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Nmap vs PRTG Network Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

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

Nmap
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PRTG Network Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), Cloud Monitoring Software (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nmap is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PRTG Network Monitor is 4.3%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PRTG Network Monitor4.3%
Nmap0.6%
Other95.1%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

AntoSebastin - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Noman-Saleem - PeerSpot reviewer
Detects suden changes but significant pricing concerns affect the effectiveness of network traffic troubleshooting
We use PRTG Network Monitor for monitoring traffic on interfaces and the behavior of network traffic. If there are sudden changes in traffic or any configuration issues, we can sort them out using PRTG. It's very helpful for troubleshooting and monitoring traffic utilization on our interfaces…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution detects the operating systems, which makes testing the software much easier before making the payload."
"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."
"Nmap's performance is great, and I've never noticed any issues in this respect. It really doesn't put a heavy load on the machine when using it."
"The most important function, according to me, is the capability to use some arguments in the scanning. The solution's capability to go figure and do a deep dive, discovering information on specific aspects."
"It enables us to delve deeper and identify the services and open ports on the system and visualize this information on a dashboard automatically."
"Nmap is easy to use. It's a command-line interface, and the output is quite good."
"Nmap has a powerful command line tool and a set of diagnostic features."
"The scanning procedure includes UDP ports which sets it apart from competitors."
"It gives me a live view of the traffic on the WAN."
"The most valuable feature of PRTG Network Monitor is its ease of use."
"I can create my own program sensor. This means I can add extra monitoring capabilities into the already fundamentally strong foundation."
"We have asked questions of their technical support and they have a very good response time."
"Technical support is helpful."
"We use the remote probes a lot for our branch offices. Instead of deploying the full instance of PRTG, we'll put a remote probe out there. This simplifies the whole deployment for us."
"Its initial setup process is fast and easy."
"The fact that I can use custom MIB files to customize my sensors for the things that are not there as a default is a good feature."
 

Cons

"They should deliver Playtech's username and password."
"The solution is not that easy for a beginner to learn."
"The challenge often lies in finding suitable courses and professional resources."
"Nmap major operates through the CLI; there's no GUI component, and that's where the challenge is."
"The price is high and could be cheaper."
"The solution should increase the number of features under a free license."
"One of the drawbacks of the standard Nmap utility is that it does not come with a graphical user interface, unlike a number of other open-source alternatives such as Zenmap."
"There could be a specific option to check non-pingable endpoints for the product."
"PRTG Network Monitor could improve by having descriptions for the tab usages. The dashboards or interface could be easier to understand."
"The database needs improvement."
"PRTG Network Monitor should improve the NetFlow dashboard, there is no flexibility, and the NetFlow is not meeting the business needs. Additionally, they are missing part of the configuration management."
"The desktop app is the one area where it do with some improvement. From a user's perspective, I would like to be able to get more out of the desktop app as opposed to where we are now with it."
"I've encountered a challenge in my functions, particularly in adding and printing."
"The free version only gives us 100 free sensors to use. It would be nice if there was double that."
"The technical support service should be improved."
"We're using more cloud services now. It would be useful to be able to get information back from these cloud services in detail, and display any issues within PRTG for the rest of our systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am using the standard free version of Nmap."
"Nmap is an open-source product. You don't need a license to install it."
"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 solution is free of cost."
"The solution is open source so it is free."
"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."
"Nmap is an open-source and free product."
"It's a cost-efficient tool."
"It is expensive."
"When you have a lot of devices, PRTG Network Monitor can be costly."
"Licenses are very expensive, so I would like to see cheaper licensing."
"PRTG Network Monitor is cheap."
"Our licensing costs are 10,000 euros over three years."
"The price of PRTG Network Monitor is more expensive than other solutions, such as OP Network Manager."
"We pay for PRTG Network Monitor annually. The price is approximately 10,000 rupees annually."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
University
9%
Retailer
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise37
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nmap?
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 sca...
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...
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
PRTG network monitor is one of the best tool i have ever used for the monitoring. It have auto discovery option. it avoid the configuring the device in PRTG. It automatically discover the device an...
What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?
The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?
The pricing is in the middle. It's not too high, nor too low, but it's reasonable.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lockheed Martin, Eastern Bank Boston, Perspecta, Harris Corporation, Discovery Communication
Jameson Bank, Sidnix, RungeICT, MedicalAnimal, Truck-lite, GamingGrids, The Covell Group, Forsythn County Schools, NetMass, Musgrove Park Hospital, Lanes Health, Columbia Southern University, Vodafone, Intrust Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Nmap vs. PRTG Network Monitor and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,218 professionals have used our research since 2012.