Is rConfig a good WhatsUp Gold alternative?
Yes, for the configuration half. rConfig is self-hosted on Linux, and rConfig Core is free and open source.
Looking for a WhatsUp Gold alternative for config backup, change tracking, compliance and multi-vendor automation? rConfig does that job on infrastructure you control, priced by device band. It does not replace WhatsUp Gold monitoring, and this page says exactly where the line sits, with dated sources.
Self-hosted on Linux · Free, open-source Core · Multi-vendor · Sources dated
The short answer
Yes, for configuration management specifically. rConfig replaces the WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management module, formerly WhatsConfigured: config backup of running and startup configs, change tracking with line-by-line diffs, compliance audits with evidence, config restore and multi-vendor bulk changes. It does not replace WhatsUp Gold monitoring, so SNMP polling, alerting, network mapping and the traffic, application and log modules stay where they are. rConfig is self-hosted on Linux, on infrastructure you control, and rConfig Core is free and open source.
What rConfig replaces, and what it does not
WhatsUp Gold is a monitoring platform that sells configuration management as a module. rConfig does that one job, in full. Knowing which one you are replacing saves everybody time.
Replaces: the WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management module
The add-on formerly known as WhatsConfigured.3 rConfig does the whole configuration job, on Linux you run. Each capability below has its own page.
Config backup of running and startup configs, scheduled and on demand. network configuration backup.
Change tracking and line-by-line diffs. configuration versioning and rollback.
Compliance audit and evidence. compliance and security auditing.
Config restore from a known-good version. configuration restore.
Bulk multi-vendor automation. multi-vendor configuration management and bulk configuration deployment.Does not replace: WhatsUp Gold monitoring
If network monitoring is what you are replacing, rConfig is not the tool. If the Configuration Management module is what you are replacing, it is.
rConfig is not a monitoring product and does not pretend to be one. It does not replace any of these:7, 8, 9- WhatsUp Gold network monitoring
- SNMP polling and alerting
- Network mapping
- Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
- Application Monitoring
- Log Management
- Failover Manager
Runs alongside: the monitoring you already have
Keep the monitoring you have and replace the config half. Both products only read from your devices, so rConfig runs next to WhatsUp Gold without either getting in the other's way. Where you run a different monitoring platform, rConfig syncs device inventory from it over its REST API. Documented integrations: Paessler PRTG integration, Zabbix integration, Checkmk integration, AKIPS integration and Statseeker integration. The full list is on the rConfig integrations page.
When rConfig Is the Better Fit
The WhatsUp Gold module is capable. The difference is that it lives inside a Windows monitoring platform and is priced as part of one. rConfig is the same job as a product of its own.
Configuration management is the whole product
Backups, diffs, compliance, restore and bulk changes are what rConfig is for, not a module bolted onto a monitoring platform. Deploy what you need and scale it as your network grows.
Priced for the config job, and published
Pay for configuration management, not for an edition upgrade to unlock it. Commercial editions are a flat annual price by device band, and the prices are on the pricing page rather than behind a quote.
Linux hosts you run, data that stays with you
Run rConfig on your own Linux infrastructure, on a server or in Docker. Device credentials, backups and change history stay in your environment, with no Windows Server, IIS or SQL Server estate to maintain for it.
Start free. Scale when ready.
rConfig Core is free and open source. If the question is whether there is a free way to back up and track network configs, this is the answer: download rConfig Core, try it with real devices, then move to a commercial edition when you need more scale, control and support.
rConfig vs WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management
Both manage network configurations, and both do it well. The difference is how they are packaged, where they run, how they are licensed and how far they are known to scale. Each cell names its source.
