT agents reduce the workload of your IT staff by up to 40%, resulting in fewer bottlenecks and more time for strategic tasks. 
If you’re ready to transform your IT management with Atera, an easy step you can take is signing up for our 30-day free trial; no credit card required!

Why look for a Checkmk alternative?

Let’s continue with a brief overview of why users look for a Checkmk alternative in the first place.

1. There is a steep learning curve

This was the most common complaint from Checkmk users; according to many users, the software has a steep learning curve.

Checkmk main cons on G2

One G2 user said, “What I don’t like about Checkmk is that complex customizations can become cumbersome.”

Another Checkmk user on G2 commented on the same issue of steep learning curve:

2. Support response times could be better

Checkmk users say that if you don’t pay extra for premium support, getting help from their team can take a long time.

This is what one G2 user commented:

Another issue with the support is that some G2 users say the available documentation isn’t as extensive as it should be.

3. Pricing can get expensive

Checkmk’s pricing is based on the number of servers you’re managing, which, according to its users, can get expensive for larger deployments.

Users on G2 also say that some of the key features are only available on the most expensive plans, which forces users to pay extra.

What are Checkmk’s strengths?

Let’s also look at the strengths of Checkmk.

1. Easy to use after deployment

Once the onboarding and initial learning curve are over, Checkmk is generally considered easy to use, according to Reddit users.

While this was mentioned, ease of use is standard in today’s IT management software, so it isn’t necessarily a standout feature.

2. Monitor different types of devices

With Checkmk, you can monitor servers, network devices, storage systems, and cloud environments, which a Reddit user appreciates.

Checkmk pros and cons: Takeaways

To conclude the two previous sections, here are the pros and cons of Checkmk:

The pros, according to user reviews:

• Easy to use after the initial learning curve
• You can monitor your entire IT infrastructure

The cons, according to user reviews:

• Steep learning curve
• Premium support is an add-on
• Product documentation could be better
• Pricing is expensive for large deployments