Transit vs Domotz
Complement, not competitor. Domotz watches your networks and gets you to the device — Transit is what happens once you're on it.
The short version
- Choose Transit when
- the problem needs a human at the CLI working out why — with an AI proposing read-only, vendor-gated diagnostics your technician approves click by click, and a written summary at the end.
- Choose Domotz when
- you need continuous discovery, monitoring, alerting, config backup with one-click restore, and browser-based remote access across many networks — the operations layer Domotz is built to be.
- Run both when
- you're an MSP or integrator: Domotz detects, pages, and gets you connected; Transit is the investigation seat once you're on the box.
What is Domotz?
Domotz is a cloud-based network monitoring and management platform from Domotz Inc., popular with MSPs, IT departments, and integrators. An on-prem collector — it runs on almost anything, from Windows boxes to NAS appliances to a Raspberry Pi — feeds continuous Layer-2/Layer-3 discovery, automatic topology maps, SNMP and TCP-service monitoring, config backup with one-click restore, and browser-based remote access (RDP, SSH, HTTP/S) with no VPN, plus physical power control down to PDU outlets and PoE ports.
Domotz now describes itself as "agent-native … operated by AI or by you": its MCP server lets AI clients like ChatGPT or Claude operate Domotz's own management tools — about fifty of them, including remediation actions — with OAuth scoping and confirmation on sensitive operations.
What is Transit?
Transit is an investigation-only network AI assistant built into a professional SSH and serial terminal. You connect to your switches, routers, and firewalls the way you always have — the AI investigates alongside you. It reads the same scrollback you see, proposes read-only diagnostic commands, and explains what it finds. It can investigate your network; it can't change your gear.
Investigation-only is architecture, not a promise. The AI has exactly four abilities — list open sessions, read redacted scrollback, propose a command, ask you a question — and every command it proposes must pass a per-vendor permit list and your explicit click before it runs. Always both, never either. Device output is redacted before any model sees it, and the AI has no code path to your credentials. Transit AI Software Inc. completed a SOC 2 Type I examination in July 2026, and the safety architecture is patent pending.
Transit is not a monitoring platform, and doesn't want to be: it will never page you, and it doesn't poll your network. It starts where the alert ends — a technician in a terminal, working out why. The terminal is a free download; the investigation-only AI is the subscription.
Where each tool lives in the workflow
Rows are the stages of a network problem, not features. Domotz owns the top of this table; Transit owns the middle — and the middle is where the labor cost lives.
| Stage of the problem | Domotz | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Discover & map the network | Yescontinuous Layer-2/Layer-3 discovery and automatic topology maps [1] | Not offeredimports your existing inventory; doesn't scan |
| Monitor & alert — “something's wrong” | YesSNMP and TCP-service monitoring, custom scripts, alerts to email/push/ticketing [2] | Not offeredby design — Transit starts where the alert ends |
| Back up device configs | Yesautomatic backup with one-click restore and drift detection [3] | Not offered |
| Reach the device | Yesbrowser-based RDP/SSH/HTTP(S) with no VPN, plus physical-layer power control (PDUs, PoE, smart plugs) [3] | Partialyour own network path — VPN, jump host, or on-site. Flip side: works fully on-site and in air-gapped rooms where a cloud-connected agent can't |
| Investigate at the CLI — “what exactly is wrong?” | Partialvia the Domotz MCP server, third-party AI clients (ChatGPT, Claude, and others) can operate ~50 Domotz tools — including remediation actions — with OAuth scoping and confirmation on sensitive operations; an embedded CLI investigation assistant isn't advertised [4] | Yesthe core product — the AI proposes read-only diagnostics inside your live session and explains what the output means |
| Guardrails for junior techs on production gear | Partialremote access grants the device's full CLI once connected; MCP actions are permission-scoped with client confirmation for sensitive operations [4] | Yesevery AI-proposed command passes a per-vendor permit list AND an explicit human click — config and write verbs are blocked by architecture |
| Document & escalate the investigation | Partialalert and monitoring history [2] | Yesthe investigation ends in a written summary — the escalation note or ticket artifact |
| Where the data lives | vendor cloud (SaaS) with an on-prem collector/agent [5] | desktop app; device output is redacted before any AI model sees it, and secrets stay in your OS keychain |
✓ offered · ◐ partial · — not offered / not what the tool is for. Bracketed numbers link to the Domotz page each claim was checked against; the full source list with dates is at the bottom of this page.