- What mattersWhat it isWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementA module inside a network monitoring platform2rConfigA dedicated network configuration management platform20
- What mattersPackagingWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementAdd-on to the Premium, MSP and Distributed editions. Included only in Total Plus2rConfigA single product14
- What mattersPlatformWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementWindows Server, IIS, Microsoft SQL Server6rConfigSelf-hosted on Linux20
- What mattersLicensingWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementDevice-based on Premium, point-based on Total Plus. Perpetual or subscription4rConfigFlat annual price by device band. Core free and open source14
- What mattersModule pricingWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementNot published by Progress4rConfigPublished. See rConfig pricing.14
- What mattersConfig backupWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementRunning and startup configs, encrypted archive, scheduled1rConfigYes, scheduled and on demand, with full version history20
- What mattersChange detectionWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementSNMP trap triggered, into Alert Center1rConfigYes, on every backup, with notifications21
- What mattersDiffsWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementText-based before and after comparison1rConfigYes, line by line between any two versions21
- What mattersCompliance auditWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementPredefined policy templates referencing SOX, PCI, HIPAA and FISMA1rConfigYes, policies you write, with reports and audit evidence22
- What mattersBulk changesWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementSupported, schedulable1rConfigYes, multi-vendor, scheduled or on demand24
- What mattersScaleWhatsUp Gold Configuration ManagementNot published for the module1rConfigBenchmarked to 50,000 devices. See how rConfig counts devices.16
| What matters | WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management | rConfig |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A module inside a network monitoring platform2 | A dedicated network configuration management platform20 |
| Packaging | Add-on to the Premium, MSP and Distributed editions. Included only in Total Plus2 | A single product14 |
| Platform | Windows Server, IIS, Microsoft SQL Server6 | Self-hosted on Linux20 |
| Licensing | Device-based on Premium, point-based on Total Plus. Perpetual or subscription4 | Flat annual price by device band. Core free and open source14 |
| Module pricing | Not published by Progress4 | Published. See rConfig pricing.14 |
| Config backup | Running and startup configs, encrypted archive, scheduled1 | Yes, scheduled and on demand, with full version history20 |
| Change detection | SNMP trap triggered, into Alert Center1 | Yes, on every backup, with notifications21 |
| Diffs | Text-based before and after comparison1 | Yes, line by line between any two versions21 |
| Compliance audit | Predefined policy templates referencing SOX, PCI, HIPAA and FISMA1 | Yes, policies you write, with reports and audit evidence22 |
| Bulk changes | Supported, schedulable1 | Yes, multi-vendor, scheduled or on demand24 |
| Scale | Not published for the module1 | Benchmarked to 50,000 devices. See how rConfig counts devices.16 |
What WhatsUp Gold costs, and what rConfig costs
Progress publishes edition prices and quotes the module. Every figure below says who published it. Nothing here is a quote, and your agreement governs your terms. Last verified: 15 September 2026.
What Progress publishes
Progress's own pages, read 15 September 2026. Nothing for the Configuration Management module. Progress lists it as an add-on and prices it by quote. Its upgrade page runs a limited-time program to add the module, shows no price, and asks you to contact Progress regarding the current pricing promotion.4, 5
For the platform itself, Progress's pricing page does render figures, each marked "starting from" and each beside a Contact Sales or Get a Quote button: Business from 1,229 USD a year, Enterprise from 2,049 USD a year and Enterprise Plus from 3,469 USD a year, all for 50 devices; Premium perpetual from 5,089 USD for 50 devices; Total Plus perpetual from 14,439 USD for 50 points. Several third-party guides say Progress publishes no prices; that was not what the page showed on the date below. The module is only included in Total Plus.4, 2What third parties report
Software listings, read 15 September 2026. Capterra lists WhatsUp Gold Business from 1,169 USD a year, Enterprise from 1,949 USD a year and Enterprise Plus from 3,299 USD a year. Capterra attaches a monitoring ceiling to each plan (up to 1,000, 50,000 and 25,000 devices per instance) rather than the device count the starting price covers; the only device-qualified starting prices are the 50-device figures on Progress's own page.10
Faddom, writing on 30 May 2024, attributes 3,238 USD to a CDW reseller listing for a Premium tier perpetual licence covering 500 devices.11
These are third-party figures, not a Progress quote, and the Capterra ones are lower than the starting prices on Progress's own page on the same date. Where a listing and a Progress page disagree, the Progress page is the one to ask about.The licensing model
As Progress's pricing page lays it out. Business, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus are annual subscriptions licensed by device. Premium is a perpetual licence, also by device, with one year of updates and support. Total Plus is a perpetual licence by points rather than devices. Add-on modules, Configuration Management among them, are purchased separately on Premium.4, 8
Device bands are a recurring theme in customer reviews: one Capterra reviewer, a network engineer writing in May 2022, describes paying for a 300-device licence while running just over 100 devices, and asks for more tiers. Customer reporting, not Progress policy.12
In practice the module's cost is the add-on quote on Premium, or the step up to Total Plus. Your own quote is the document that settles it.rConfig
rConfig pricing page. rConfig Core is free and open source, with no device limit. It is the self-hosted way to test rConfig on your own network before you buy anything.14
The commercial editions, Starter, Standard and Enterprise, are a flat annual price by device band. They add restore, policy checks, role-based access, directory sign-in, reports and a support contract, in steps. The current prices, in your currency, are on the rConfig pricing page, and the rConfig edition comparison shows what each edition includes.
