Overview

Centreon is a monitoring platform for servers, networks, cloud environments and applications, aimed at IT teams overseeing mixed infrastructure. Its broad connector coverage and SaaS or self-hosted options make it a strong candidate for consolidated operations monitoring; the right edition and host ceiling matter as much as the feature set.

Its core is open source under the Apache license, with some files under GPLv2. A free tier supports up to 100 hosts, while paid editions add capabilities and scale at per-host rates. For a small, single-purpose monitoring need, that breadth and tier structure may be more than necessary.

Key features

More than 700 connectors cover cloud and legacy systems, infrastructure, security, databases, middleware and OT. That breadth can bring varied environments into one monitoring platform, which is useful for teams trying to avoid a collection of separate tools. It is less compelling when only a few devices or one infrastructure type need attention.

Centreon integrates with ServiceNow, JIRA, GLPi and EasyVista, and can route alerts through Microsoft Teams, Slack, Telegram, PagerDuty and OpsGenie. Stream connectors send metrics and events to Elastic, Kafka and Splunk; integrations also support Grafana, Kibana and Power BI. These connections suit teams with established IT operations and observability workflows.

The Centreon Monitoring Agent natively monitors Linux and Windows hosts, sending metrics over encrypted gRPC without requiring a plugin on each host. TLS-encrypted communications, SNMP v3, fine-grained permissions, access control groups, SAMLv2, and Active Directory and LDAP synchronization support secure, controlled operations. Centreon also performs yearly manual penetration tests and continuous-integration security checks, and publishes vulnerability bulletins as a CVE Numbering Authority.

Topology maps and synthetic checks support infrastructure visibility and experience monitoring. The platform also offers Experience Monitoring editions for synthetic transactions and, at the higher tier, real-user and web-infrastructure monitoring. SaaS and self-hosted deployment provide flexibility, though organizations will need to choose based on their own operating requirements.

Pricing

The IT 100 Freemium plan costs €0.00 and is free for as long as you want, with a 100-host limit. It is a practical starting point for small environments, but teams that outgrow that cap need a paid edition. The separate Centreon Cloud trial runs for 7 days and covers up to 125 hosts; Centreon Experience Monitoring has a 30-day trial.

The IT Edition starts at €2.27 per host per month, billed annually at €27.24 per host per year. Its listed 125-host example totals €283/month. It includes 700+ connectors, alerting and event management, flexible dashboards and IT operations integration. This is the entry paid tier for teams needing broader capacity and core monitoring workflows.

Business Edition is €4.53 per host per month, billed annually at €54.36 per host per year, with a 250-host example totaling €1,133/month. It adds SLA and business-impact monitoring, graphical and geographical views, and tailored IT Ops reporting to the IT Edition. MSP Edition has the same listed per-host price and 250-host example, adding distributed and remote monitoring, pay-as-you-grow billing and a preferred Centreon partnership; those additions make it the more relevant choice for managed service providers.

The listed SaaS IT Edition is €3.40 per host per month, billed annually; SaaS Pro Edition is €4.50 per host per month and adds SLA and business-impact monitoring plus graphical and geographical views. Self-hosted IT Edition is €2.27 per host per month, while Business Edition is €4.53 per host per month and adds those views, SLA monitoring and tailored reporting. Self-hosted MSP Edition is €4.53 per host per month and includes distributed monitoring and pay-as-you-grow billing. These annual per-host prices make deployment choice and fleet size central to budgeting.

Experience Monitoring is priced separately: Pro Edition costs €490.00 per year and includes synthetic transaction monitoring, web-performance drill-down, collaborative dashboards and digital sobriety insights. Business Edition costs €790.00 per year and adds real-user monitoring, web-infrastructure monitoring, business insights and analytics. Choose these editions when digital experience monitoring is the need, rather than assuming infrastructure plans include those capabilities.

Platforms

Centreon supports API, Linux, Windows, web and self-hosted environments. Its Linux and Windows agent and choice of SaaS or self-hosted deployment suit organizations with mixed operating environments, while the platform’s monitoring coverage extends across cloud and edge infrastructure.

Who it's for

Centreon is best suited to IT operations teams managing diverse or distributed infrastructure that want broad connector coverage, integrations into existing workflows and a choice of deployment model. The free 100-host tier gives smaller teams a way to begin, but larger environments should compare the per-host cost and edition-specific features against their monitoring requirements. Teams that need only a handful of checks may prefer a narrower tool.

Pros and cons

Pros: More than 700 connectors span infrastructure, cloud, security, databases, middleware and OT, making consolidation across mixed estates plausible.
Pros: SaaS and self-hosted editions, alongside integrations and telemetry exports, can fit into varied deployment and operations setups.
Pros: Linux and Windows monitoring through an agent that needs no host plugin, plus access controls and encrypted communications, supports managed deployments.
Cons: The free plan stops at 100 hosts, so larger deployments must budget for a paid tier.
Cons: Annual per-host pricing can add up as an environment grows; the listed 250-host Business and MSP examples are €1,133/month.
Cons: Edition distinctions and separate Experience Monitoring plans require careful selection to avoid paying for the wrong monitoring scope.

Alternatives

Obkio is worth considering when a free plan and broad mobile and desktop platform support are priorities; its free plan details include a 14-day trial and a maximum of 10 agents.

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor may suit a smaller deployment looking for a free starting point capped at 100 sensors, described as about 10 devices.

ManageEngine OpManager is an option when a perpetual free tier for three devices is sufficient.

NetXMS is an alternative for readers seeking a free open-source monitoring solution.

SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is an alternative for bandwidth management.

Checkmk is worth comparing for its free Community plan, which includes 2,000+ pre-built integrations and supports up to about 100 hosts.

EMCO Ping Monitor is an alternative for Windows-based monitoring.

WhatsUp Gold offers a free edition for up to 10 devices, which may suit a much smaller environment.

Browse Network Monitoring, Hardware Monitoring Software and Log Management Software for related categories.

Verdict

Centreon is a strong choice for IT teams that need to monitor mixed infrastructure at scale and connect monitoring to existing operations workflows. Its connector depth, deployment options and access controls are the main reasons to choose it. Look elsewhere if the environment is small, narrowly scoped or especially price-sensitive: the 100-host free cap and annual per-host costs can make the broader platform unnecessary.

	Centreon	Ganglia
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	€0.19/mo	Free
Platforms	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web, Windows	Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Synthetic checks	Yes
Device limit	125 devices
Topology maps	Yes
Alert channels	email
Deployment	hybrid	self_hosted
Monitored device limit	125 devices
Traffic monitoring		Yes

Centreon vs Ganglia

Centreon

Ganglia