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netplex./Alternatives/vs EVE-NG
EVE-NG alternative Free tier · no node cap Import .unl in 30 seconds Made in Australia

The EVE-NG Alternative.
Browser-native. Nothing to SSH into.

netplex. does everything EVE-NG Pro does - browser console, API, multi-user, image pipeline - all included in the free tier. No fixpermissions. No MAC-locked licence. No 7-node wall.

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Why engineers move on from EVE-NG

You know these problems.
We fixed all of them.

Pain 01

The fixpermissions tax

Every image upload requires SSH-ing in to run /opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions. Get the folder name wrong and the image silently doesn't appear. There's no error - it just isn't there.

"I have installed eve-ng on mac m2 max but when i open telnet it doesn't work. I work on this issue during two weeks." - Apple Community forum
Pain 02

The 63-node wall just became a 7-node wall

EVE-NG Community capped you at 63 nodes per lab. With V7 the free tier is the new "Freemium" - 7 nodes (their release notes), and the CEO has said publicly the old Community Edition "is going to EOL". A realistic CCIE Enterprise topology doesn't fit in 7 nodes. Pro is $160/yr per concurrent session, with no public enterprise pricing. netplex free: no node limit.

"A 7-node limit significantly reduces what can be achieved in realistic multi-vendor scenarios and may push learners toward [alternatives]" - comment under EVE-NG's own V7 launch post
Pain 03

No browser console in Community

The HTML5 browser console is a Professional-only feature. Community requires installing a native client pack on every machine you use - Windows, Linux or Mac. Mac M-series telnet failures have been an open forum thread for years with no resolution.

"I'm facing the same issue." "Me too." "Same problem." - 4 separate users, same Apple forum thread, 2+ weeks unresolved
Pain 04

MAC-locked licence

EVE-NG Pro is hardware-locked to one server's MAC address. A server rebuild, a NIC replacement, or a cloud migration means a relicence call to the vendor. Timing that during an outage is its own adventure.

Pain 05

AMD CPUs officially unsupported

EVE-NG's official position: "EVE-NG recommends Intel CPU. EVE-NG does not support AMD." If you bought an AMD Ryzen or EPYC server, you're in unsupported territory - and the newer Cisco images (CSR1000v, vMX v19.x) fail on AMD/VMware anyway.

Pain 06

1-2 day setup, no recovery docs

A fresh EVE-NG deployment takes 1-2 full days. Docs have inconsistent formatting, grammar issues, and missing troubleshooting guidance. The Professional Cookbook is paywalled. When things break, the community is your only option.

"Many network engineers recommend EVE-NG, but frankly, I've never used it because I ran into difficulties the first time I tried." - Cisco Learning Network
Feature comparison

EVE-NG vs netplex.
Both free tiers, side by side.

netplex. Associate is free with no time limit. EVE-NG's Freemium tier is also free. Here's what you get in each.

Feature comparison between EVE-NG and netplex., covering node limits, licensing, console access, collaboration, automation and support.
Feature EVE-NG Freemium
Free		 EVE-NG Pro
~€150 / yr · MAC-locked		 netplex.
Tier shown per row
Max nodes per lab 7 1,024 No limit - free
Modern browser UI (React canvas) No - dated Flash-era UI No - same UI Yes - all tiers
In-browser consoles (SSH · serial) HTML5 console HTML5 console Integrated · all tiers
Integrated packet capture Local client pack only Integrated (Pro pack) Browser-native · all tiers
Licence-free nodes (FRR · VyOS) No No Yes - all tiers
EVE-NG .unl · GNS3 import - - Yes - all tiers
Link speed cap None (good) None (good) 50 Mbps (Associate) · None (Professional+)
Image pipeline (auto-convert · boot-test) Manual - SSH + fixpermissions Manual - SSH + fixpermissions 8-stage automated · all tiers
One-click app nodes (Wireshark) No No Professional
Snapshots · Git backup No No Professional
Fault injection (link · node up/down) No No Professional
REST API No No Full REST API - all tiers
Ansible + Terraform No No Architect · beta
AI agent access (MCP) No No Professional · beta
Multi-host distributed fabric No No Architect · beta
QoS impairment (delay · jitter · loss) No Yes Yes - all tiers
Multi-user · roles No (2 admin accounts only) Yes Not currently offered
SSO / AD No Yes Not currently offered
AMD CPU support Not supported (official) Not supported (official) Yes - KVM on any x86_64
Licence portability N/A MAC-locked to one server No MAC-lock - all tiers
Live presentation mode No No Laser pointer, spotlight and live annotation (Professional)
Setup time (first lab running) 1-2 days 1-2 days Under 5 minutes

EVE-NG figures from the official features-compare page (June 2026). netplex. figures from pricing.html.

