AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Wireshark comparison

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AirMagnet Survey PRO

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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: June 2025).

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. Wireshark

June 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 July 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.4%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 13.4%, up from 11.7% 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.

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

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

"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."

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

"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."

"Customer service is great."

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

More AirMagnet Survey PRO pros

"Wireshark's best features are that it lets us see what traffic is in the network and what data should be encrypted."

"The product is simple to implement."

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

"The initial setup is simple."

"It's easy to troubleshoot issues because there's a large online community."

"Being able to dissect email data and figure out what is inside email messages was the most valuable feature. Such a feature is pretty helpful for an ongoing forensic investigation or when there is a potential insider threat that you are trying to investigate. It allows you to see the network activity of the users you are investigating. It also gives you more visibility into your network. It was very easy to set up. There is a lot of information out there on Google and YouTube about how to use it. There is also community support. If you have any trouble, it is pretty easy to find an answer online. You will have to do some digging only if you have a very specific use case."

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

"The transmission and reception issues are valuable."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

More AirMagnet Survey PRO cons

"The solution has a steep learning curve. There are so many filters and features that are frequently being updated, it takes research, experience and familiarity to be able to use them. It could be a lot more user-friendly."

"The average person would probably find Wireshark hard to use. When I first installed it, I was overwhelmed by all the data it was shooting out. It doesn't make sense until you start doing some research and figure out what everything means. It isn't the most user-friendly tool. It just provides so much information."

"The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance."

"The initial setup depends upon the basics. You need to have a clear understanding of the basics."

"Big trace files (more than 1,000,000 packets) can be slow, but then you can use "TraceWrangler" (also free) to help with slicing and dicing the data."

"Sometimes I need to use tcpdump when I need to check the packets on CLI."

"I would like to see Wireshark improve the ease of application of the command. The command is very powerful, but not easy to apply."

"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."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"The pricing needs improvement."

"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."

"This product is very expensive."

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

"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."

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

"The solution is open source so is free."

"It's free."

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

"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."

"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

University

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

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

July 2025

Download Wireshark product report

June 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