Best ns-3 Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from network simulation software ranked against ns-3 on the same published basis.
- 1ns-3 vs Kathará
- 2ns-3 vs Containerlab
- 3ns-3 vs OMNEST
- 4ns-3 vs EVE-NG
- 5ns-3 vs IMUNES
- 6ns-3 vs NetSim by Tetcos
- 7ns-3 vs OMNeT++
- 8ns-3 vs Cloonix
- 9ns-3 vs EMANE
- 10ns-3 vs GNS3
- 12ns-3 vs QuNetSim
- 13ns-3 vs Cisco Packet Tracer
- 14ns-3 vs Common Open Research Emulator (CORE)
- 15ns-3 vs Marionnet
- 16ns-3 vs Mininet
- 17ns-3 vs Mininet-WiFi
- 18ns-3 vs PacketStorm Network Emulators
- 19ns-3 vs Shadow
- 20ns-3 vs EXata Network Modeling
- 21ns-3 vs Mahimahi
ns-3 alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathará | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 2 | Containerlab | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | OMNEST | 6.9 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 4 | EVE-NG | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | IMUNES | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 6 | NetSim by Tetcos | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 7 | OMNeT++ | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | Cloonix | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Web |
| 9 | EMANE | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 10 | GNS3 | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 12 | QuNetSim | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 13 | Cisco Packet Tracer | 5.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 14 | Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) | 5.1 | No | — | Linux |
| 15 | Marionnet | 5.1 | No | — | Linux, Windows, Mac |
| 16 | Mininet | 5.1 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 17 | Mininet-WiFi | 5.1 | No | — | Linux |
| 18 | PacketStorm Network Emulators | 5.1 | No | — | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 19 | Shadow | 5.1 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | EXata Network Modeling | 5.0 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 21 | Mahimahi | 5.0 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about ns-3 alternatives
What is the best alternative to ns-3?
Kathará, number 1 in network simulation software with a score of 7.3 out of 10. The others here: Containerlab, OMNEST, EVE-NG and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to ns-3?
Kathará 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 on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.