Paying for EVE-NG Pro to lift a cap?
netplex. gives you most of it free.
EVE-NG Pro is around 150 EUR: it lifts Community's 63-node cap to 1,024, adds multi-user and unlocks the Pro-only features, licensed against your install. netplex. starts from the other end - the free Associate tier already runs up to 1,000 nodes in a lab, multi-user and RBAC come with the Team tier, and you never pay just to raise a node count.
EVE-NG Pro's headline features - past the 63-node cap, multi-user - are what netplex. gives on the free and Team tiers. Pro is ~150 EUR licensed to your server; Community stays free but capped at 63 nodes and 2 admin accounts. netplex.'s free tier runs up to 1,000 nodes, and real multi-user with roles and quotas is built in rather than a licence unlock.
And where netplex. already has it.
No node paywall.
The node cap unlock
Community stops at 63 nodes per lab. Pro (~150 EUR) raises that to 1,024. netplex.'s free Associate tier already runs up to 1,000 nodes - no purchase to get there.
Multi-user
Community allows 2 admin accounts; real multi-user is a Pro feature. netplex. has logins, RBAC, teams and quotas on the Team tier - proper per-user workspaces, not shared admin logins.
Licensed to your install
Pro is a licence tied to your server. netplex.'s free tier has no licence to activate and no node count to buy back.
Everything else
netplex. adds a modern canvas, an automated image pipeline, browser-native packet capture, snapshots, fault injection and CI - across its tiers, not gated behind one Pro unlock.
EVE-NG vs netplex.
The short version.
| Feature | EVE-NG Community (free) / Pro (~150 EUR) |
netplex. tier shown per row |
|---|---|---|
| Nodes per lab — free | 63 (Community) | Up to 1,000 (Associate) |
| Lift the node cap | Buy Pro (~150 EUR) → 1,024 | Already 1,000 — free |
| Multi-user / roles | Pro feature (Community: 2 admins) | Teamauth, RBAC, quotas |
| Licence model | Per-install licence (Pro) | Free tier forever · no node licence |
| Modern browser UI | Dated console UI | Full React canvas — all tiers |
| Image pipeline | Manual — SSH + fixpermissions | 8-stage automated |
| REST API | Limited | Read (Associate) · Read/write (Architect) |
| Cost to start | Free (63 nodes) → ~150 EUR (1,024) | Free — 1,000 nodes |
EVE-NG facts from eve-ng.net documentation and community sources (2026). netplex. rows are code-verified.
Straight with you
EVE-NG Pro is a one-off-ish purchase you self-host forever, and if you want to own the box outright with vendor-blessed workflows, it's a fair deal - it's a mature product. netplex. doesn't ship anyone's licensed images either; you bring your own. What netplex. changes is that node count and multi-user aren't things you buy - they're in the free and Team tiers from day one.
Researching EVE-NG? Start wherever your problem is.
Skip the Pro licence.
Start at 1,000 nodes.
Free Associate tier - up to 1,000 nodes per lab, modern UI, in your browser. Add real multi-user with the Team tier when your group grows.
Australian schools get the full platform free — install and teacher training included. Learn more →