BoxWatch vs PRTG
PRTG by Paessler is a veteran network monitoring platform that has been around since 1997. It monitors everything from routers and switches to servers, applications, and cloud services using over 250 sensor types, and it can be self-hosted on Windows or run as a hosted SaaS. BoxWatch is a focused Linux server monitoring SaaS: you install a single bash agent, and within a minute you have CPU, memory, disk, process, cron heartbeat, and uptime data flowing to a hosted dashboard. The two tools overlap in host metrics and alerting, but serve meaningfully different audiences.
Quick verdict
PRTG is the right pick when you need to monitor a mixed-infrastructure environment (Windows servers, network gear, databases, VMs, cloud services) and are comfortable running and maintaining the monitoring software yourself, or paying for the hosted tier. BoxWatch is the right pick when you need fast, zero-ops coverage of Linux servers with cron/heartbeat monitoring, push-based agents that open no inbound ports, and a flat predictable monthly bill that does not scale with sensor count. If your fleet is purely Linux and you want to be up and running in under two minutes, BoxWatch will beat PRTG on simplicity and cost at small-to-medium scale.
Pricing
| Plan | PRTG | BoxWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Freeware Edition: up to 100 sensors (~10 devices), unlimited 30-day trial | Hobby: $0, 5 servers, 20 cron checks |
| Entry paid | PRTG 500: ~$200/mo (annual), ~50 devices / 500 sensors | Pro: $13/mo, 25 servers, 100 uptime checks |
| Mid tier | PRTG 1000: ~$358/mo (annual), ~100 devices / 1,000 sensors | Team: $29/mo, 100 servers |
| Large scale | PRTG 2500: ~$742/mo (annual), ~250 devices | Scale: $79/mo, unlimited servers |
| Enterprise | PRTG Enterprise Monitor: custom pricing, 1,000+ devices | n/a |
PRTG pricing is per-sensor and billed annually, so cost scales with the number of things you monitor. BoxWatch pricing is flat per plan regardless of how many servers you add within the tier.
Feature comparison
When PRTG is the better choice
PRTG is the stronger choice when your infrastructure goes beyond Linux servers: it monitors Windows, network devices, databases, virtual machines, and cloud services out of the box through agentless protocols (SNMP, WMI, SSH, REST). Its self-hosted deployment model gives you full data sovereignty and lets probes reach any firewalled segment. For teams that need deep SLA reporting, syslog collection, event log monitoring, and a customizable map designer for NOC walls, PRTG provides considerably more breadth than BoxWatch.
When BoxWatch is the better choice
- You run Linux servers and want a one-command bash install with no inbound firewall rules, no Windows dependency, and no monitoring server to maintain.
- You need cron and heartbeat (dead-man's switch) monitoring natively built in. PRTG has no native equivalent; it requires custom scripting.
- Your bill needs to stay predictable. PRTG charges per sensor, so a growing fleet or adding more metrics per host drives the cost up quickly. BoxWatch charges a flat rate per plan.
- You want public status pages, uptime badges, and incident management built into the same product without wiring it to a third-party service like statuspage.io.
FAQ
Does PRTG require a Windows server to run?
The core PRTG server (on-premises edition) runs on Windows. However, Paessler also offers PRTG Hosted Monitor (a cloud SaaS) and multi-platform probes that run on Linux, ARM, and Docker for distributed collection. If you want fully agentless, self-hosted monitoring on Linux only, PRTG's architecture is more complex to operate than BoxWatch.
Can PRTG monitor Linux servers without an agent?
Yes. PRTG uses SSH or SNMP to pull metrics from Linux hosts agentlessly, so no software needs to be installed on the monitored machine. BoxWatch takes the opposite approach: a push-based cron agent runs on each server and posts data outbound, which avoids opening inbound SSH ports.
How does PRTG pricing compare to BoxWatch for a team with 30 Linux servers?
At 30 Linux servers with roughly 10 sensors each (300 sensors), you would need at least the PRTG 500 plan at about $200/mo billed annually. BoxWatch Team is $29/mo flat for up to 100 servers. For Linux-only fleets at this scale, BoxWatch is roughly seven times cheaper.