Azure Network Watcher vs Nmap comparison

Read 22 Nmap reviews

1,256 Views
1,068 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nmap and Azure Network Watcher are key contenders in the network scanning and monitoring domain. Azure Network Watcher appears more advantageous due to its cloud-native capabilities, which offer superior integration with Azure services, overshadowing Nmap's attractive pricing and adaptability.

Features: Nmap provides comprehensive network scanning, security auditing capabilities, and detailed exploration of network vulnerabilities. Azure Network Watcher offers end-to-end network monitoring, seamless integration with Azure services, and advanced diagnostic tools.

Room for Improvement: Nmap could improve its cloud integration, user interface for easier navigation, and scalability for large enterprises. Azure Network Watcher might enhance support for non-Azure environments, reduce latency in data processing, and offer more customizable alerting features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nmap is known for its straightforward installation process and flexibility in deployment across various platforms. Azure Network Watcher benefits from Azure's ecosystem, facilitating integrated deployment and strong support services, considered superior due to comprehensive integration with other Azure offerings.

Pricing and ROI: Nmap offers a significant cost advantage as an open-source tool with no setup fees, ensuring high ROI through its cost-effectiveness. Azure Network Watcher involves higher costs due to Azure usage-based pricing but offers substantial ROI with its advanced cloud capabilities and deep Azure integration.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Nmap Report (Updated: September 2025).

Azure Network Watcher vs. Nmap

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 871,829 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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

47th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nmap

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nmap is 0.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nmap	0.6%
Azure Network Watcher	0.4%
Other	99.0%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at Capgemini

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

Read full review

AntoSebastin

Cyber Security Consultant - APAC at Logon Software

Scans the network and identifies vulnerabilities on each machine

Nmap is mostly helpful during compliance checks. We run the scanner to see how many devices are on our network and find vulnerabilities in those that aren't compliant. We also use it monthly to scan our network and identify devices that aren't connected properly. This helps us detect any issues related to the operating systems of these devices. The tool's most valuable feature is its vulnerability scanning. It allows us to scan a specific range of IP addresses and discover devices within that range. This makes it easy to identify devices and view their details. Port scanning is crucial for network management tasks. It helps us identify vulnerabilities by finding open ports that may be unused or misconfigured. This tool makes it easy to detect such issues. The OS detection feature is great. Unlike other tools, Nmap provides accurate information about asset vulnerabilities, helping us easily detect and address them. Using Nmap provides value to the company, especially during compliance audits. It helps generate reports on assets, updates on workstations, and insights into network activities and potential attacks. Additionally, Nmap detects vulnerabilities and provides port details, allowing us to close unused ports on the client machines.

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

"I like the visibility."

"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall. It is helpful for securing databases."

"It provides good visibility."

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"The best feature of Nmap is that it lets me see useful information about each endpoint in my entire network environment. For example, I can see every single connection of the network as well as each and every port."

"The real-time reporting feature of Nmap is particularly valuable. It generates detailed reports on the source and destination IP addresses, the protocols used, and the types of traffic."

"Nmap is easy to use. It's a command-line interface, and the output is quite good."

"The initial setup was simple."

"It helps us secure the network infrastructure."

"It enables us to delve deeper and identify the services and open ports on the system and visualize this information on a dashboard automatically."

"The scanning procedure includes UDP ports which sets it apart from competitors."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its scripts. These scripts prove beneficial when security features may obscure or block connections. Nmap helps identify vulnerabilities across different systems, including web servers and various server types."

More Nmap pros

Cons

"I still use Wireshark and Azure Network Watcher to get the required data. My team captures the traffic from Azure Network Watcher, downloads it, then imports that traffic into Wireshark to get more details on the number of hits and replies, for example. If you can do that on Azure Network Watcher and have Wireshark built-in, that would make Azure Network Watcher better. If Azure Network Watcher has that functionality where you won't need a third-party tool to get what you need, that would be helpful. I'm also expecting more from Azure Network Watcher. It's more complex than knowing how the IP flows from its source to the destination. The tool also needs more open-source features, such as having some built-in Wireshark that improves monitoring for customers. Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging. Is it one hundred percent an Azure issue? Is it a peer issue? You don't get complete information from Azure Network Watcher, so you must use other tools and depend on your strategies to resolve a specific issue. If more features could be added in the next release of Azure Network Watcher, specifically ones you can find on open-source tools, then that would be a plus point for the tool."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application to log activities for in and outbound traffic."

"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."

"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."

"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."

"The initial setup and deployment could be improved to be simplified."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"There are concerns with the stability of the product, making it an area where improvements are required."

"There could be a specific option to check non-pingable endpoints for the product."

"It takes a bit of time to get familiar with the solution and its options."

"The challenge often lies in finding suitable courses and professional resources."

"Since I started using Nmap, it has been completely based on the command prompt and I think it would help other users if they implemented a decent GUI as well."

"The solution's initial setup could be better."

"The tool's license limits the number of scans it can perform. Improving the license model could benefit customers by allowing more scans for compliance and other purposes."

"Nmap needs to improve its scanning speed."

More Nmap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The solution is free of cost."

"Nmap is an open-source and free product."

"It's an open-source product, and I haven't seen any premiums. Options are available for those who purchase, but for my use case, everything I need is available in the community and forums."

"The solution is free of cost, but there are specific services that we have to buy."

"It's an open-source solution. Commerically, only the support service is available."

"The product's pricing is fine. The licensing options for Nmap include perpetual licenses and volume-based licenses. For perpetual licenses, once you purchase it, there's no need to invest in renewals. And for volume-based licenses, enterprise companies can use it multiple times based on the number of users or devices they need to scan. It's a pay-as-you-go model, similar to how you pay for what you use."

"Nmap is open source software, which suits us well because we are a manufacturing company and not an IT company, for example. If we were an IT company, we would probably need to pay for extra support or instead go for another software solution. But as it is, we don't have any need for high-end troubleshooting tools."

"I am using the standard free version of Nmap."

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

871,829 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

14%

Retailer

10%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Network Watcher?

I like the visibility.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is affordable from the perspective of basic costing. It doesn't cost too much at this point unless you are requesting customizable detailed matrices. For the default configura...

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

What do you like most about Nmap?

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nmap?

I am using the free version of Nmap.

What is your primary use case for Nmap?

Nmap is used for network scanning to map the network, identify devices, and assess their status. It helps determine open ports and services running on a particular endpoint or server within an ente...

ThousandEyes vs Azure Network Watcher

Comparisons

Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 22% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 17% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 15% of the time

More Azure Network Watcher Competitors

Zabbix vs Nmap

Compared 13% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Nmap

Compared 10% of the time

LiveAction LiveNX vs Nmap

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Nmap

Compared 10% of the time

Nagios XI vs Nmap

Compared 6% of the time

More Nmap Competitors

Product Reports

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Azure Network Watcher

October 2025

Download Nmap product report

October 2025

Overview

Azure Network Watcher is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

Microsoft

Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, but works fine against single hosts. Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems, and official binary packages are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. In addition to the classic command-line Nmap executable, the Nmap suite includes an advanced GUI and results viewer (Zenmap), a flexible data transfer, redirection, and debugging tool (Ncat), a utility for comparing scan results (Ndiff), and a packet generation and response analysis tool (Nping).

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Lockheed Martin, Eastern Bank Boston, Perspecta, Harris Corporation, Discovery Communication