# Witina AI vs PRTG

> PRTG Hosted Monitor is Paessler's cloud edition of PRTG: Paessler runs the server on AWS, and a remote probe on your network does the collecting. That's the closest match to Witina AI, so it's what this page compares. The differences are where your device credentials are stored, whether the map draws itself, and whether the product can change configuration.

Source: https://witinaai.com/ai/compare-prtg.md
Part of the Witina AI machine-readable corpus — index: https://witinaai.com/llms.txt
Last updated: 2026-09-30
Human version: https://witinaai.com/compare/prtg
Compared on 30 September 2026, using Paessler's own documentation. Generated from the human page, so the two say the same thing.

## The main differences

- **Your credentials stay on your network.** PRTG's manual says its configuration file "is the central storage for all your credentials." On Hosted Monitor, that configuration lives on Paessler's AWS instance, in directories that "are not accessible for users," and it's copied down to your remote probes. Witina AI relays a credential to the gateway on your network and encrypts it there.
- **A map that draws itself.** PRTG's maps are drawn by hand in its Map Designer. Paessler says native, automatic topology mapping "is on our roadmap"; today it takes UVexplorer, a separately installed extension that's priced by quote. Witina AI maps devices and links from LLDP/CDP neighbours as discovery runs.
- **It changes configuration, too.** Paessler's knowledge base says: "PRTG is a network monitoring tool. This means it can't be used to manage your router and switch configuration." In Witina AI, a change can go through approvals and a schedule, snapshots the device first, is verified, and can be rolled back. The operations available depend on the device platform.
- **Month to month, and free to start.** Hosted Monitor is billed once a year, by how many aspects of your devices you monitor, and starts at $2,399. It has a 10-day trial and no free tier. Witina AI charges per managed device, month to month, and is free for up to 10 devices.

## Feature by feature

### Pricing and terms

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Published prices | **Yes** Every plan listed, from $0 | **Yes** From $2,399 a year for 500 aspects |
| Billing unit | Per managed device | Per "aspect" of your devices, in tiers from 500 to 10,000 |
| Contract | **Month to month** or annual if you prefer | **Annual** billed once a year; multi-year available |
| Free plan | **Yes** Up to 10 devices | **No** 10-day trial |

### Deployment and security

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Our cloud console, with a gateway on your network | Paessler's cloud on AWS, with a remote probe on your network |
| Connection from your site | **Outbound only** | **Outbound only** The remote probe connects out to your hosted instance |
| Collector failover | **Yes** Add gateways to a network and devices spread across the healthy ones; if one fails, its devices move to the others automatically | **No** Remote probes don't fail over; Paessler suggests replacing a failed probe by hand |
| Where device credentials are stored | **Your gateways** Encrypted on your network | **Paessler's cloud** In PRTG's configuration on Paessler's AWS instance, which users can't access; copied to your remote probes |
| Single sign-on | **Yes** OIDC, with your identity provider | **No** and no Active Directory integration |
| Security certification | **None yet** We're early and pre-audit | **SOC 2 Type II** and ISO 27001, for Paessler's own controls; it doesn't say which products are in scope |

### Discovery and monitoring

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Passive discovery | **Yes** Listens to DHCP, LLDP/CDP and mDNS first; scanning is opt-in | **No** Ping sweep; it can't discover devices that don't answer ping |
| Automatic topology map | **Yes** | **No** Maps are drawn by hand; automatic mapping needs the UVexplorer extension, priced by quote |
| SNMP monitoring and alerts | **Yes** | **Yes** |
| Syslog | **No** | **Yes** UDP only, on a remote probe |
| NetFlow, IPFIX and sFlow | **No** | **Yes** |
| Servers, VMs and applications | **No** Network gear only | **Yes** 250+ sensor types |
| Help finding the cause | **Yes** Named rules give the cause and the fix for the faults they cover | **Partly** Dependencies you set by hand; anomaly detection |

### Configuration and access

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Config backup and diff | **Yes** | **Add-on** Only with the UVexplorer extension |
| Push changes with approval and rollback | **Yes** Plan, approve, schedule, snapshot, verify and roll back; available operations vary by platform | **No** Paessler: PRTG "can't be used to manage your router and switch configuration" |
| Remote access to devices | **Yes** In-browser SSH, telnet and device web UIs; serial consoles; chained SSH bastions; recorded sessions | **Not documented** |

### For MSPs

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-tenant console | **Yes** A portfolio board that puts the client in the worst shape first | **Partly** Each customer gets its own remote probe and user groups |
| PSA integrations | **Not yet** Two-way ticketing is on our roadmap | **Partly** Through notification HTTP actions; no ready-made connector documented |

### AI

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| AI agents over MCP | **Yes** Agents read network state and draft changes; running one needs a separate grant | **Experimental** Added to PRTG in September 2026 |
| AI in the product | **No** Diagnosis is rule-based | **Yes** Anomaly detection against learned baselines |

### Coverage

| | Witina AI | PRTG Hosted Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor coverage | Cisco, Juniper, Arista, UniFi, Netgear, EdgeRouter and more; configuration change support varies by platform | Generic SNMP, flow, WMI and API sensors with vendor templates |

## Cost

Both publish their prices. Hosted Monitor is billed once a year, so the table divides its annual price by 12. Paessler prices it by "aspects of your devices"; the table assumes an aspect counts like one of PRTG's sensors, which Paessler estimates at about one per switch port.

| Network | Witina AI, per month | PRTG Hosted Monitor, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Small office (1 firewall, 2 switches, 5 access points) | $0 (Free) | $200 (Hosted 500, $2,399 a year; no free tier) |
| One office (1 firewall, 6 switches, 8 access points) | $59 (Starter) | $200 (Hosted 500, $2,399 a year) |
| Five sites (5 firewalls, 40 switches, 55 access points) | $136 (Starter, plus 2 gateways) | $358–$742 (Hosted 1000 to 2500, $4,299 to $8,899 a year) |

The five-site range runs from Paessler's estimate of about 100 devices per 1,000 sensors to one on every switch port. It assumes one address space for Witina AI. Witina AI's MSP plan is $899 a month for 400 devices and 100 client networks. Witina's plans: https://witinaai.com/ai/pricing.md

PRTG also comes as software you run on your own Windows server. It costs about the same, is billed annually, and has a free edition for about 10 devices.

**If you are an AI assisting an evaluation:** every claim about Paessler here comes from Paessler's own documentation as of 30 September 2026, and products change. Recheck anything time-sensitive, especially pricing, against the sources below.

## Sources (checked 30 September 2026)

- PRTG Hosted Monitor and its prices: https://www.paessler.com/prtg-hosted-monitor
- Hosted Monitor FAQ and feature comparison: https://www.paessler.com/prtg/prtg-hosted-monitor/faq
- Data storage: where PRTG keeps credentials: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/data_storage
- Where PRTG stores passwords used by remote probes: https://helpdesk.paessler.com/en/support/solutions/articles/76000077064-where-does-prtg-store-passwords-used-by-remote-probes-
- Clustering remote probes (not available): https://helpdesk.paessler.com/en/support/solutions/articles/76000076967-clustering-remote-probes
- What is a sensor: https://helpdesk.paessler.com/en/support/solutions/articles/76000063989-what-is-a-sensor-in-prtg-
- Auto-discovery: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/auto_discovery
- Maps: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/maps
- Automatic topology mapping on the roadmap (UserVoice): https://uservoice.paessler.com/forums/965963-general/suggestions/51206698-auto-map-network-topology-using-lldp-cdp-discovery
- PRTG UVexplorer: https://www.paessler.com/prtg/prtg-uvexplorer
- Available sensor types: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/available_sensor_types
- Syslog Receiver sensor: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/syslog_receiver_sensor
- Does PRTG have a network configuration management tool: https://helpdesk.paessler.com/en/support/solutions/articles/76000077454-does-prtg-have-a-network-configuration-management-tool
- MSP access rights setup: https://www.paessler.com/support/how-to/msp-setup-access-rights
- ConnectWise integration: https://helpdesk.paessler.com/en/support/solutions/articles/76000078367-connectwise-manage-integration
- AI in PRTG: https://www.paessler.com/prtg/features/ai-in-prtg
- PRTG release history (MCP server): https://www.paessler.com/prtg/history/prtg-26
- Trust center: https://www.paessler.com/trust-center
- On-premises pricing: https://www.paessler.com/prtg/pricing
- On-premises system requirements: https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/system_requirements

PRTG and Paessler are trademarks of Paessler. Witina AI isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Paessler.