Start with rConfig Core.
Scale, security and data control, on record
Three things a team leaving a platform module asks first. Each one links to the page that stands behind it.
Benchmarked to 50,000 devices
rConfig's latest benchmark backs up over 50,000 devices in under 21 minutes, with realistic fault conditions such as unreachable hosts and failed logins included.16 You can model your own estate with the rConfig Sim network simulator, and read how rConfig counts devices before you size a device band.17
A published security posture
A host that holds credentials for every device it backs up is a high-value target, whichever tool it is, rConfig included; WhatsUp Gold has appeared in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (CVE-2024-4885, added 3 March 2025).13 How rConfig is built, tested and disclosed is written down: read the rConfig security policy for the practices, and the rConfig security advisories for every disclosed issue and its fix.18, 19
Your data stays on your infrastructure
Device credentials, backups and change history live on the Linux hosts you run, on your network. There is no rConfig cloud service in the path, and nothing leaves your environment unless you send it.20
Move off the WhatsUp Gold module in five steps
Run rConfig alongside WhatsUp Gold while you validate device access, scheduled backups and configuration history. Nothing about the monitoring side changes.
Keep the archive
Keep the WhatsUp Gold archive for reference and export any configuration you need to retain.
Install and import
Install rConfig Core on a Linux host and point it at the devices, importing them in bulk from a spreadsheet.
Verify the backups
Verify the first backup for every device: running and startup configs, stored with a version.
Run a compliance check
Run the first compliance check against the policies you care about and read the evidence it produces.
Retire the module
Keep WhatsUp Gold monitoring. Retire the Configuration Management module when the rConfig archive is complete.
WhatsUp Gold Alternative FAQs
Does rConfig replace WhatsUp Gold?
No. rConfig replaces the WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management module, not WhatsUp Gold itself. Network monitoring, SNMP polling and alerting, network mapping, Network Traffic Analysis, Application Monitoring, Log Management and Failover Manager stay where they are. The scope section above sets out the line in full.
What is the WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management module?
It is the configuration add-on for WhatsUp Gold, formerly known as WhatsConfigured. Progress describes it as automating backups of running and startup configurations into an encrypted archive, alerting on changes through an SNMP trap into Alert Center, comparing before and after versions as text, auditing configurations against predefined policy templates that reference SOX, PCI, HIPAA and FISMA, and pushing bulk changes on a schedule. It is an add-on to the Premium, MSP and Distributed editions and is included in Total Plus.
Is Configuration Management included in WhatsUp Gold?
Only in one edition. Progress's Configuration Management data sheet, read on 15 September 2026, says the module is available as an add-on to the Premium, MSP and Distributed editions and is included in the Total Plus edition. On the other editions it is a separate purchase.
What does WhatsUp Gold cost?
Progress publishes edition starting prices for 50 devices on its pricing page but no price for the Configuration Management add-on, which is priced by quote; its upgrade page runs an unpriced promotion for the add-on and asks you to contact Progress. Capterra lists WhatsUp Gold Business from 1,169 USD a year, Enterprise from 1,949 USD and Enterprise Plus from 3,299 USD, each with a monitoring ceiling rather than a licensed device count, and Faddom attributes 3,238 USD for a 500-device Premium perpetual licence to a CDW listing. All figures were checked on 15 September 2026 and none is a quote. rConfig Core is free and open source, and the commercial editions are a flat annual price by device band, published on the pricing page.
Can rConfig run alongside WhatsUp Gold?
Yes. Both only read from your devices, so rConfig runs next to WhatsUp Gold monitoring without either getting in the other's way. Keep the monitoring you have and let rConfig own the configuration half. Where you run a different monitoring platform, rConfig syncs device inventory from it: see the Paessler PRTG integration, Zabbix integration and Checkmk integration pages.
Is there a free option for network config backup?
Yes. rConfig Core is free and open source, with no device limit. It backs up configs on a schedule, keeps every version and shows line-by-line diffs, on a Linux host you run. Download rConfig Core and test it with real devices before you buy anything.
Does rConfig run on Windows?
No. rConfig is self-hosted on Linux, on a server or in Docker. WhatsUp Gold runs on Windows Server with IIS and Microsoft SQL Server. If your team is Windows only, that is a real difference to plan for; if you already run Linux hosts, rConfig fits beside them.
How does rConfig compare with SolarWinds NCM or ManageEngine NCM?
