Comparison
Kira vs. OCS Inventory NG
OCS Inventory NG is free and still actively maintained — and it's especially popular in Brazil, its single largest market worldwide. Here's where it still wins, and where a modern SaaS makes more sense.
| Kira | OCS Inventory NG | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Hosted SaaS — no server to maintain | Self-hosted (Apache + MySQL/MariaDB + Perl + PHP) |
| Time to deploy | Minutes: sign up, generate a token, install the agent | Manual install and configuration of the full server stack |
| Report frequency | Every few minutes | Daily, by default |
| Utilization history (CPU/memory/disk) | Yes, continuous sampling | No — static configuration snapshots only |
| Change alerts | One specific event per real change, with severity | No built-in alerting — requires manual review |
| Email alerts | Yes, for critical events | Not included natively |
| Web interface | Modern | Same design since the 2010s |
| SNMP network scanning (switches, printers) | Not yet | Yes |
| Software deployment/push installs | Not yet | Yes (basic) |
| Ticketing/helpdesk | Not offered — bring your existing tool | Via GLPI integration |
| Cost | Free up to 5 devices, then $6/device/month | Free license (GPL) — the real cost is your maintenance time |
| Support | Email and chat | Community forums |
Switching to Kira makes sense if you…
- Don't want to maintain an Apache/MySQL/Perl/PHP server just for inventory
- Need to know what's happening in real time, not once a day
- Want an email the moment something critical changes, without checking a dashboard
- Want CPU/memory/disk history, not just a static snapshot
OCS Inventory might still be the right call if you…
- Already run GLPI, integrated into your ticketing process
- Need SNMP scanning of switches, printers, and other agentless network gear
- Have spare infra capacity to run the server and don't mind daily (not real-time) reports
See the difference on your own fleet.
Start free with up to 5 devices. No server to install, no credit card.
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