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netplex./Alternatives/EVE-NG 7 & Freemium
EVE-NG 7 Freemium = 7 nodes No node limit, free Imports your .unl

EVE-NG 7 cut the free tier to 7 nodes.
netplex. free has no limit.

EVE-NG 7 (V7) is a real modernization - Ubuntu 24.04, HTML5 throughout, native console capture. But the free story changed: per EVE-NG's own announcement, the new Freemium tier replaces the old Community Edition, and the free lab drops to a 7-node, single-admin cap. If you relied on free EVE-NG's 63 nodes, that is now 7. netplex.'s free Associate tier has no node limit, is multi-user, and imports your existing .unl labs in seconds.

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EVE-NG 7's free tier is a 7-node, admin-only Freemium - and the 63-node Community Edition is being retired. Per EVE-NG's V7 announcement and release notes, Freemium becomes the new free version with the full Pro feature set but a 7-node cap and a single admin. netplex.'s free tier has no node limit at all, with real multi-user - not a bigger ceiling, no ceiling - and reads your .unl files directly.

What changed in EVE-NG 7

A modern release, a smaller free tier.
netplex. free stays generous.

Point 01

Community Edition is being retired

EVE-NG has said Freemium is the new Community version and the old-style Community Edition is going end-of-life. The free 63-node CE is on its way out.

Point 02

Freemium = 7 nodes, admin-only

Freemium carries the full Pro feature set but caps the lab at 7 nodes with a single admin account. It is feature-rich and scale-limited - fine for a tiny lab, tight for realistic multi-vendor topologies.

Point 03

Rebuilding for V7 anyway?

V7 is a fresh, modernised base. If you are standing it up new, that is the cheapest possible moment to also try a platform that doesn't cap your free labs at 7 nodes.

Point 04

No node limit, multi-user, on netplex.

The free Associate tier has no node limit and multi-user comes with the Enterprise tier - and the .unl labs you already built import in seconds, so nothing is lost.

Feature comparison

EVE-NG 7 vs netplex.
The short version.

Comparison of EVE-NG 7 Freemium node limits against netplex., after the June 2026 retirement of the Community edition.
Feature EVE-NG 7
Freemium (free) / Pro
netplex.
Tier shown per row
Free-tier node cap 7 (Freemium) No limit (Associate)
Free-tier users Admin only - single user Not currently offered
Old 63-node Community Edition Being retired (EOL) Free tier is first-class, no EOL
Import your existing EVE-NG labs It's their own .unl Yes - .unl imports in seconds
Modern UI HTML5 (V7) React canvas - all tiers
Cost to exceed the free cap EVE-NG Pro licence Free, no limit · paid tiers for automation/teams
Cloud at launch No AWS yet (promised August) Recipes incl. Azure, GCP, OCI, bare metal
Base OS Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Targets Ubuntu 26.04 · OS-agnostic app

EVE-NG facts from eve-ng.net documentation and community sources (2026). netplex. rows are code-verified.

Straight with you

EVE-NG 7 is a genuine, well-executed modernization from a loved product with a big community - Ubuntu 24.04, HTML5 everywhere, native capture. Freemium is generous on features; it's scale that's now limited to 7 nodes. If your free labs fit in 7 nodes, EVE-NG 7 Freemium is perfectly good. The moment you need more nodes, multi-user, or you're rebuilding for V7 anyway, netplex.'s free tier is the softer landing - and it reads your .unl so your existing labs come with you. (EVE-NG 7 facts are from EVE-NG's own V7 announcement and release notes, 2026.)

Questions

EVE-NG 7 questions,
answered plainly.

What changed in EVE-NG 7?
The free edition changed shape. EVE-NG retired the Community build, which allowed 63 nodes, and replaced it with Freemium, which allows 7 nodes and only for the admin user. Unlimited VPCS nodes are still permitted. If you were running a 20-node lab on Community, that lab no longer fits in the free tier.
Is EVE-NG Community still available?
No. It was retired in June 2026 and is no longer developed or supported. Existing installations keep running, but there are no further updates, which also means no security fixes for the web stack or the base platform integration.
How many nodes does EVE-NG Freemium allow?
Seven, and only for the admin account. Additional user accounts cannot start labs on Freemium. Unlimited VPCS nodes are allowed on top of the seven, but VPCS is a lightweight PC simulator, not a router.
What are my options if 7 nodes is not enough?
Three, honestly. Buy EVE-NG Pro, which raises the cap to 1,024 but ties the licence to one server's MAC address. Use something free with no cap, like GNS3 or PNETLab. Or use netplex., where the free Associate tier has no node limit at all and your existing .unl files import directly.
Can I go back to Community?
You can keep an existing Community install running, and plenty of people will. What you cannot do is get updates for it, and it is no longer offered for new installs. Treat it as frozen software from June 2026 onward and plan accordingly if it is on a network that matters.

Last reviewed September 2026 · Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

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Free Associate tier - no node limit, multi-user, in your browser. Import your existing EVE-NG .unl labs and pick up where you left off.

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