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Reviewed · Updated 2026-10-04

LibreNMS

LibreNMS is free, open-source network monitoring that auto-discovers devices over SNMP and other protocols, for IT teams that self-host.

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team ·
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Pricing
Free
Best for
Free SNMP network monitoring
Category
Analytics & Data

LibreNMS is free, open-source (GPLv3) network monitoring software that auto-discovers routers, switches and servers and alerts you when something breaks. It suits network and IT teams that can run their own Linux server. There is no paid edition; SLA-backed support is available from partners.

The bottom line

Excellent free network monitoring for teams that can run their own server.

7.5
Our score
7.5 / 10
Conversion Gems editorial verdict
Free (GPLv3, self-hosted)
Features8/10
8 - auto-discovery, alerting with 60+ transports, billing, distributed polling, API and mobile apps, per the LibreNMS features docs.
Value9/10
9 - free and open source under GPLv3 with no paid edition; the only costs are hosting, upkeep and optional partner support.
Ease of use5/10
5 - needs a Linux server with PHP 8.4+, MariaDB and a web server, plus SNMP on each device, per the install guide.
Ecosystem8/10
8 - REST API, 60+ alert transports, Oxidized, RANCID, NfSen and Nagios plugin support, per the features docs.
Support6/10
6 - documentation, Discord, a community forum and GitHub issues; SLA support only through partners, per librenms.org.
What it really is

Free, self-hosted SNMP network monitoring with auto-discovery, alerting, graphs and an API.

Our take

LibreNMS covers most of what a small or mid-sized network team needs from monitoring, and it costs nothing to license. The bill arrives as work: a Linux server to build, PHP and MariaDB to keep current, and SNMP to configure on every device. If you have that skill in-house, it is hard to beat on value. If you want someone else to answer the phone when it breaks, budget for a partner or pick a hosted tool.

Why we rate it

Broad discovery, alerting and billing features with no licence cost and an active release cadence.

The catch

You host, secure and update it yourself, and there is no vendor support desk.

Best for
ISPs and MSPs monitoring mixed-vendor networks
IT teams that want SNMP monitoring without per-device fees
Engineers comfortable running Linux services
Not good for
Teams with no one to maintain a server
Buyers who need a vendor support contract
Cloud-native stacks that mostly need logs and traces
Friction report
Time to value
An hour or more to install on Linux, faster with the Docker setup or VM image; SNMP must be enabled on devices.
Scale breakpoint
Large device counts call for distributed pollers, which means more servers to run.
Walled garden
Low: GPLv3 code, REST API and standard SNMP.

What you need to run LibreNMS

ItemRequirement
LicenceGPLv3, free
Operating systemLinux: Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04, Debian 12 or 13, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux or Oracle Linux 8.10+, 9.8+, 10.2+
PHP8.4 minimum, 8.5 recommended
DatabaseMariaDB
Web serverNGINX (recommended) or Apache with PHP-FPM
Other optionsDocker setup or prebuilt VM images
Paid supportThrough partners such as Config Services Ltd (prices not published)

From the LibreNMS install guide and librenms.org, checked 4 October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

LibreNMS alternatives

Other network monitoring tools to compare:

Auvik: Cloud network management with automatic mapping and config backup, sold on a quote.
SolarWinds NPM: Commercial network performance monitoring for larger IT teams.
Grafana: Open-source dashboards and a hosted cloud for metrics, logs and traces.
Datto RMM: Remote monitoring and management for MSPs, focused on endpoints and patching.
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Tags

#NetworkMonitoring#OpenSource#SNMP#SelfHosted

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