Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Syslog-ng VS Zabbix

Compare Syslog-ng VS Zabbix and see what are their differences

Syslog-ng logo Syslog-ng

Syslog-ng decreases the quantity and improves the quality of data, thus enhancing the capacities of your SIEM solution.

Zabbix logo Zabbix

Track, record, alert and visualize performance and availability of IT resources
  • Syslog-ng Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-09
  • Zabbix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-02

Syslog-ng features and specs

  • Scalability
    Syslog-ng is known for its ability to handle large volumes of log data from diverse sources, making it suitable for enterprise environments.
  • Flexibility
    It supports a wide variety of log sources and destinations, allowing for customization to fit specific organizational needs.
  • Advanced Filtering
    Syslog-ng provides powerful filtering mechanisms that allow users to route, block, or modify log messages based on predefined criteria.
  • Security Features
    Offers features such as TLS encryption and reliable message delivery to ensure log data security and integrity.
  • Open Source Option
    The availability of an open-source version allows users to implement and experiment with syslog-ng without initial licensing costs.

Possible disadvantages of Syslog-ng

  • Complex Configuration
    Syslog-ng can be complex to set up and configure, especially for users who are not familiar with its syntax and options.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive feature set and configuration options, new users might need significant time to learn and master the software.
  • Resource Intensive
    In some cases, syslog-ng can consume significant system resources, particularly when handling very high volumes of log data.
  • Limited GUI Options
    Syslog-ng primarily relies on command-line configuration and lacks a robust graphical user interface, which can be a limitation for some users.
  • Support Costs
    While an open-source version is available, organizations may incur additional costs if they opt for commercial support or licensing.

Zabbix features and specs

  • Open-source
    Zabbix is free and open-source, allowing for extensive customization and modification to meet specific needs without licensing costs.
  • Scalability
    Zabbix can handle a large number of devices and data points, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.
  • Comprehensive Monitoring
    Zabbix offers a wide range of monitoring capabilities including servers, networks, cloud services, and applications.
  • Alerting and Notification
    It provides robust alerting mechanisms, allowing notifications via email, SMS, and other methods.
  • Flexible Configuration
    The system allows for detailed and flexible configuration, accommodating various specific monitoring requirements.
  • Extensive API
    Zabbix comes with a comprehensive API that allows for integration with third-party tools and custom automation scripts.
  • Strong Community Support
    As an open-source project, Zabbix has a strong community that can provide support and share best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Zabbix

  • Complex Setup and Configuration
    Initial setup and configuration can be complicated and time-consuming, often requiring a steep learning curve.
  • Resource Intensive
    Zabbix can be resource-intensive, particularly on the database side, which might require substantial hardware resources for large deployments.
  • User Interface
    The user interface is considered less modern and user-friendly compared to some commercial alternatives.
  • Documentation
    While comprehensive, the documentation can sometimes be difficult to navigate for new users.
  • Maintenance Effort
    Ongoing maintenance, such as updates and troubleshooting, can be labor-intensive.
  • Dependency on MySQL
    The heavy reliance on MySQL databases can be a disadvantage for users preferring other database technologies.
  • Initial Costs for Large Scale Deployments
    Although the software is free, the costs associated with setting up and maintaining the necessary infrastructure and hardware can be significant, especially for larger deployments.

Syslog-ng videos

syslog-ng Introduction to Log Management

More videos:

  • Review - syslog-ng Store Box - Turnkey solution to manage your log data

Zabbix videos

An overview of Zabbix 4.0 and how we are using it.

More videos:

  • Review - Zabbix Monitoring Solution - Overview
  • Review - ZABBIX Network Discovery For Dynamic Deployments

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Syslog-ng and Zabbix)
Monitoring Tools
4 4%
96% 96
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Log Management
2 2%
98% 98
Performance Monitoring
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Syslog-ng and Zabbix

Syslog-ng Reviews

We have no reviews of Syslog-ng yet.
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Zabbix Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    Indispensable

    Zabbix has been part of my toolbox for quite some time. I can easily say it's an indispensable tool for me now.

