No. 7 of 31 ·Network Testing Software

Mininet

Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.6

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Mininet is ranked #7 of 31 in network testing software on Freedom251. It runs on API, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

Mininet plans and pricing

All plans

Mininet Free Permissive BSD open source license · Linux kernel required · limited by one server’s CPU and bandwidth mininet.org · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on network testing software

Free plan: Yes
Simulation model: emulation
Deployment options: server
Automation API: Yes

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The record

What it does: Mininet is a network emulator that creates virtual hosts, switches, controllers, and links on one machine.
Use cases: Mininet supports research, development, learning, prototyping, testing, and debugging.
Network behavior: Mininet hosts run standard Linux network software, and its switches support OpenFlow.
Topology tools: It includes a topology-aware and OpenFlow-aware CLI, parametrized topologies, and support for custom topologies.
Python API: Mininet provides an extensible Python API for creating networks and experimenting with them.
Integration and protocols: Mininet is presented as a way to experiment with SDN systems using OpenFlow and P4.
Deployment: Mininet networks can connect to real networks, and code developed in Mininet can move to real systems with minimal changes.
Installation options: The project offers a pre-packaged VM, native installation from source, and packages for recent Ubuntu or Debian 11 and later.
Platform requirements: Mininet depends on the Linux kernel; the project describes its VM as running on VMware or VirtualBox for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Limitations: Mininet networks cannot exceed the CPU or bandwidth available on a single server, and it cannot currently run non-Linux-compatible OpenFlow switches or applications.
License: Mininet is released under a permissive BSD open source license.
Support: The project directs users to its FAQ, documentation, and mininet-discuss mailing list for support and discussion.
Security note: Since Mininet 2.2.2, provided VM images have default SSH keys removed so new keys are generated on first boot.
Project team: The Mininet 2.3.0 core team is listed as Bob Lantz and the Mininet Contributors.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Network Testing Software in 2026#7 of 31
Best Network Simulation Software in 2026#5 of 29

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Sources

mininet.org/overview/· checked 5 Oct 2026
mininet.org· checked 5 Oct 2026
mininet.org/download/· checked 5 Oct 2026
mininet.org/news/· checked 5 Oct 2026
mininet.org/credits/· checked 5 Oct 2026