GLASSMKR VS ZABBIX
Glassmkr vs Zabbix: opinionated bare-metal monitoring vs DIY enterprise platform.
Both are open source. They differ on scope, stack weight, and how opinionated the defaults are.
Last verified: 2026-08-25. Glassmkr is not affiliated with Zabbix LLC.
Zabbix is a long-established open-source enterprise monitoring platform (founded 2001 2). 7.0+ is AGPL-3.0-only (the source headers grant version 3 with no or-later clause); 6.4 and earlier were GPL-2.0 1. The software itself is free; the company sells support contracts from EUR 245/month (Silver) up to custom Enterprise/Global tiers 3.
Glassmkr is open-source bare-metal monitoring, free in both deployment forms: self-hosted (AGPL-3.0-only dashboard, MIT agent, one docker-compose file) or hosted at app.glassmkr.com (free, 10-node per-account cap) G. 70 alert rules ship enabled and tuned.
On licensing the two are peers: both products are AGPL-3.0-only and free to self-host. Zabbix wins on breadth (agent + SNMP + IPMI + JMX 5 7, hundreds of community templates, proxy architecture for distributed monitoring 4). Glassmkr wins when you don’t want to install + operate Zabbix Server + database + PHP frontend, or when you want opinionated defaults instead of template tuning.
What’s the same
Both monitor Linux servers and route alerts. Both have agent-based collection. Both can ingest SMART, IPMI, and common RAID controllers on bare metal. Both have multi-channel notifications.
What’s different
| Dimension | Zabbix | Glassmkr |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Zabbix LLC, founded 2001 2 | Glassmkr (Prague-based EU sole-trader) |
| License (7.0+) | AGPL-3.0-only, agent included 1 | AGPL-3.0-only (dashboard); MIT (agent) |
| Deployment model | Self-hosted; you operate the stack | Self-hosted (one docker-compose file) or free hosted instance |
| Software pricing | Free 1 | Free (self-hosted, AGPL-3.0-only) / Free (hosted, 10-node cap) G |
| Support contracts | Silver EUR 245/mo, Gold from EUR 660/mo, Platinum/Enterprise/Global custom 3 | Email support included; no separate tiers |
| Collection methods | Agent + agentless (SNMP, IPMI, JMX) 5 7 | Push agent (Crucible) |
| Distributed monitoring | Yes: Zabbix proxies buffer + forward from remote sites 4 | Single dashboard; all agents report to it |
| SMART template | "SMART by Zabbix agent 2": auto-discovers HDD/SSD/NVMe; requires smartmontools 7.1+ 5 8 | Built-in via agent |
| IPMI | Native item type; requires StartIPMIPollers on server 7 | Built-in via agent |
| Opinionated bare-metal rules | Templates + triggers exist but coverage is per-template; not a unified opinionated rule pack | 70 rules tuned out of the box |
| Install stack | Zabbix Server + DB (MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL) + PHP frontend (Apache/Nginx, PHP 8.0-8.5) + Agent 6 | One agent install; dashboard is hosted |
Operational profile
Minimum Zabbix install: Zabbix Server, a supported database, the PHP web frontend (Apache/Nginx), and Zabbix Agent (or Agent 2) on each host 6. Minimum hardware: 2 CPU cores + 8 GB RAM + database storage for history 6. Optional Zabbix proxies are separate processes (with their own SQLite/MySQL/PostgreSQL database) buffering remote-site data and forwarding to the central server for distributed deployments 4. The operator installs, upgrades, patches, backs up, and scales all of these components.
Glassmkr’s hosted form removes the dashboard-side stack entirely; the self-hosted form is one docker-compose file. Either way the template/trigger authoring work is gone (70 rules ship enabled) and agent install is one bash command.
Bare-metal coverage
Zabbix has official, vendor-maintained coverage for the major bare-metal signals: SMART/NVMe via "SMART by Zabbix agent 2" template (auto-discovers drives, reads vendor attributes, temperature, NVMe endurance and critical warnings; requires smartmontools 7.1+) 5 8; IPMI native item type for fan RPM, temperature, voltage (HP iLO, Dell DRAC, IBM RSA tested) 7; SNMP and JMX first-class for network devices and JVM apps 6.