Everything EVE-NG Pro promises. None of the invoice.

Browser console, API access, image pipeline - all in the free tier.

Migration

Your EVE-NG labs come with you.
30 seconds, not 30 hours.

Import your .unl file and every node, link, interface assignment and saved configuration transfers automatically. No manual rewiring.

Step 01

Export from EVE-NG

Right-click your lab → Export, or grab the .unl file directly from /opt/unetlab/labs/

→
Step 02

Import in netplex.

Labs → Import → EVE-NG (.unl) and drop the file. The importer maps device kinds automatically.

→
Step 03

Start your lab

Select all, press Start. Console in from the browser - no client pack, no PuTTY.

Nodes + links

All topology objects carry across - node positions, interface assignments, link types.

Saved configs

Startup configurations embedded in the .unl file come across too. RAM-only state does not.

GNS3 too

Same importer handles .gns3project files and containerlab YAML. One workflow for every format.

The architecture is different

Not a port. A ground-up rebuild.

EVE-NG was designed in 2007. netplex. was designed for the way engineers work in 2026 - browser-first, API-first, team-first.

No client software, ever

Console access, packet capture, topology editing - all run in the browser. There is no native client pack. It works on any machine with a modern browser, including Mac M-series.

Image pipeline - drop and walk away

Upload an image and the 8-stage pipeline auto-classifies, converts, sets permissions, organises and boot-tests it. No SSH. No fixpermissions. If it fails, you get a plain-English explanation.

Topology sharing is a link

Share any lab with a URL. Recipients can view the live topology in their browser, or clone it to their own account with one click. No file exports, no version mismatches.

Full automation toolbox on one seat

A full REST + WebSocket API, an MCP server for AI agents, API keys and a CLI ship today, with a Terraform provider and Ansible collection in beta - all on the single-seat Architect tier. No enterprise contract required for one engineer.

Licence runs anywhere

No MAC address fingerprinting. Move the server, change the hardware, migrate to the cloud - the licence follows the appliance, not the NIC.

Scale beyond one machine

An orchestrator schedules your topology across as many worker hosts as you own, stitched together with encrypted VXLAN - transparent to the emulated devices. In beta; single-host emulation and automation ship today.

Questions

EVE-NG to netplex.
The questions people actually ask.

Migrating from EVE-NG
Can I import my existing EVE-NG labs?
Yes. Labs → Import → EVE-NG (.unl) and drop the file - nodes, links, interface assignments and saved startup configs all transfer automatically. The importer maps device kinds for you, so there's no manual rewiring. Same workflow also handles .gns3project and containerlab YAML.
Does RAM-only running state come across too?
No - only what's saved to the .unl file itself comes across: topology, interface assignments, and startup configurations. Anything live in a running node's memory that was never saved isn't in the export, so it won't import either.
netplex. free tier
Does netplex. really have no node limit on the free tier?
Correct - Associate (free) has no cap on nodes per lab. EVE-NG's Freemium tier caps free labs at 7 nodes; Pro raises that to 1,024 for ~€150/yr per concurrent session. netplex's link speed is capped at 50 Mbps on Associate, uncapped from Professional up.
Do I need to install a native client for console access?
No. Every tier gets integrated in-browser SSH and serial consoles. EVE-NG also ships an HTML5 console on every tier - but only Professional bundles integrated Wireshark capture into it. Community requires installing a native Wireshark client pack to capture packets.
Does netplex. support AMD CPUs?
Yes - KVM on any x86_64 host, Intel or AMD. EVE-NG's official position is that it does not support AMD CPUs, and several newer Cisco images fail on AMD/VMware regardless.
Is the licence locked to one server, like EVE-NG Pro's MAC lock?
No - no MAC-lock on any tier. EVE-NG Pro's licence is hardware-locked to one server's MAC address, so a server rebuild, NIC swap or cloud migration means a relicensing call to the vendor.
How long does setup take?
Under 5 minutes to a running lab. A fresh EVE-NG deployment typically takes 1-2 full days between hypervisor setup, licensing and image prep.
More EVE-NG comparisons

Got a specific EVE-NG problem? Jump straight to it.

EVE-NG onlineRun it in your browser EVE-NG without VMwareNo hypervisor to install EVE-NG on MacApple Silicon included EVE-NG Pro alternativeNo node limit, free Past EVE-NG's 7-node limitNo node limit at all EVE-NG 7 / FreemiumFree tier cut to 7 nodes

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

Ready to run your first
EVE-NG import?

Start on the free Associate tier. Import a .unl file. Open a console in your browser. No client pack, no SSH session, no fixpermissions.

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