    Managing a dozen servers without Zabbix would be unimaginable. I'm monitoring all of this: CPU, Memory, Hard-drives, website response times, downtime. The UI might be a bit "old school", but everything works flawlessly.

    With regards to hard-drive monitoring, I love the machine learning option that allows you to "predict" the number of days before running out of space. That's quite helpful, as I've got some of my servers down due to running out of space multiple times in the past (before I was using Zabbix).

    👍 Pros:    Open-source|It can monitor everything
    👎 Cons:    The ui is a bit unintuitive in some cases

Self Hosting Like Its 2025
If you’re looking for straightforward monitoring and the thought of setting up a full Zabbix or Grafana stack seems daunting, this software is a real lifesaver. With just one deployment, you can monitor your services and receive notifications through a wide variety of channels including…
Source: kiranet.org
11 Best Nagios Alternatives (Free & Open Source) in 2024
Unlimited scaling: Zabbix is a flexible software that lets you monitor anything you want. It is highly scalable as it helps you manage both multi-tenant enterprise environments and your home.
Source: www.guru99.com
The Best Nagios Alternatives for Server, Application and Network Monitoring
Zabbix is a very strong competitor to Nagios and its development is very encouraging. Zabbix is completely free to use, which makes it a competitor to Nagios Core. Zabbix beats Nagios in the free monitoring market because it has a good frontend, which Nagios Core lacks and it also provides NetFlow monitoring, which isn’t present in Nagios Core – that is a separate paid...
The 10 Best Nagios Alternatives in 2024 (Paid and Open-source)
Zabbix, a widely adopted open-source monitoring tool, offers a range of practical features. It allows you to monitor various aspects of your system, including transactions, application performance, and real browser monitoring. With ready-to-use templates for different servers and operating systems, Zabbix simplifies the monitoring process.
Source: betterstack.com
Top 11 Grafana Alternatives & Competitors [2024]
Zabbix offers a unified view of the entire IT infrastructure through its user-friendly web-based interface. It delivers potent visualization capabilities through customizable dashboards, complemented by robust alerting mechanisms and comprehensive support for alert escalations.
Source: signoz.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Zabbix seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Syslog-ng mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Syslog-ng yet. Tracking of Syslog-ng recommendations started around Feb 2022.

Zabbix mentions (5)

  • Learning Resources
    Official Zabbix trainings, documentation on zabbix.com ? Source: over 2 years ago
  • zabbix installation
    Hallo, do you know a howto to install zabbix on an ubuntu 20.04 ? I tried the manuals from zabbix.com for MySQL Apache but it didn't work. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • How I am getting experience as a linux admistrator (Follow Up)
    He suggested that I indeed should set up a home-lab. To be specific he said that I should create a minimal install of Centos 8 and install zabbix server on it (https://zabbix.com) and monitor a whole bunch of other VMs, services and stuff.. He said that I should set up a variety of VMs and also maybe host a website on one of them. And then if I was able to do that, I could help to share a load of zabbix related... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Ubuntu Impish 21.10 / Zabbix 6.0 LTS
    This is a fresh 21.10 install, using the install repo as detailed on the zabbix.com download page. Source: about 3 years ago
  • One dev conference speaker's family member died, need your help to fill the speaking slot on Nov 27/28
    Well, if you can't find anyone, I am more than happy to fill the slot with something regarding Zabbix - just let me know ;). Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Syslog-ng and Zabbix, you can also consider the following products

Wazuh - Open Source Host and Endpoint Security

Datadog - See metrics from all of your apps, tools & services in one place with Datadog's cloud monitoring as a service solution. Try it for free.

Beats - Beats is the platform for single-purpose data shippers that is installed as lightweight agents and send data to machines to Logstash or Elasticsearch.

Nagios - Complete monitoring and alerting for servers, switches, applications, and services

Fluentd - Fluentd is a cross platform open source data collection solution originally developed at Treasure Data.

Dynatrace - Cloud-based quality testing, performance monitoring and analytics for mobile apps and websites. Get started with Keynote today!