AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG comparison

AirMagnet Survey PRO and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. AirMagnet Survey PRO is ranked #7 with an average rating of 6.5, while NetAlly EtherScope nXG is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.0. AirMagnet Survey PRO holds a 8.1% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly EtherScope nXG’s 9.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of AirMagnet Survey PRO users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetAlly EtherScope nXG users who would recommend it.

AirMagnet Survey PRO

Read 39 AirMagnet Survey PRO reviews

3,516 Views
422 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Read 23 NetAlly EtherScope nXG reviews

1,328 Views
1,248 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AirMagnet Survey PRO

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 7, 2025

AirMagnet Survey PRO and NetAlly EtherScope nXG compete in network analysis and performance assessment. NetAlly EtherScope nXG often has the upper hand due to its advanced features, despite its higher price.

Features: AirMagnet Survey PRO is praised for its Wi-Fi site survey capabilities, signal mapping, and interference analysis. It also allows real-time spectrum analysis, CAD drawing integration, and joint 2.4 GHz and 5GHz surveys. NetAlly EtherScope nXG offers comprehensive network testing, including wired and wireless diagnostics, packet capture, and a multi-technology approach for WiFi and Ethernet analysis.

Room for Improvement: AirMagnet Survey PRO could enhance its basic software and adapter support. Simplifying licensing management and expanding the PLanner database would be beneficial. NetAlly EtherScope nXG may improve in areas like PoE testing precision, offering microburst monitoring, and reducing data collection time with the AirMapper app.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AirMagnet Survey PRO is easy to install with user-friendly guidance. NetAlly EtherScope nXG excels in deployment, benefiting from strong customer support and a convenient handheld design. Its rapid setup aids field technicians.

Pricing and ROI: AirMagnet Survey PRO's lower initial cost fits smaller budgets, focusing on wireless networks. NetAlly EtherScope nXG, despite its higher price, offers substantial ROI through robust features and reduced network downtime, appealing to organizations needing extensive insights.

To learn more, read our detailed AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

September 2025

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Helped 871,688 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey PRO

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd)

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.1%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 9.7%, down from 13.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NetAlly EtherScope nXG	9.7%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	8.1%
Other	82.2%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon

Wireless Services Manager at Veritas Managed Solutions

A solution for site verifications and enhanced with adapters that provide more realistic readings, but needs to support Wi-Fi 6E

Ekahau and AirMagnet Survey have their own pros and cons, in my opinion. For example, the APs are not visible in Ekahau but AirMagnet Survey allows us to see what APs and channels are being used in a live view, which Ekahau lacks. In Ekahau, the signal from the AP it's capturing at that time is visible which is a bit of an inconvenience. The predictive planner of AirMagnet's is better. However, Ekahau has advantages over AirMagnet because it groups all the SSIDs into one AP, whereas with AirMagnet, one needs to group them manually. Ekahau also supports Wi-Fi 6E, but its licensing is restrictive and more costly.

Read full review

Chase McGee

Cyber Range Engineer 2 at Tech Data Limited

Reduces troubleshooting from hours to minutes, and increases our security by finding rogue devices

My favorite features, ones that I have used continuously almost every single day, are the Link-Live Cloud Service and the AirMapper Site Survey. The latter is absolutely essential to almost every business I go to. I move around the building and mark where I've been and then, when I get back to my desk, the information is on the dashboard, showing me exactly where devices are. I can see, "Okay, here are printers that shouldn't be there," and I can relocate them better. Or I can check whether the WiFi signal is strong at a given spot and whether I need another access point. The AirMapper Site Survey app is one of the biggest highlights of this product. When somebody asks me, "Why should I use this device?" it's the first thing I show them, and they usually love it. Its ability to gather WiFi site survey data is absolutely amazing. You can collect so many different things including using its spectrum analyzer. You can also use the directional antenna and other features to detect the WiFi signal, its strength and where things are at. If devices are having an issue, you can figure out the cause. Maybe it is behind a wall that is not allowing WiFi signals and you can determine, "Hey, I need another access point here to get my users the internet coverage they need." The AirMapper Site Survey Heat Maps were one of the first things that I used the device for. I wanted to see the WiFi signals, where everything was at, and what was the most used. That was able to help me determine that I needed a new access point inside our center for demos. We were getting a lot of drops there and I figured out that the coverage was not good. We had to get a replacement access point. Overall, the EtherScope nXG is easy to use for less skilled staff but it has deep diagnostics for experts. I had no experience when I first received this device. I had no training and, in less than a week, I was fully proficient with it. When I really wanted to do a deep dive and figure out everything about it through the Link-Live Cloud Service, I had so much data. It made my life a lot easier.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Clear and easy to use maps."

