New Relic vs Nagios
Side-by-side from the Top 11 ranking of The 11 Best IT Infrastructure Monitoring Software Tools (2026). Last verified June 19, 2026.
The short answer
New Relic ranks higher on Top 11 (#3 vs #10) for IT teams monitoring server uptime, network health, and application performance. Top choice for deep application insights with a generous free tier.
At a glance
| New Relic | Nagios | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #3 / The 11 Best IT Infrastructure Monitoring Software Tools (2026) | #10 / The 11 Best IT Infrastructure Monitoring Software Tools (2026) |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.9 | 7.3 |
| Best for | Developer-centric observability | Extensible open-source engine |
| Pricing | $$$ (Usage-based) | $ (Free, paid edition) |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | Saint Paul, USA |
| Founded | 2008 | 1999 |
New Relic
Top choice for deep application insights with a generous free tier.
newrelic.com/See full entry in The 11 Best IT Infrastructure Monitoring Software Tools (2026)
Nagios
Monitors anything thanks to a huge library of community plugins.
www.nagios.com/See full entry in The 11 Best IT Infrastructure Monitoring Software Tools (2026)
Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.