Zabbix vs Checkly
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Zabbix and Checkly.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
Zabbix
0 reviews
4.1/5
Checkly
0 reviews
Zabbix is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.1). Zabbix is a free, open source enterprise monitoring solution for networks, servers, cloud, and applications (AGPLv3 since v7.0). Developed by Zabbix SIA in Riga since 2005, with paid support subscriptions and an optional managed Zabbix Cloud service. Checkly enables monitoring as code using Playwright for E2E browser checks and HTTP API checks. Define checks alongside your code in TypeScript. Global check locations.
Zabbix Enterprise-grade infrastructure monitoring with predictive alerting | Checkly Monitoring as code with Playwright and API checks | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.1 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Ops teams and MSPs monitoring heterogeneous infrastructure at scale who can own the platform and want costs that do not scale with host count | Engineering teams who want to define synthetic and API monitoring tests as code in their repository and run them from global locations |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | — |
| RAM | — | — |
| Storage | 10 GB | — |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | — | — |
| Data-center count | 5 | — |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | free tieropen sourceapi access |
| Visit Zabbix → | Visit Checkly → | |
Zabbix
Pros
- + Free, no per-host or per-seat licensing — cost stays flat as monitored infrastructure grows
- + Deep protocol coverage: agent2, SNMP, IPMI, JMX, HTTP, synthetic checks, Kubernetes
- + 25 years of field-hardened releases with a disciplined LTS support schedule (7.0 LTS to June 2029)
- + Zabbix Cloud removes the ops burden without changing the tool; 5-day trial without a credit card
- + Open source under AGPLv3 with a documented API, Terraform provider and large template ecosystem
Cons
- - Steep learning curve — configuration UI, trigger syntax and template design need real investment
- - Zabbix Cloud drops values at random above the NVPS cap and disk only grows (once per 24h, never shrinks)
- - No published numeric uptime SLA or public region list for Zabbix Cloud; compliance certifications still in progress
- - Weaker on logs and distributed tracing than modern observability suites; self-hosting means you own the upkeep
Checkly
Pros
- + True monitoring as code: TypeScript + Playwright checks versioned in your repo and deployed via CLI
- + Useful free Hobby tier and clear published plan pricing
- + 22 global check locations plus private locations for internal services on Team+
- + Full check types (HTTP, TCP, DNS, ICMP, SSL/TLS, gRPC, traceroute, heartbeat) with rich alerting and status pages
- + Local test mode in CI catches broken checks before deploy; SOC 2 since 2022
Cons
- - Usage-based billing scales with frequency x locations x checks — overage at $4 per 1,000 runs adds up
- - Developer-only tool: no point-and-click path for non-technical teams
- - Synthetic monitoring only — not a replacement for APM, logs, or metrics platforms
- - No public uptime SLA for the platform itself; best features (1-second checks, parallel scheduling) gated to Enterprise
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