Both are commercial configuration management products, and both appear in the same searches as WhatsUp Gold. rConfig is self-hosted on Linux with a free, open-source Core edition and device-band pricing. Our SolarWinds NCM alternative and ManageEngine NCM alternative pages compare each of them in the same format as this one.
See rConfig on Your Network
Run rConfig Core alongside WhatsUp Gold. Compare backups, change history and compliance checks using your own devices, then decide.
Compare rConfig with Other Network Configuration Tools
Sources, checked 15 September 2026
- Progress, WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management (running and startup configs in an encrypted archive, SNMP trap change alerts into Alert Center, text-based before and after comparison, policy templates referencing SOX, PCI, HIPAA and FISMA, bulk changes with scheduling)
- Progress, Configuration Management data sheet (an add-on to the Premium, MSP and Distributed editions, included in the Total Plus edition)
- Progress (Ipswitch) WhatsUp Gold 2017 help, Configuration Management (formerly known as WhatsConfigured)
- Progress, WhatsUp Gold pricing (renders figures, not only a quote form: starting from 1,229, 2,049 and 3,469 USD for 50 devices per year on Business, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus; starting from 5,089 USD for 50 devices on Premium, perpetual; starting from 14,439 USD for 50 points on Total Plus, perpetual; each beside a Contact Sales or Get a Quote button. Configuration Management listed as a Premium add-on with no price shown. Re-verified 15 September 2026 against third-party reports that Progress publishes no prices)
- Progress, Network Configuration Manager upgrade page (a limited-time program to add on Configuration Management, no price shown, contact us regarding the current pricing promotion)
- Progress documentation, WhatsUp Gold 2025.0 release notes, system requirements (Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025; IIS; Microsoft SQL Server 2017, 2019 and 2022, SQL Server 2022 Express included)
- Progress, WhatsUp Gold (Network Monitoring, Network Mapping, Netflow / IPFIX monitoring, application performance monitoring, Log Management, Configuration Management named as features)
- Progress, WhatsUp Gold add-ons and additional products (Network Traffic Analysis, Application Performance Monitoring, Log Management and Configuration Management as add-ons, included in Total Plus)
- Progress documentation, WhatsUp Gold Failover Manager
- Capterra, WhatsUp Gold product listing (Business 1,169 USD per year, monitor up to 1,000 devices; Enterprise 1,949 USD per year, up to 50k devices; Enterprise Plus 3,299 USD per year, 25,000 devices per instance; a monitoring ceiling per plan, not the device count the starting price covers; Capterra's listing, not a Progress quote)
- Faddom, WhatsUp Gold pricing, published 30 May 2024 (attributes 3,238 USD for a Premium tier perpetual licence covering 500 devices to a CDW reseller listing; reports Premium as device-based and Total Plus as point-based; a third-party article, not a Progress quote)
- Capterra, WhatsUp Gold reviews (a network engineer's review of May 2022 describing paying for a 300-device licence while running just over 100 devices; customer reporting, not Progress policy)
- CISA, alert of 3 March 2025, CISA Adds Five Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog (includes CVE-2024-4885, Progress WhatsUp Gold path traversal)
- rConfig pricing and editions
- rConfig, download rConfig Core
- rConfig homepage FAQ, How fast can rConfig back up large networks (the 50,000 devices in under 21 minutes benchmark)
- rConfig, how rConfig counts devices
- rConfig security policy
- rConfig security advisories
- rConfig docs, Configuration backups
- rConfig docs, Configuration diffs
- rConfig docs, Policy compliance results
- rConfig docs, Configuration restore
- rConfig docs, Universal device support
- rConfig Core docs, Import and export devices (spreadsheet import)
WhatsUp Gold capabilities, packaging, platform requirements and prices are read from Progress's own pages and documentation on that date. Third-party prices are attributed to the site that lists them and are not a Progress quote. The security line cites the CISA alert that added the vulnerability to its catalog. rConfig capability claims link to the product documentation; edition limits and prices come from the rConfig pricing page.
WhatsUp Gold details are taken from Progress and third party sources on that date and may change. WhatsUp Gold, WhatsConfigured, Alert Center, Network Traffic Analysis, Failover Manager and Progress are trademarks of their owner. This page is written by rConfig for evaluation purposes and compares the two products on network configuration management only. Your agreement with either vendor governs your actual terms.
Source checked: 15 September 2026. WhatsUp Gold, WhatsConfigured and Progress are trademarks of their respective owner. This comparison is provided for evaluation purposes, describes competitor capabilities in general terms, and reflects publicly documented product information at the time of writing.