"The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."

"The most valuable feature is the predictive survey. The antennas' RF patterns are reflected correctly on the drawing when preparing predictive heat maps."

"It allows us to prepare more real designs. Later, we validate them with actual surveys."

"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."

"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."

"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."

"Using the products to ensure the safety of our equipment that we have a lot invested in."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO pros

"It cuts the time down in half. You don't need to get a laptop out and do different testing. We can just grab this one tool, bring it, and do all our network testing, surveying, and reviews to figure out what the problems are with just one device, instead of having to use multiple people and devices to do that. You cut down time by 50% because you won't normally need multiple people onsite. A lot of times, you can do everything with one person and one tool."

"One of the standout features is its ability to serve as an advanced handheld packet analyzer. It excels in discovering both wired and wireless networks and automatically documenting them, which is really valuable. The tool provides insights from the physical layer up to layer seven, including HTTP, which helps diagnose network issues effectively. This automated documentation feature sets NetAlly apart from competitors, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in network management and recommendations. When the EtherScope nXG identifies a problem, it alerts us, allowing us to use more advanced tools for deeper analysis. Regarding PoE testing capabilities, I haven't explored them extensively, but I'm aware of their importance, especially for detecting issues like overloading switches with too many PoE devices. Integrators are becoming more cautious about these issues, but specialized tools like those from other vendors may offer features like microburst dashboards, which EtherScope nXG currently doesn't provide."

"I love the AutoTest feature... AutoTest allows us to find out what port it is on the switch and to trace it back to a particular patch panel. We can then document it, if necessary, or use that information for connecting a device or for re-VLANing a switch to the appropriate VLAN."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to identify the switchboards, when you plug the EtherScope into the network drop, and all other details about the switch. This is very useful because when you are not in that IDF or network closet but far away from that switch, you can identify the board and then configure the board for your needs, remotely."

"It clearly depicts the information we're looking for on a 10Gig testing, and we can also verify 100Gig links with it between our routing sites."

"One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing."

"One of the biggest pros of AirMapper is that you just hit upload to the cloud and you can use anything with a web browser to look at it and manipulate it, view it, and even share it. The fact that you can review it now on any computer that has web access is phenomenal, versus using the client. That's been fantastic."

"It has reduced our internal troubleshooting time. In the cases where we could not internally solve the troubleshooting, we would have had to contact an external vendor to test cable, rerun it, etc. NetAlly EtherScope has let us eliminate that in most cases so we can resolve an issue on our own without having to call a third-party out to identify the problem. It has reduced our troubleshooting time for network cabling issues by a good 75 percent."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pros

Cons

"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."

"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."

"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."

"Printouts are JPEG printouts. The AirMagnet software is proprietary. I can't send my customers a file, because it is AirMagnet file, even for building projects. I can only send JPEGs or screenshots of heat maps."

"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."

"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."

"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."

"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO cons

"The battery life could be better. There have been a couple of times that I used it and put it down, then I went to pick it up and the battery was dead. So, I need to take the power cord with me in order to continue using it."

"The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network analysis up to layer seven, including automatic network mapping with tools like CyberScope. While there may be some features missing compared to competitors, NetAlly remains strong in its specialized market, providing robust solutions like EtherScope for detailed customer scans, despite being on the pricier side."

"NetAlly doesn't have a spectrum analyzer. I have to use other tools to view the spectrum, and this is a problem."

"The user interface could be a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier. Sometimes it's hard to find a specific thing that you're looking for. In terms of hardware-based improvement, the battery would be the biggest issue. The battery goes out very quickly."

"The small screen is a little bit of a handicap. It would be nice if we could, for instance, connect a larger screen to the device, but it's very user-friendly. You're only limited by the size of the screen. That's the only negative aspect of doing surveys with this device."

"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."

"On a hardware spec, it'd be nice to have something above 10-Gigs."

"The only issue that I have ever had is the battery life. It does drain a little bit quickly... While it's true that by the time I'm finished with my assessment it's usually dead, I have usually finished what I need to do and everything has been pushed to Link-Live. But occasionally, I might need a backup battery if I need to do something for multiple hours."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is very expensive."

"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."

"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."

"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."

"The pricing needs improvement."

"The pricing was a little bit high, but I understand that when you are getting multiple tools."

