Centreon

Centreon is infrastructure monitoring software for IT operations teams responsible for varied or distributed systems. Its broad connector range and deployment choice make it adaptable, but host-based pricing and a 100-host free tier make scale an important buying consideration.

Overview

Servers, networks, cloud environments and applications share a single monitoring platform, with SaaS and self-hosted deployment options. The Apache-licensed core (with GPLv2 applying to some files) is a meaningful option for teams that value open-source software; the wider paid editions add capabilities aimed at larger IT operations and managed service providers. Centreon’s breadth is most useful in complex environments, and may be unnecessary overhead for teams that only need a few basic checks.

Key features

More than 700 connectors cover cloud and legacy systems, infrastructure, security, databases, middleware and OT. That range can reduce the need to split monitoring across tools when an estate spans different technologies. Topology maps and flexible dashboarding help teams examine infrastructure, while alerting and event management connect monitoring to operational response.

Centreon integrates with ServiceNow, JIRA, GLPi and EasyVista, and can route notifications 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 links make it a stronger fit for organizations with established operations and observability workflows than for teams seeking a standalone, minimal monitor.

The Centreon Monitoring Agent monitors Linux and Windows hosts and streams metrics over encrypted gRPC without requiring a plugin on the host. Security controls include TLS-encrypted communications, SNMP v3, fine-grained permissions, access control groups, SAMLv2 identity-provider integration, and Active Directory and LDAP synchronization. Centreon also describes regular security testing and publishes vulnerability bulletins as a CVE Numbering Authority.

Experience Monitoring adds synthetic transaction monitoring, web-performance drill-down and collaborative dashboards; its Business edition adds real-user monitoring, web infrastructure monitoring and business insights. These options are relevant to teams monitoring digital services, but are a separate purchase from infrastructure monitoring.

Pricing

The IT 100 Freemium plan costs €0.00 per free, billed free for as long as you want, and caps monitoring at 100 hosts. It is a practical starting point for smaller environments, but does not provide room to grow beyond that limit without moving to a paid plan. Centreon Cloud offers a 7-day trial for up to 125 hosts; Centreon Experience Monitoring has a 30-day trial.

IT Edition is priced at €2.27 per host per month, billed annually, with a 125-host example totaling €283/month. It includes 700+ connectors, alerting and event management, flexible dashboarding and IT operations integration. It is the entry paid option for teams wanting core monitoring across a larger estate. Business Edition costs €4.53 per host per month, billed annually; its 250-host example totals €1,133/month. It adds SLA and business-impact monitoring, graphical and geographical views, and tailored IT Ops reporting. MSP Edition is also €4.53 per host per month, billed annually, with the same 250-host example total; it adds distributed and remote monitoring, pay-as-you-grow billing and a preferred Centreon partnership for managed service providers.

The self-hosted IT Edition is priced at €2.27 per host per year, billed annually, and the SaaS IT Edition at €3.40 per host per year, billed annually. Self-hosted Business Edition and MSP Edition each cost €4.53 per host per year, billed annually; Pro Edition (SaaS) costs €4.50 per host per year, billed annually. These published annual terms distinguish deployment and edition choices, so buyers should compare the quoted basis carefully with the per-host monthly prices above.

Experience Monitoring is priced separately: Pro Edition costs €490.00 per year, billed annually, while Business Edition costs €790.00 per year, billed annually. The Pro tier covers synthetic checks and web-performance analysis; Business adds real-user monitoring and business insights. It suits teams with a specific digital-experience monitoring need rather than those seeking infrastructure monitoring alone.

Platforms

Centreon supports API, Linux, self-hosted, web and Windows environments. The Centreon Monitoring Agent specifically covers Linux and Windows hosts. SaaS is available for teams that prefer hosted delivery, while self-hosted deployment gives teams another way to run the platform.

Who it's for

Centreon is best suited to IT operations teams managing mixed infrastructure, especially where cloud, legacy, network and application monitoring need to feed into shared operational workflows. Its access controls and deployment choices suit organizations with established identity and security requirements. Smaller teams with fewer than 100 hosts can start on the free plan, but may find the connector breadth and paid tiers excessive if their monitoring needs are narrow.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad estate coverage: More than 700 connectors span infrastructure, cloud, security, databases, middleware and OT, helping consolidate monitoring across varied systems.
• Flexible operations fit: SaaS and self-hosted deployment, extensive workflow integrations and exports to Elastic, Kafka and Splunk support different existing stacks.
• Useful access controls: SAMLv2, directory synchronization and fine-grained permissions address access management needs in larger teams.
• Free entry point: The free plan has no stated expiry, giving smaller deployments a way to start without subscription cost.

Cons

• Free-tier ceiling: The 100-host cap means growing teams need a paid plan once they exceed it.
• Scale affects cost: Paid pricing is per host, and the listed 250-host Business and MSP examples total €1,133/month.
• Several edition and billing bases: SaaS, self-hosted and Experience Monitoring use different plans and price terms, so buyers need to match the edition to their deployment and monitoring scope.

Alternatives

Consider Obkio if you want a network-monitoring alternative with Android and iOS support and a 14-day trial capped at 10 agents. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor may suit a smaller network that can work within its free edition’s 100-sensor limit, described as about 10 devices. Fing Security is a more focused option for network scans and troubleshooting, with its free plan capped at three scans per day. ManageEngine OpManager is worth comparing for a very small setup that fits its perpetual free limit of three devices. NetXMS offers an open-source monitoring solution, with Windows server binaries limited to 250 nodes. Checkmk is another choice for teams prioritizing pre-built integrations, with its Community plan offering 2,000+ integrations and up to about 100 hosts. ntopng offers an open-source option aimed at home and network practitioners, with a suggested maximum of 256 live local hosts. SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is a narrower alternative for bandwidth rules and usage monitoring, with a free Lite plan limited to five rules or streams.

Centreon also sits within broader categories such as Network Monitoring, Hardware Monitoring Software and Log Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Centreon if your IT team needs broad monitoring across a complex estate, a large connector library and the choice of SaaS or self-hosting. The free tier gives smaller environments a no-cost starting point, but the 100-host cap and per-host pricing make growth a budget decision. Teams with only a handful of monitoring needs should look for a narrower tool instead.