NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs NetBrain comparison

NetAlly and NetBrain are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. NetAlly is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.0, while NetBrain is ranked #16. NetAlly holds a 8.4% mindshare in NT, compared to NetBrain’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NetAlly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of NetBrain users who would recommend it.

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Read 23 NetAlly EtherScope nXG reviews

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1,240 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetBrain

Read 6 NetBrain reviews

2,812 Views
169 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

NetBrain

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

NetBrain and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are two leading tools in network management and troubleshooting. NetBrain has a notable edge in specific functionalities, while NetAlly EtherScope nXG stands out for its comprehensive interface and ease of use.

Features: NetBrain offers automated network diagrams, real-time diagnostics, and data visualization, which enhances network handling and automation capabilities. NetAlly EtherScope nXG provides a suite of diagnostic tools, Wi-Fi analysis, and a handheld form factor, making it highly portable and user-friendly.

Room for Improvement: NetBrain could improve system performance and simplify setup. Enhancements are needed in software stability and reducing complexity in handling large-scale networks. NetAlly EtherScope nXG feedback indicates price and software stability as areas for improvement, along with better cost-efficiency and software reliability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetBrain's deployment is more complex yet supported by comprehensive customer service. NetAlly EtherScope nXG, with its portable design, ensures easier deployment, though customer service impact is lesser compared to NetBrain.

Pricing and ROI: NetBrain's cost is justified through its extensive automation and network management features, offering significant ROI for large organizations. NetAlly EtherScope nXG, though potentially higher in initial cost, provides immediate ROI due to its troubleshooting capabilities, making it valuable for on-site network issues.

To learn more, read our detailed NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs. NetBrain Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs. NetBrain

December 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

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (2nd)

NetBrain

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

16th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Automation (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 8.4%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetBrain is 3.0%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NetAlly EtherScope nXG	8.4%
NetBrain	3.0%
Other	88.6%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Doug Dickerson

Manager at Northwestern

Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems

It would be helpful if this product interfaced with AirWave. The battery life should be improved. The real negative to the product is the horrible battery life. We had hoped for it to be able to deliver configurations to our network switches, and I think they're developing something for that. However, it doesn't do that now. We were hoping that we would, as we replace or refresh network components, be able to use this tool to push a config file to the switch. For example, the Aruba switches that we're deploying come with a Bluetooth function where we can push configs from our phones. It would be much more convenient to use this device, rather than using our personal cell phones to do it. I think that the capability is there, but it just hasn't been figured out yet.

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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

"When it comes to that remote troubleshooting perspective of being able to survey an area to see if there are problems, make adjustments, and then have that same individual resurvey that same area, I don't have to send people to a week long class on how to use the device. I know I am getting consistent results, which can verify near real-time, and whether or not the changes that I have implemented solve the problem."

"In terms of the solution's full line rate 10-gigabit capability, my other 10 Gb test equipment is much bigger, bulkier, and heavier. One of my ways of assessing the nXG was to compare it with what I knew to be tried and true on 10-gig to make sure that they matched, and they did. It very quickly got my trust. The fact that it can do 10 Gb, without dropping a packet from what I've seen so far — and we used it a lot in that first three months — tells a pretty good story."

"Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at."

"The whole product is valuable because it's really a bunch of features that make up the one testing utility. Between auto tests, wireless assessments, its ability to do iPerf speed and traffic testing, as well as packet captures — all of those really contribute to a very successful product and allow me to do my job in a better manner."

"The things that I find most valuable are the Wi-Fi app and the Discovery app. Those two things help a lot when I'm doing the initial discovery of a space. I also use the AutoTest feature quite a lot, especially if I'm troubleshooting."

"One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing."

"The most valuable features are LANBERT, Discovery, and AirMapper. AirMapper is the best. Both Discovery and AirMapper are very easy to use because you can view all the problems on a single screen. If you quickly need more details about your network, then AirMapper is the best."

