Best Cisco Packet Tracer Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from network simulation software ranked against Cisco Packet Tracer on the same published basis.
- 1Cisco Packet Tracer vs GNS3
- 2Cisco Packet Tracer vs EVE-NG
- 3Cisco Packet Tracer vs NetSim by Tetcos
- 4Cisco Packet Tracer vs OMNeT++
- 5Cisco Packet Tracer vs ns-3
- 6Cisco Packet Tracer vs Containerlab
- 7Cisco Packet Tracer vs IMUNES
- 8Cisco Packet Tracer vs EMANE
- 9Cisco Packet Tracer vs Kathará
- 10Cisco Packet Tracer vs OMNEST
- 11Cisco Packet Tracer vs Common Open Research Emulator (CORE)
- 13Cisco Packet Tracer vs Cloonix
- 14Cisco Packet Tracer vs Netropy Network Emulator
- 15Cisco Packet Tracer vs MIMIC Simulator
- 16Cisco Packet Tracer vs QuNetSim
- 17Cisco Packet Tracer vs PNETLab
- 18Cisco Packet Tracer vs Mininet
- 19Cisco Packet Tracer vs Mininet-WiFi
- 20Cisco Packet Tracer vs EXata Network Modeling
- 21Cisco Packet Tracer vs Shadow
Cisco Packet Tracer alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GNS3 | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | EVE-NG | 8.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | NetSim by Tetcos | 8.1 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 4 | OMNeT++ | 8.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 5 | ns-3 | 7.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | Containerlab | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 7 | IMUNES | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 8 | EMANE | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 9 | Kathará | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 10 | OMNEST | 6.7 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 11 | Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) | 6.6 | No | — | Linux |
| 13 | Cloonix | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Web |
| 14 | Netropy Network Emulator | 6.3 | No | — | Web |
| 15 | MIMIC Simulator | 6.2 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 16 | QuNetSim | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 17 | PNETLab | 6.0 | No | — | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 18 | Mininet | 6.0 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 19 | Mininet-WiFi | 5.9 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | EXata Network Modeling | 5.7 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 21 | Shadow | 5.7 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Cisco Packet Tracer alternatives
What is the best alternative to Cisco Packet Tracer?
GNS3, number 1 in network simulation software with a score of 8.2 out of 10. The others here: EVE-NG, NetSim by Tetcos, OMNeT++ and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Cisco Packet Tracer?
GNS3 is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.