LinkRunner vs LinkSprinter comparison

LinkRunner and LinkSprinter are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. LinkRunner is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while LinkSprinter is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. LinkRunner holds a 17.8% mindshare in NT, compared to LinkSprinter’s 7.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of LinkRunner users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of LinkSprinter users who would recommend it.

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

2,466 Views
707 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

LinkSprinter

Read 3 LinkSprinter reviews

817 Views
300 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

LinkSprinter

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

LinkSprinter and LinkRunner are both network testing tools, competing in the network diagnostics category. Based on user feedback, LinkRunner holds the upper hand due to its comprehensive features despite being more complex and expensive.

Features: LinkSprinter offers basic testing functionalities, quick diagnostics, and ease of use, making it ideal for simple tasks. It emphasizes affordability, simplicity, and speed. LinkRunner provides advanced diagnostic tools, detailed network insights, and robust features appealing to users needing in-depth analysis. LinkRunner's extensive capabilities and comprehensive features make it a powerful tool for complex network issues.

Room for Improvement: LinkSprinter could benefit from enhanced durability, expanded testing capabilities, and improved ruggedness. Its users have noted that it tends to lack in long-term resilience under heavy usage. LinkRunner, while feature-rich, needs a more intuitive setup process, improved portability, and better user interfaces. Users find its complexity can be a drawback, particularly for those not deeply experienced in network diagnostics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LinkSprinter is praised for its straightforward deployment and user-friendly instructions, making it accessible to non-technical users. It garners positive feedback for its ease of use and effective customer service. LinkRunner, though more complex to set up, offers extensive deployment options and comprehensive customer support. Users value its thorough support despite the initial complexity in deployment.

Pricing and ROI: LinkSprinter is considered cost-effective, with faster ROI due to its lower initial setup costs. Users see it as a balanced offering regarding features and price. LinkRunner, while more expensive, is viewed as a worthwhile investment for its extensive capabilities and long-term benefits. The higher cost is justified by its expansive features and reliability, making it appealing for users seeking robust diagnostic tools.

To learn more, read our detailed LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

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

LinkRunner

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

LinkSprinter

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

5th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of LinkRunner is 17.8%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkSprinter is 7.9%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Jesse_B

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Impressive ease of use, gives comprehensive results in seconds, and saves a lot of time and resources

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources. Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits. When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

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JamesStout

IT Director at JVS Consulting

A small, convenient tool that is very stable, but needs to have a longer battery life

They could make it easier to set up originally, because the initial setup can be quite hit and miss. It is also quite battery intensive, so it might last a bit longer if it had a lithium battery. You're always having to replace the batteries, so it would be good if it could be USB-charged or something like that.

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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

"The AutoTest feature makes it easy for you on both ends. It's an excellent feature, especially if you're by yourself. You plug one end in and you hit AutoTest. It sits and waits for you to plug in the other end and it starts testing."

"The most valuable feature is the end-to-end testing with the "dart," as they call it, where you can test for faults in the cable or if they've been terminated properly."

"In terms of network validation, and copper and fiber Ethernet configuration, I can't imagine life without LinkRunner devices. The minute I got the 10G, everybody was fighting over it. They had never used such a device before and it was just breathtaking for them to very quickly see the validation you can gain from these devices."

"In terms of documenting ad hoc additions and other changes to wired ethernet connections, this product is very good. It keeps the information in the cloud and I have the ability to name it. This makes it very nice and easy to see."

"I like the fact that I can tell the equipment to stop at a certain point during the test of a cable, to see whether or not there is basic connectivity. I can stop it before it starts pinging the outside world, such as Google or, perhaps, our core network switch. Those basic results—do I have a basic connection and power—finish up fast and I can move on."

"I like that LinkRunner is an all-in-one device with a touchscreen interface. You don't have to pair it with a phone or anything else to get the full functionality. The built-in tests are one of the most significant advantages. It will pull an IP, ping the gateway, ping out to the intra, and report everything on the screen. It will tell you when a test completes or fails and why."

"The solution's ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is very useful to me. Otherwise, I’m guessing. Having a tool that I can trust doesn't solve all problems, but for the problems it solves, I can trust that it has told me “yes” or “no.” I would rate it highly for that."

"Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput."

Cons

"It doesn't turn off automatically, but the toning function goes to sleep. It seems to stop toning after five or six minutes if you don't find the cable. It could be up to ten minutes, but if you don't find the cable that you're trying to tone quick enough, you'll have to go back and restart the tone. So, it doesn't turn itself off, but while toning, it turns itself off."

"One area where LinkRunner could be improved is the battery life. Depending on which tests are run, it gets a decent six to eight hours. However, sometimes we need to do back-to-back shifts to meet a deadline, and we need access to an outlet to keep it plugged in and charging. It takes about an hour or two to charge."

"It runs tests quickly, but it takes a while to boot up. It's somewhat disappointing that LinkRunner takes some time to turn on. When I arrive in the space, I usually spend the first two minutes waiting."

"One of the things I'd like to see in future versions of LinkRunner is a wireless dongle embedded into the product so that I don't need to have a separate wireless dongle. It should be built into that."

"Being really nitpicky about the LinkRunner G2, I wish the form factor was a little bit smaller. However, I'm sure that the size of the unit is compromised by the fact that the battery is large. If that were to mean having less battery life, I would not change it."

"It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load."

"A feature that I would like to see is the ability to send a tone down the cable. That would be great. I have to use a separate tool for that. If I'm trying to troubleshoot a cable that is not plugged into a network switch, I need the ability to tone."

"If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10. But because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The area where the product could be improved is by having a lower cost so that I could have more than one. The price is competitive, but everybody would always like to see the price go down. I'd buy another one if it were cheaper."

"It was difficult to sell this to my management because the price is really high compared to other testing tools. However, we've seen a pretty good return on investment considering our outcomes and the time we have saved. The first year has been great."

"Compared to another company's product, LinkRunner is cheaper, but it's still about $1,000 too expensive, considering that the operating system is a free operating system. The OS has just been tweaked to give you a graphical interface. I don't think it's priced right."

"I didn't have to buy it, but if I was going to have my choice, I wouldn't buy it just because of the price point. It works pretty well to do one thing. For the cost, it is definitely not worth it. There are other products out there that can do the same thing for probably 70% less. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"I would buy another one if I had a chance but they're too expensive. If they made it a bit cheaper, I think a lot of network engineers and network administrators would immediately jump onto it."

"They offer one price. I do like paying for support because I get software updates that way."

"It's expensive but you definitely get what you pay for. I would buy another one if I had to."

"It's an expensive device. Don't expect it to be cheap. But the pricing is good. It certainly seemed in line with anything else I was looking at at the time."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

18%

Computer Software Company

University

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points

What do you like most about LinkSprinter?

The solution provides switch port and VLAN information.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LinkSprinter?

The product is a little bit overpriced. It probably needs to be 10 to 20 percent cheaper.

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What needs improvement with LinkSprinter?

The solution should improve cable testing.

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Product Reports

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LinkRunner

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Network Diagnostics

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Overview

LinkRunner AT 3000 & 4000. Next Generation Copper and Fiber Ethernet AutoTester. Fast and comprehensive validation of network links and powerful copper and fiber network connectivity troubleshooting. Tests from 10Mbps to 10Gbps, PoE, VLAN, switch port, path analysis, packet capture, topology mapping and so much more!

NetAlly

The LinkSprinter Pocket Network Tester verifies the functionality of copper Ethernet links and identifies errors in less than 10 seconds. The tester reveals network connectivity status and port information while ensuring documentation for every link. The comprehensive AutoTester measures PoE voltage, performs a switch test, and confirms the DHCP server is running and responsive. The tester also verifies gateway/router, internal IP service, and cloud reachability. When paired with the secure Link-Live Cloud Service, the Network Tester automatically uploads results and allows annotation of results enabling job supervisors to easily manage the progress of deployment and troubleshooting tasks assigned to their team.

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Philips Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, University of South Dakota, Memorial Hermann, Baltimore County Public Schools, Aaramrak.

Cisco, Marriott, Sands Expo, Valparaiso University, Memorial Hermann Health Care System, Mount Sinai, Cox Enterprises, George Washington University, University of Iowa.

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

April 2025

Free Report: LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

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