AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Wireshark comparison

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AirMagnet Survey PRO

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 5, 2025

Wireshark and AirMagnet Survey PRO compete in the network analysis and optimization space. Wireshark leads in cost-effectiveness, while AirMagnet Survey PRO has the upper hand in specialized features for large-scale projects.

Features: Wireshark offers real-time network traffic inspection, deep packet analysis, and comprehensive protocol support. AirMagnet Survey PRO provides advanced predictive modeling, RF spectrum analysis, and site survey capabilities for effective wireless network design.

Room for Improvement: Wireshark could enhance its user interface for easier navigation, improve support for wireless communication details like beacon frames, and offer more structured support. AirMagnet Survey PRO can improve adapter compatibility, reduce its cost for small-scale projects, and streamline setup to be less complex.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AirMagnet Survey PRO demands more extensive setup but benefits from dedicated support. Wireshark is easily installed as open-source software, though it depends on community support for troubleshooting.

Pricing and ROI: Wireshark is cost-effective with no initial expense, making it affordable for any size project. Its ROI is achieved through reduced troubleshooting time. AirMagnet Survey PRO has a higher upfront cost but offers robust features aimed at enterprises seeking long-term wireless performance gains.

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

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. Wireshark

April 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)

Wireshark

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 6.9%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 14.3%, up from 12.1% 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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Vijay Duggal

Network Specialist at Squarepoint Capital

Provides detailed traffic analysis and helps troubleshoot issues

There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. While the solution supports sampling as fine as one millisecond, it requires a copy at that interval. My Python script allows me to achieve a granularity of up to ten microseconds, but I can't go beyond that. When dealing with provisioning on both issues, it would be beneficial if I could go down to the microsecond level, if not the nanosecond. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.

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

"Customer service is great."

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

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

"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."

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

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

"The predictive survey is the most valuable feature. I use it quite often."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO pros

"The most valuable feature is the traffic gate, which shows which IPs are getting more bandwidth or traffic."

"I like the filtering feature as we can filter data easily. This feature is also available in tcpdump, but it's a simple piece of software. Wireshark is more advanced and has many features. It allows you to filter a lot of things. The output can be filtered easily. The most important feature is colorization. If I say, "Okay, this particular SMB protocol in red, it will show me red." It's easy to identify that protocol or capture data."

"You can use Wireshark to see the traffic packet format, the IP layers, the fields, and the enabled flags."

"The transmission and reception issues are valuable."

"I have found the most valuable feature you can design your sniffer the way you want to."

"The filter option provided by Wireshark is its most valuable feature...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The product is simple to implement."

"It is a stable product. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

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

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

"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."

"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 moment, you can filter by channel or SSID, but grouping all those SSIDs together is a difficult task."

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

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

"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."

"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."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO cons

"It is difficult to scale this solution."

"We'd like to be able to extract the output into an Excel table."

"You need some basic knowledge to work with Wireshark. Maybe it could be more user-friendly just for new users. Just for the new generation."

"It is not an easy program. You will need to study to use it to its full capabilities (follow a course)."

"The Wireshark search function shows green for a correct search and red for an incorrect search. If there were a way to provide a description about what a search - and the similar ones which are available - can do, while a person is typing it, it would make the product easier to use and simultaneously decrease the learning curve."

"This product needs to improve the UI."

"The solution’s user interface could be improved."

"Its user interface was a little less friendly. They can make its user interface a little bit more friendly. It is for technical people, and most of the technical people would be able to figure it out, but it would be good to improve its user interface. They can maybe build artificial intelligence into it. Currently, it takes a lot of manpower to analyze and dissect all the data."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing needs improvement."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

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

"This product is very expensive."

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

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

"It's a stand-alone tool. If there is a commercial license for it I am unaware of it."

"It is free to download and install. It runs on multiple platforms, so how can you go wrong?"

"Wireshark is open-source and free of charge."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved."

"It is free."

"We're using the free version of Wireshark."

"I've never personally had to pay for it, making it a highly valuable internet resource that's accessible for use. While they offer some paid versions, our firm has utilized the free version for the past three years."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

University

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?

We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.

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...

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...

What do you like most about Wireshark?

The GUI is easy to use.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wireshark?

Wireshark is priced at a medium range, not too high, not too low. The pricing could be more flexible, and they might make it more expensive. That said, compared to other products, it is competitive.

What needs improvement with Wireshark?

The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance. Performance can sometimes be a challenge due to numerous factors.

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Product Reports

Download AirMagnet Survey PRO product report

AirMagnet Survey PRO

May 2025

Download Wireshark product report

May 2025

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

Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer.

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops

Comversion, ADP, Talbots