"It's very expensive. I wish I could buy a few more and give them to all the people who could use it, or perhaps send it to a client, given that some of its features are easy to use. But sending something worth $8,000 or $9,000 is nerve-racking. It would be nice that if it were a lot less expensive."

"If we were to purchase separate meters to do similar things, it would be double or triple the cost for us to have each toolkit available. Being a small business, putting that much money on a single truck is not cost-effective. Instead, we could put the analyzer, network heat map, and cable tester all in one meter. That is why we went for it."

"It is worth it. The cost benefit of Link-Live is massive because it is included with the cost of the device and the licensing. A lot of people miss that part of it. It is not just the device that you get but it is the ability to look at all of that data later on. You're not having to do all of that on the device. You can just be there, use the device, and then look at the data from the comfort of your office or home afterward."

"It is relatively high-priced and it should certainly not get any more expensive. I would like it to be $1,000 less, and I think everyone would say that. And of course, maintenance is also a recurring cost."

"For the average network shop, the cost is a bit high. In a lot of organizations, people don't share test devices between teams. Generally, you need a device for the network team and a device for the system team, the security team, etc. While the cost is a little on the high side, that is offset by the regular updates and continued improvements that NetAlly adds to the device. Those improvements continue to increase the perceived value of the device."

"The cost is not cheap but it totally pays for itself because it can do so much."

"If you're in the networking world, this product makes great sense very quickly, if you're going to use it more than a few times a week... If you are just looking at a handheld device unit for specific, wireless or wired testing and not much else, the cost may be a little more prohibitive than what you have in your budget."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?

We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?

AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?

We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

We mainly use NetAlly EtherScope nXG for troubleshooting. Linksprinter helps us solve problems and understand how things work. For example, SpamTitan is automatic, but beginners might not understan...

See all answers

Comparisons

Ekahau AI Pro vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 65% of the time

iBwave Unity vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 7% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 6% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 5% of the time

Northstar Planner by Juniper Networks vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 2% of the time

More AirMagnet Survey PRO Competitors

LinkRunner vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 42% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 23% of the time

Wireshark vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 9% of the time

IxNetwork vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 8% of the time

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO

October 2025

Download AirMagnet Survey PRO product report

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2025

Download NetAlly EtherScope nXG product report

Also Known As

No data available

EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG

Overview

AirMagnet Survey PRO provides efficient wireless network surveying and design capabilities, optimizing access point placement with dual passive-active surveys, spectrum integration, and real-time analysis.

AirMagnet Survey PRO offers comprehensive tools for wireless coverage optimization. It facilitates accurate SNR/RSSI data collection and features multi-floor planning with robust reporting capabilities. The software enables efficient spectrum analysis, predictive mapping, and simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz surveys, saving significant time. Users appreciate its intuitive interface, which aids technical assessments and visual displays. However, they suggest improvements in multi-floor integration, file import options, and a more dynamic license system. Enhanced cloud storage support, improved auto-placement features, and better device compatibility are also on the wishlist.

What are the key features of AirMagnet Survey PRO?

Dual Passive-Active Surveys: Streamline access point placement with dual survey types.
Antenna Customization: Tailor antenna parameters for optimal performance.
Predictive Mapping: Visualize potential coverage areas before deployment.
Spectrum Integration: Analyze interference and optimize signal paths.
Simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Surveys: Conduct faster, comprehensive surveys across frequency bands.

What benefits should users look for in reviews of AirMagnet Survey PRO?

Accurate Data Collection: Highly precise SNR/RSSI measurements improve network assessments.
Time Efficiency: Reduce survey duration with dual-band simultaneous assessments.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies complex tasks with intuitive visual tools.
Comprehensive Reporting: Offers detailed analysis and insights into network performance.
Cost Savings: Efficient planning and troubleshooting lead to reduced deployment costs.

In industries like hospitality, education, and healthcare, AirMagnet Survey PRO is instrumental in wireless network surveying and design. These sectors rely on the software for precise Wi-Fi coverage assessments, spectrum analysis, and real-time signal checks, using heat maps to identify dead zones for pre and post-installation verifications. Some opt for alternatives to support newer technologies like Wi-Fi 6E.

NetAlly

Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network tester that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi and Ethernet access networks.

The Etherscope nXG is the the industry’s first handheld analyzer for Wi-Fi 6/6E surveying (with AirMapper™ Site Survey), troubleshooting, and analysis.

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

September 2025

Free Report: AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

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