"The wireless aspect of it has been super valuable. The AirMagnet Survey feature is very useful for site surveys. For a long time, it used to be done on laptops, and now, we can do this simply on a handheld with one technician. The data automatically gets uploaded to the cloud so that our more experienced technicians can review the data and pull it into AirMagnet. This feature has saved tons of time. It's not easy to approximate the time saved, but for each survey, I'm taking a junior technician and getting him to do a role that a senior technician used to do. So, there is a cost-saving of at least 50%."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pros

"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."

"NetBrain is a very simple tool."

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

Cons

"The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly."

"The largest complaint that we get is the battery life on the unit. If you are using it heavily, you get about five hours of usage out of it. In an eight hour day, that is not perfect for us. We would like more battery usage. The battery thing is annoying."

"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."

"I would love to see port profiles. This is something I've expressed to them. The ability for a technician to plug it into a switch port, and say, "Okay, this port will be an access point or this port will be a phone and desktop PC," thus choosing a profile. It will then push a configuration to the device it's connected to and verify that the switch port is correctly configured, so I can hand this to a phone tech who doesn't have any access to a network switch to be able to make changes. They can go out and plug this into a port, then they are able to push a profile to the switch port through the device. That would be pretty fantastic as a next step for this device."

"On a hardware spec, it'd be nice to have something above 10-Gigs."

"We have had to use a battery pack unit, bringing it with us, when we are doing long testing or a lot of testing. It is like a mini computer, so it does use a lot of battery life."

"The battery life could be better. There have been a couple of times that I used it and put it down, then I went to pick it up and the battery was dead. So, I need to take the power cord with me in order to continue using it."

"I use the NetAlly site and one of the things I don't like about the topology map, something I wish I could fix, is that the map kind of jiggles if you don't adjust any of the settings."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG cons

"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."

"The solution could integrate more automation."

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's the best 10Gig network tester for the price on the market."

"NetAlly EtherScope nXG is priced too much and needs to come down by about 15 percent of its current price."

"The pricing is very expensive, but this tool is the best."

"Depending on the company, it could be somewhat costly. But just two of these devices can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars."

"The pricing can be a little bit high for a handheld tool, mostly because, potentially, people do not understand what's in the package. However, NetAlly offers great bundled deals. We got a significantly good deal by ordering a package of these devices that had a whole test kit together. So, while it's very high, the value is certainly there, and the vendor does offer value-added features to offset that cost."

"For the average network shop, the cost is a bit high. In a lot of organizations, people don't share test devices between teams. Generally, you need a device for the network team and a device for the system team, the security team, etc. While the cost is a little on the high side, that is offset by the regular updates and continued improvements that NetAlly adds to the device. Those improvements continue to increase the perceived value of the device."

"We paid for the additional maintenance on it (for an extra year) to get that extra coverage. This was the first time that we had this solution in-house, and it was pretty pricey. So, we wanted to make sure that anything went wrong, then we could get it repaired."

"It's a pricey device, but I see value in it from a business perspective."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pricing and cost advice

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Healthcare Company

11%

Educational Organization

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...

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What is your primary use case for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

We mainly use NetAlly EtherScope nXG for troubleshooting. Linksprinter helps us solve problems and understand how things work. For example, SpamTitan is automatic, but beginners might not understan...

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Comparisons

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Compared 27% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 19% of the time

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 16% of the time

Wireshark vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 11% of the time

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 11% of the time

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ThousandEyes vs NetBrain

Compared 17% of the time

Forward Enterprise vs NetBrain

Compared 15% of the time

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs NetBrain

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs NetBrain

Compared 8% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs NetBrain

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

January 2026

Download NetAlly EtherScope nXG product report

Buyer's Guide

NetBrain

January 2026

Download NetBrain product report

Also Known As

EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG

No data available

Overview

Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network tester that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi and Ethernet access networks.

The Etherscope nXG is the the industry’s first handheld analyzer for Wi-Fi 6/6E surveying (with AirMapper™ Site Survey), troubleshooting, and analysis.

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

Information Not Available

CompuCon, TD Ameritrade, Move Inc.

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs. NetBrain

December 2025

Free Report: NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs. NetBrain

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