AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetBrain comparison

NetAlly and NetBrain are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. NetAlly is ranked #7 with an average rating of 6.5, while NetBrain is ranked #15. NetAlly holds a 8.4% mindshare in NT, compared to NetBrain’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of NetAlly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of NetBrain users who would recommend it.

AirMagnet Survey PRO

Read 39 AirMagnet Survey PRO reviews

3,725 Views
410 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

NetBrain

Read 6 NetBrain reviews

2,846 Views
114 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

AirMagnet Survey PRO

NetBrain

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 5, 2025

AirMagnet Survey PRO and NetBrain compete in network performance optimization. NetBrain holds an advantage due to its comprehensive feature set, making it more suitable for complex networks, while AirMagnet Survey PRO's strengths lie in pricing and support.

Features: AirMagnet Survey PRO provides robust site survey capabilities, precise network planning, troubleshooting, and the ability to generate detailed Wi-Fi assessments. It supports RF measurements, Wi-Fi planning, and multi-floor heat maps. NetBrain excels with dynamic network documentation, automated map features, and real-time network visibility, including layer 3 and 4 network mapping, network diagnostics, and asset tracking.

Room for Improvement: AirMagnet Survey PRO could enhance its integration with modern network tools, expand its adapter support, and simplify report generation. NetBrain could improve its user interface, reduce the complexity of initial setups, and enhance layer 7 application insights.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AirMagnet Survey PRO is straightforward to deploy with efficient customer service, making it accessible for various users. NetBrain, while requiring a more complex setup due to its advanced functionalities, offers responsive customer support crucial for its extensive features.

Pricing and ROI: AirMagnet Survey PRO is cost-effective with quick ROI, ideal for specific, targeted needs due to lower setup costs. NetBrain requires a higher initial investment, justified by its expansive feature set that provides significant long-term ROI, particularly beneficial for large enterprises managing complex networks.

To learn more, read our detailed AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetBrain Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetBrain

July 2025

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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)

NetBrain

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

15th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Automation (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.4%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetBrain is 3.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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.

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Deborah Gamelin

Vice President at Asset Track for Cloud, LLC

Good monitoring and troubleshoot capabilities, improves overall network traffic visibility

In my organization, we had 130,000 network devices that needed to be brought into the solution and mapped. NetBrain can handle the scale but the engineers that manage those devices have to go in and update all of them to allow NetBrain permission to poll them. It can get a little stressful for everybody when you're trying to roll out new stuff when you've got other issues that have to be addressed with other devices. In some cases, our devices had no automation at all. One example is the Cisco 3650. Right now, if you went through the inventory list, you see that we have different versions running. Some are on one version, whereas others are on another version. The problem with upgrading them is that they need to be done overnight because we don't want to disrupt any network traffic during business hours. Consequently, it could take us years to upgrade the versions before we can even get them onto these new tools. This may be an internal issue but it's a big one when you have a lot of devices. Even if you had 10,000 devices, it's still an issue. You have to consider the compatibility of the device against the tool, and being able to use certain commands to upgrade it.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."

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

"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."

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

"Clear and easy to use maps."

"The heat maps are quite good, and some features are easy to use."

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

"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."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO pros

"Chain management is a good feature. I don't get it on other solutions."

"NetBrain is a very simple tool."

"Enables maps to be drawn out."

"This product has good network monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities."

"A reliable, time-saving tool for providing accurate layer 2 and layer 3 network mappings."

Cons

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

"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."

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

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

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

"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."

"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."

"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO cons

"Support needs to improve for the installed product and some of the reporting could be more flexible to provide more complete cataloging."

"The IP interface brief isn't consistent."

"It would be nice if the setup was a little simpler. Also, if the solution could provide more training materials for new people coming into our company so they can quickly learn how to use the functionalities."

"The solution could integrate more automation."

"Each device needs to be configured to allow NetBrain to poll for the information it needs, which can be very time-consuming for a large network."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is very expensive."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"The pricing needs improvement."

"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."

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

"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 product is expensive, but less expensive than some of the competition and worth the price."

"Licensing is based on a per-device basis, which means that it can get very expensive if you have a large number of devices."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Retailer

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO

August 2025

Download AirMagnet Survey PRO product report

Buyer's Guide

NetBrain

August 2025

Download NetBrain product report

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

Managing today’s networks with yesterday’s manual processes is no longer a viable solution. NetBrain’s network automation platform provides actionable insights into your network to help you make better and faster decisions - particularly when you’re troubleshooting, securing, and making changes to the network.

NetBrain

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops

CompuCon, TD Ameritrade, Move Inc.

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetBrain

July 2025

Free Report: AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetBrain

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