Where Domotz wins
- Remote-access breadth without a VPN — browser RDP/SSH/HTTP(S) plus physical power control down to PDU outlets and PoE ports. ↗
- The collector runs on almost anything — Windows, NAS boxes, Raspberry Pi, Docker, hypervisors and more — which makes site rollouts cheap. ↗
- Config backup with one-click restore and drift detection across managed devices. ↗
- Simple pricing with free discovery, and a generally-available MCP server included at no AI premium — AI clients can operate Domotz's own tools. ↗
Where Transit wins
- Investigation itself: an AI inside the live SSH session proposing read-only, vendor-aware diagnostics and interpreting the output — the labor-heavy middle of every network ticket.
- Structural safety: the per-vendor permit list plus a human click on every AI-proposed command — a junior can't be talked into a config change, even by the AI.
- Privacy posture: device output is redacted before any model sees it; credentials live in your OS keychain with no AI code path to them; no training on your data.
- Works where agents can't: fully on-site and in disconnected or air-gapped environments — and with local models (Bring Your Own Model), the AI investigator runs there too, no cloud round-trip.
- The terminal is free — Transit only costs money when you add the AI.
Run both: detect and connect with Domotz, investigate with Transit
Domotz is exceptionally good at the outer loop: knowing what's on the network, noticing when it misbehaves, and getting you connected — or power-cycling the thing from the couch. Transit owns the inner loop: once a human is at the CLI, the AI proposes read-only, vendor-aware diagnostics one approved command at a time, explains the output, and hands you a written summary for the ticket. If the fix is "reboot the access point," Domotz alone finishes the job; if the question is "why does this VLAN drop packets every Tuesday," that's Transit's half.
Honest notes: Domotz's collector-relayed access reaches sites Transit can't reach without a VPN, jump host, or a site visit — while Transit works fully on-site and in air-gapped rooms where cloud-relayed sessions can't go, and its AI is restricted by architecture to read-only investigation rather than remediation. Different halves of the same incident.
Frequently asked questions
Is Transit a replacement for Domotz?
No. Domotz is a network monitoring and management platform — continuous discovery, alerting, config backup, remote access. Transit doesn't monitor anything and will never page you. Transit replaces the improvised step after the alert: a technician at the CLI, now with an AI that proposes read-only diagnostics one approved command at a time.
Doesn't Domotz already work with AI?
Yes — Domotz ships an MCP server so AI clients like ChatGPT or Claude can operate Domotz's own management tools, including remediation actions such as power-cycling, with OAuth scoping and confirmation on sensitive operations. Transit solves a different problem: an AI embedded in the SSH session itself, restricted by architecture to read-only investigation — it proposes CLI diagnostics and can't run anything without the per-vendor permit list and your click.
Can Transit's AI change my devices?
No. The AI has exactly four abilities — list open sessions, read redacted scrollback, propose a command, ask a question — and every proposed command must pass a default-deny per-vendor permit list AND your explicit click. Config and write verbs are blocked. It investigates; it can't change your gear.
Domotz already gives me browser SSH to any device. Why add Transit?
Reaching the device and knowing what to type once you're there are different problems. Domotz gets you a terminal; Transit makes the time in that terminal shorter — the AI proposes vendor-aware, read-only diagnostics, explains the output, and produces the ticket summary. It also works entirely on-site or air-gapped — the terminal always, and the AI too when you run a local model — where a cloud-relayed session can't go.
Try it yourself
The terminal is free. Really.
Download Transit and use it as your everyday SSH and serial client at no cost — no account, no trial clock. Add the investigation-only AI when you want it.
Free download · macOS · Windows · Linux · No account required
Domotz is a product of Domotz Inc. Transit AI Software Inc. is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Domotz Inc.; the Domotz name is used only to identify the product being compared.
Comparison last verified July 20, 2026. Product capabilities, packaging, and pricing change — every Domotz claim on this page was checked against Domotz's own public pages on the dates below:
- Domotz — homepage (“Agent-native network monitoring, operated by AI or by you”) — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — Discovery (continuous L2/L3) — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — Monitoring & alerting — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — Management (remote access, config backup, power control) — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — Collector deployment platforms — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — MCP Server (AI clients operate Domotz tools) — checked July 20, 2026
- Domotz — Pricing (per-collector or per-device plans) — checked July 20, 2026
Spotted something out of date or plain wrong? Report an inaccuracy and we'll fix it fast. Transit™ is a product of Transit AI Software Inc.