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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Nmap

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/ANmap is a free, open source network discovery, mapper, and security auditing software. Its core features include port scanning identifying unknown devices, testing for security vulnerabilities, and identifying network issues.

    $49,980

    one-time fee

    Paessler PRTG

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/APRTG Network Monitor is the flagship offering from German software company Paessler, for monitoring local and wide area networks (LANs & WANs), servers, websites, apps, and more.

    $2,149

    per year

    Pricing
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Editions & Modules
    Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
    $7,980
    Every Three Months per license
    Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
    $11,980
    Every Three Months per license
    Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
    $13,980
    Every Three Months per license
    Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
    $14,980
    per year per license
    Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
    $19,980
    per year per license
    Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
    $23,980
    per year per license
    Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Perpetual License
    $49,980
    one-time fee per license
    Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
    $59,920
    Every Five Years per license
    Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
    $79,920
    Every Five Years per license
    Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Perpetual License
    $79,980
    one-time fee per license
    Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
    $95,920
    Every Five Years per license
    Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Perpetual License
    $98,980
    one-time fee per license
    PRTG 500
    $2,149
    per year
    Hosted 500
    $2,149
    per year
    PRTG 1,000
    $3,899
    per year
    Hosted 1000
    $3,899
    per year
    PRTG 2,500
    $8,099
    per year
    Hosted 2500
    $8,099
    per year
    PRTG 5,000
    $14,199
    per year
    Hosted 5000
    $14,199
    per year
    PRTG 10000
    $17,899
    per year
    PRTG Enterprise
    Custom Pricing
    subscription license
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsAll perpetual licenses include a six-month trial period during which you can cancel for any reason and receive a full refund of all money paid (including maintenance). The term license is only a 3-month commitment and cal also be terminated with full refund during the first 30 days of the initial quarter.—
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Network Performance Monitoring
    Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of Nmap and Paessler PRTG
    Feature
    Nmap
    5.3
    17 Ratings
    40% below category average
    Paessler PRTG
    7.3
    67 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Automated network device discovery5.011 Ratings7.260 Ratings
    Network monitoring10.012 Ratings9.666 Ratings
    Baseline threshold calculation9.06 Ratings8.657 Ratings
    Alerts3.04 Ratings8.867 Ratings
    Network capacity planning6.07 Ratings6.448 Ratings
    Packet capture analysis2.07 Ratings6.234 Ratings
    Network mapping10.016 Ratings5.547 Ratings
    Customizable reports1.010 Ratings5.857 Ratings
    Wireless infrastructure monitoring2.08 Ratings6.249 Ratings
    Hardware health monitoring5.06 Ratings9.264 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Small Businesses
    Auvik
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Auvik
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    PingPlotter
    Score9 out of 10
    PingPlotter
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PingPlotter
    Score9 out of 10
    Nmap
    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (18 ratings)
    8.8
    (68 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.9
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.3
    (7 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.4
    (7 ratings)
    8.0
    (19 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    NmapPaessler PRTG
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Open Source
    If you're a sysadmin, or anyone who's had to deploy network services, you've almost certainly had to use Nmap at some point or other. Need to see what devices are on your LAN? Nmap can tell you that. Want to check which ports your web server has open to the internet? Nmap is your friend.
    Nmap is a powerful command-line tool and has many options that require some reading of documentation to get the best out of (although generally straightforward). If the thought of working at the command-line scares you (presumably not if you're reading this review), then you may want a much simpler tool, or at least check out Zenmap GUI.
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    integrates seamlessly with Windows servers via WMI and PowerShell, providing deep insights into resource usage, performance metrics, and system health. It's excellent at tracking CPU, memory, disk space, and event logs, enabling rapid troubleshooting and proactive maintenance. PRTG Network Monitor also effectively monitors Fortigate devices, providing detailed data on firewall health, traffic patterns, bandwidth utilization, VPN status, and security alerts. This visibility helps detect and resolve network security issues promptly.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Open Source
    • NMap provides a very fast and a very thorough network "sweep" that allows you to quickly map out exactly what's on your network.
    • NMap is highly configurable. The "canned" choices are very good in most instances, but using various switches and options, you can create a very specific scan and get exactly the results you're looking for.