RAID, ECC, and ZFS are not covered by a single canonical official template; coverage typically comes from community templates or vendor-specific entries in the Zabbix integrations directory. The trade-off is breadth vs. opinionated defaults.
When Zabbix is the right choice
You run a large heterogeneous fleet.
Servers + network gear + storage appliances + JVM apps + SNMP devices. One Zabbix install covers all of them via the right combination of agent + SNMP + IPMI + JMX 7.
You want commercial support contracts behind the software.
Zabbix LLC sells structured support tiers from EUR 245/month up to global enterprise coverage 3. Glassmkr’s support is email to a small team; there is no paid support product.
You need SNMP-heavy network monitoring.
Zabbix has decades of SNMP template ecosystem. Glassmkr doesn’t monitor switches or routers directly.
You need distributed monitoring across regions.
Zabbix proxies for buffered remote-site collection 4. Glassmkr is a single dashboard.
When Glassmkr is the right choice
You don’t want to operate Zabbix Server + DB + PHP frontend.
The Zabbix install footprint is real. If your monitoring scope is bare-metal Linux servers and you don’t want to babysit a PHP stack, Glassmkr is simpler either way: the hosted instance needs no install at all, and self-hosting is one docker-compose file.
You want opinionated bare-metal defaults without template-tuning.
70 rules tuned for bare-metal failure modes. Zabbix has more breadth but operator-tuning required.
You prefer a modern UI built recently.
Zabbix has modernized but its frontend is PHP-on-Apache with a long lineage. Glassmkr was built recently.
You want an MIT-licensed agent.
Zabbix 7.0+ is AGPL-3.0-only throughout, agent included 1. Glassmkr’s dashboard is AGPL-3.0-only too, so on openness the two are peers; the one licensing difference is the agent. Crucible is MIT, which matters if you bake the agent into your own images or tooling and want no copyleft obligations on that side.
Self-hosting
No openness contest here: Zabbix has been fully self-hostable for two decades, and since 7.0 it is AGPL-3.0-only, the same license as Glassmkr’s dashboard. The differences that remain are the install (one docker-compose file vs Zabbix Server + database + PHP frontend), the opinionated rule set, and the MIT agent.
Migration: switching from Zabbix to Glassmkr
Zabbix Host → Glassmkr Node. Same unit.
Zabbix Item + Trigger → Glassmkr alert rule. Zabbix’s item-trigger model maps to Glassmkr’s pre-built rules with thresholds. Templates that you’d apply to a host in Zabbix map to Glassmkr’s opinionated defaults that come pre-enabled.
Zabbix Action + Media type → Glassmkr notification channel. Telegram, Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, email, webhook. Reconfigure routing once.
Zabbix Proxy → no equivalent. Glassmkr’s agents talk directly to the dashboard; there’s no proxy concept. If you need buffered remote-site collection because of network constraints, Glassmkr currently doesn’t cover that pattern.
Honest trade-off: you give up breadth (SNMP + JMX + heterogeneous device coverage) and the proxy architecture; you gain a managed dashboard with opinionated bare-metal defaults.
- Zabbix License page, zabbix.com/license (verified 2026-08-25). 7.0+ AGPL-3.0-only; ≤6.4 GPL-2.0.
- Zabbix Company page (copyright 2001-2026), zabbix.com/company (verified 2026-08-25).
- Zabbix Technical Support pricing, zabbix.com/support (verified 2026-08-25). Tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, Enterprise, Global.
- Zabbix proxy documentation, zabbix.com/documentation/.../proxy (verified 2026-08-25).
- Zabbix SMART integration, zabbix.com/integrations/smart (verified 2026-08-25).
- Zabbix installation requirements, zabbix.com/documentation/.../installation/requirements (verified 2026-08-25).
- Zabbix IPMI item type documentation, zabbix.com/documentation/.../itemtypes/ipmi (verified 2026-08-25).
- Template Module SMART by Zabbix agent 2, git.zabbix.com/.../templates/server/smart_agent2 (verified 2026-08-25).
- Glassmkr pricing page, glassmkr.com/pricing (verified 2026-08-23). Free self-hosted (AGPL-3.0-only, no node limits); hosted free with a 10-node per-account cap.