Best ns-3 Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from network simulation software ranked against ns-3 on the same published basis.
- 1ns-3 vs EVE-NG
- 2ns-3 vs IMUNES
- 3ns-3 vs Containerlab
- 4ns-3 vs GNS3
- 5ns-3 vs OMNeT++
- 6ns-3 vs Kathará
- 8ns-3 vs QuNetSim
- 9ns-3 vs Cloonix
- 10ns-3 vs EMANE
- 11ns-3 vs NetSim by Tetcos
- 12ns-3 vs OMNEST
- 13ns-3 vs PacketStorm Network Emulators
- 14ns-3 vs PNETLab
- 15ns-3 vs Cisco Packet Tracer
- 16ns-3 vs Marionnet
- 17ns-3 vs Mininet
- 18ns-3 vs Common Open Research Emulator (CORE)
- 19ns-3 vs Mininet-WiFi
- 20ns-3 vs Shadow
- 21ns-3 vs Mahimahi
ns-3 alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVE-NG | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | IMUNES | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Containerlab | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 4 | GNS3 | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | OMNeT++ | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | Kathará | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | QuNetSim | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 9 | Cloonix | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Web |
| 10 | EMANE | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 11 | NetSim by Tetcos | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 12 | OMNEST | 5.6 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 13 | PacketStorm Network Emulators | 5.4 | No | — | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 14 | PNETLab | 5.4 | No | — | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 15 | Cisco Packet Tracer | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 16 | Marionnet | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Windows, Mac |
| 17 | Mininet | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 18 | Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 19 | Mininet-WiFi | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | Shadow | 5.2 | No | — | Linux |
| 21 | Mahimahi | 5.1 | No | — | Linux |
Make your app an alternative to ns-3
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled and never changes the order above.
Questions about ns-3 alternatives
What is the best alternative to ns-3?
EVE-NG, number 1 in network simulation software with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The others here: IMUNES, Containerlab, GNS3 and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to ns-3?
EVE-NG is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.