Nmap vs SolarWinds Network Automation Manager comparison

Nmap and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nmap is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.8, while SolarWinds is ranked #95. Nmap holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Nmap users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Nmap

Read 22 Nmap reviews

1,820 Views
1,638 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Read 2 SolarWinds Network Automation Manager reviews

890 Views
507 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Nmap

SolarWinds Network Automati...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nmap and SolarWinds Network Automation Manager are both in the network management category. Nmap holds the upper hand in pricing and flexibility, attracting budget-conscious users, while SolarWinds offers advanced automation features that justify its higher cost.

Features: Nmap includes robust network discovery, effective security auditing, and vulnerability identification. It is particularly suited to open-source environments. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager provides integrated automation for comprehensive network management, efficient handling of large-scale, complex networks, and advanced monitoring capabilities.

Room for Improvement:Nmap could improve by offering more user-friendly interfaces, enhancing its customer support system, and expanding features for large enterprise use. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager would benefit from a reduction in complexity during deployment, offering more cost-effective licensing options, and improvement in customizable reporting functionalities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Nmap is straightforward to set up for tech-savvy users with community-driven support requiring technical expertise. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager, while complex to deploy, provides excellent customer support and professional services, facilitating smoother implementation and ongoing management.

Pricing and ROI:Nmap offers high ROI due to the absence of licensing fees, appealing to organizations focusing on fundamental network scanning and security checks. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager requires higher initial investment but its advanced features and automation drive long-term operational efficiency savings, making it suitable for enterprises needing extensive network management.

To learn more, read our detailed Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

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

Nmap

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Automati...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

95th

Average Rating

5.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Automation (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nmap is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Nmap	0.7%
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager	0.4%
Other	98.9%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

MoshiurRahman Khan

CEO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Improves network monitoring and offers insights into traffic, including VPNs

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. This feature is crucial for law enforcement agencies to monitor and analyze network connectivity effectively. It also has traffic analysis. For example, assessing bandwidth usage and configuring the tool to track specific types of traffic is crucial. Unlike SolarWinds, which requires configuration for this, Nmap has built-in functionality that allows it to check all 4,000 computer ports. It identifies the type of traffic each port is using and can easily generate reports on network communications between computers, whether there are 100 or 1000 in the network.

Read full review

Giulio Valeri

Owner at SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SRL

Threat detection failures, poor technical support, and expensive

We use the solution to manage all of our customer's systems. We monitor and decide if everything is okay and if not, we do changes when needed. For example, if there is a need to change the antivirus software we can automate the process and install the new one. There are scripts within the software…

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 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 has a powerful command line tool and a set of diagnostic features."

"The initial setup was simple."

"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 most valuable feature of the solution for security audits stems from the fact that it serves as a powerful tool with the ability to scan a large number of ports."

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

"The solution detects the operating systems, which makes testing the software much easier before making the payload."

"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."

More Nmap pros

"The solution offers so many great resources, it makes them a powerhouse in the market."

"The installation is easy."

Cons

"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."

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

"Customization is not very user-friendly in Nmap."

"They should deliver Playtech's username and password."

"Nmap needs to improve its scanning speed."

"Nmap major operates through the CLI; there's no GUI component, and that's where the challenge is."

"There is room for improvement in the design, the GUI. It looks a bit odd. Maybe Nmap should improve it or add more widgets to make it more attractive, but the basic functionality is good and provides what we need."

"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."

More Nmap cons

"We did not like SolarWinds because it was not able to communicate between UPSA and our accounting system. They should have better integration."

"The price could be a bit lower."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"The solution is open source so it is free."

"I am using the free version of Nmap."

"Nmap is an open-source product. You don't need a license to install it."

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

"The price of SolarWinds Network Automation Manager is fair. However, it is more expensive than ConnectWise."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Government

University

Retailer

Government

13%

Performing Arts

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

No data available

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...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nmap?

I am using the free version of Nmap.

See all answers

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...

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nmap

January 2026

Download Nmap product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Automation

January 2026

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Automation Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

SolarWinds NAM

Overview

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).

Nmap

Scale environments from 1,000 to tens of thousands of nodes with comprehensive performance, traffic, WAN, and switch port monitoring, automated change and configuration management, and IP address management in an integrated network automation software solution.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

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

Maalem Financing Company, School City of Hammond

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Automation Manager

December 2025

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