Nmap vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Nmap and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Nmap is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.7, while SolarWinds is ranked #27 with an average rating of 7.9. Nmap holds a 0.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Nmap users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Nmap

Read 23 Nmap reviews

2,468 Views
2,246 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

1,914 Views
1,876 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Nmap

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nmap and SolarWinds Network Device Monitor compete in network management. Nmap holds an advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness, while SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is favored for its comprehensive feature set.

Features: Nmap offers powerful network discovery, security auditing capabilities, and vulnerability identification. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides real-time monitoring, advanced alerting systems, and detailed reporting for proactive network management.

Room for Improvement: Nmap could improve user interface, scalability in large enterprises, and integration with other tools. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor may benefit from simplified deployment, lowering the cost for smaller businesses, and enhancing dashboard customization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nmap’s straightforward deployment is advantageous in simple environments. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor's complex deployment is accompanied by strong customer support, aiding in integration and troubleshooting.

Pricing and ROI: Nmap is cost-effective with low setup costs and minimal ongoing expenses. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor requires a higher initial investment but produces significant ROI through enhanced functionality and network oversight.

To learn more, read our detailed Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

March 2026

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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

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Nmap is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Nmap	0.8%
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	1.0%
Other	98.2%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Sai Aditya Panda

Student at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Penetration testing has become efficient as I identify open ports and security risks with confidence

Nmap could potentially become a GUI and provide automatic reports with one-click downloads. For example, the report could show all the open ports for an IP address with a professionally formatted report. This is a far-fetched suggestion and not really required, but it could make the work a little better. On a scale of one to ten, I give Nmap a solid nine. I mean, how can you fix something that is not broken? Nmap is already the best, and I do not think there are any other features that can be added. Its job is reconnaissance, so I do not think there is more to add to it. However, if I get any ideas, I will let them know about this.

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Sorin Gogean

IT Infrastructure Senior Network Technician at Autoliv

Offers some features but needs better customization and analysis tools

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for improvement. The features are not as customizable as we would prefer, but they are workable. If configured properly, you can perform a drill-down analysis. However, I have not used this feature much for our infrastructure on the network side.

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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

"It helps us secure the network infrastructure."

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

"It is most efficient network scanner right now."

"The solution really is not comparable to other products because of its many features."

"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 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 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."

"It is a very user-friendly product."

More Nmap pros

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it shows you the utilization of devices to allow you to take proactive action before something goes down or reaches the saturation point. You can take proactive action to fix the problem before it occurs."

"This product proactively tells us about issues before the users notice."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is a straightforward product with valuable functionality."

"I like the mapping that you could do and the dashboards were very pretty."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it can alert you when a device is not working."

"We are doing more with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor than we were doing in the past with WhatsApp Gold; when we moved to SolarWinds Network Device Monitor, the whole observability part started to grow."

"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports, as we are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."

"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Network Device Monitor ten out of ten."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

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

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

"The solution should increase the number of features under a free license."

"Nmap needs to improve its scanning speed."

"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."

"I would like something more user-friendly to use and export data to various software."

"The price is high and could be cheaper."

More Nmap cons

"There is no mobile version of this product, and our team should be able to access it using a mobile device."

"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."

"It would be beneficial if SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could provide a feature to monitor CRC errors specifically on individual interfaces rather than the entire device. This would help in detecting intermittent issues and packet drops on main links more accurately, especially when there are CRC errors. It's important for us to be aware of these issues to avoid any voice quality problems or interruptions on our MTS links."

"Although I haven't explored all of the features available, I wouldn't mind if the software were made to be a bit more customizable."

"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."

"There is no mobile version of this product, and our team should be able to access it using a mobile device."

"The data is in the system but we are unable to pull it because reporting is not integrated and versatile."

"If everything were in the package so that everything was ready to go out of the box, that would be ideal."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free of cost."

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

"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."

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

"I am using the free version of Nmap."

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

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

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

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

"The product is expensive."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Government

University

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

See all answers

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

OpenNMS vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

Entuity vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Nmap

March 2026

Download Nmap product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

March 2026

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

Network Device Monitor

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

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

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

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

Nmap vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

March 2026

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