    • NMap is easy to use. Even a new administrator will be able to use the graphical version (Zenmap) with efficiency right away.
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    • Switch monitoring and finding out if there are communication issues or throughput alerts are reached
    • Big picture view of the whole infrastructure and what is functioning and what is not
    • Uptime tracking is great and lets us know for how long a device is down or overall uptime
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Open Source
    • The GUI version on Nmap could use some improvement with the options that are available to do scans. For example, they could make it easier to select options for the different types of scanning for people who are beginners
    • There are no abilities to schedule a scan in the Nmap tool.
    • An intensive scan sometimes takes too much time to complete.
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    • Licensing on a per entity basis can be cumbersome for devices which have a ton of monitoring points like network switches\routers. Each sensor may count against a license, which could be a lot of you were monitoring every TX\RX of an SFP for example
    • A better method to easily template\copy monitors across devices
    • The navigation in the web GUI could be a little more straightforward in terms of the hierarchy
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Paessler
    I would renew it because the platform has brought us many technical and economic benefits that make the cost-benefit ratio very good. Additionally, to do so does not require large investments in training, licensing or infrastructure, and at the administration level, extensive knowledge is not required to be able to bear it.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Open Source
    Nmap uses are very practical and I don't think there is a better tools for what Nmap does. It is open-sources that therefore there is no cost to use it. It offers a number of benefits, including but not limited to network mapping, port scanning and more. It is very reliable as a network scanning tool.
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    Paessler
    The tool is very intuitive to use and it is Windows-based (everybody knows how to use Windows) so it's easy to get into. Every time is setup in a hierarchy so if you have a good initial hierarchy design, it will really reduce administrative effort down the road.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Open Source
    There is a very large support community and a robust selection of add-ons and scripts. Once you get the use down this is one of the most powerful tools and you can find anything you are looking for as far as examples on the web. While not having official support its not lacking by any means.
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    PRTG does everything we need it to do and more. Ease of use, ease of management and maintenance and clarity of monitoring of hundreds of different types of device and service gives this a large advantage over other products on the market that I have tried. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a network monitoring product in their environment and even to people who don't know they need a solution yet!
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    Implementation Rating
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Paessler
    It's very important that de project's teams have different member of the TI. We have learned too late the importa of Security Analyst at the design architecture moment. We have to rebuild part of the implementation for made this big mistake.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Open Source
    Alternatives to Nmap (other IP scanners) are often much more limited in what they can do; They often only allow you to scan a specific subset of ports or a limited number of IP addresses in one command. Nmap is unrestricted in that regard. What makes Nmap stand out above the rest, is the complete network analysis package you get with it. It allows IP scanner, network deep-dives, hardware analysis, vulnerability analysis, encryption detailing, and so much more, in one free application
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    PRTG offers more versatility in monitoring when compared to the other solutions we tested. The other solutions were also limited as far as customization options, which made them less adaptable to our networks. When compared to Auvik, for instance, we prefer PRTG as it offers immediate notifications through the desktop client - not limited to email notifications as with Auvik. We also appreciate the fact that PRTG can be self/on-prem hosted vs Auvik's cloud model. This makes for an easier deployment and less firewall adjustments to allow traffic to cloud-hosted solutions.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Open Source
    • Nmap with Wireshark is free, so it's been a great combo team to gather info and test.
    • It's allowed us to avoid fines from false positives and to fix actual issues ourselves.
    • Great for finding hosts, helps keep the network secure.
    Incentivized
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    Paessler
    • The ability to analyze multiple pieces of information in one place, especially with historical data, has saved our IT department time and headaches. It would be so much more difficult to trace an issue without PRTG, just relying on event logs and an open task manager window.
    • The cost is not cheap, so it's an expense that hits the bottom line like everything else. Figure in hardware costs as well, ideally a server outside of your main environment.
    • I keep saying this, but the historical data piece is worth so much. There's really no good way to collect all of that information in one place without something like PRTG. And that definitely saves time and money in the long run.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots