Update: Nginx Amplify is closing. Consider Netdata, SigNoz, Checkmk Raw Edition or Prometheus + Grafana.
Of those listed in the article, I’ve used:
- Better Stack - On their free/personal plan.
- Cacti – free Open Source.
- Checkmk - Free/self-hosted on my home lab using Docker.
- Collectd – free, Open Source project.
- Goaccess.io – Open source HTTP monitoring. (Nginx, Apache, etc.)
- Grafana – scale observability with one or all pieces of the stack.
- Monit – free, Open Source software.
- Monitorix – free, Open Source, very lightweight.
- Nagios – You can download + install Nagios core for free.
- New Relic – Client accounts, but they do offer a free plan.
- Nginx Amplify - Shutting down on January 31, 2026.
- Prometheus – Free Open source. Self-hosted.
- Zabbix – Free Open Source. No limits or hidden costs.
What about you, what monitoring tools have you enjoyed?