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netplex./Alternatives/EVE-NG vs GNS3
Updated for EVE-NG 7 No vendor spin Third option included

EVE-NG vs GNS3 in 2026
and the thing neither of them fixed.

This is the comparison everyone searches for, so here it is straight: EVE-NG is the better multi-user server, GNS3 is the better free single-user desktop, and in June 2026 EVE-NG cut its free build from 63 nodes to 7, which changed the answer for a lot of people. We build a competing product, so we have put ourselves in the third column and you can judge the rows yourself.

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We are not a neutral party, so here is the bias declared up front. netplex. competes with both of these tools. That is exactly why every row below is something you can check yourself rather than something you have to take our word for - node limits from their own licence pages, install steps from their own docs, June 2026's Community to Freemium change from EVE-NG's own announcement. Where EVE-NG or GNS3 is genuinely better than us, the row says so, and there is a section near the bottom that lists those cases in plain language. If you find a row that is wrong or has gone stale, tell us and we will change it.

The honest summary

Neither one is wrong.
They are wrong for different people.

EVE-NG

Best if you want one server a whole team uses

EVE-NG got the architecture right years ago: one Linux box, everyone connects to it, labs live centrally. The catch in 2026 is the price of entry. The free Community build was retired in June 2026 and replaced by Freemium, which allows 7 nodes for the admin user only. Pro removes the cap but the licence is tied to a specific server's MAC address, so moving hardware means asking for a rehost.

GNS3

Best if you want free and you are working alone

GNS3 is genuinely free with no node limit, has a real API, and a large community. The friction is the shape of it: a desktop application on your machine talking to a GNS3 VM running the actual emulation. Two things to install, two things to keep in version step, and the lab is on your laptop - there is no link to send anyone.

Both

The console still wants software on your desktop

EVE-NG hands your browser a telnet:// or vnc:// link and expects a client integration pack to catch it. GNS3 launches a local terminal. Either way the person opening a lab has to install and configure something first, which is the single biggest reason lab access does not spread past the people who already know how.

Both

The lab is not a file you can review

Neither stores topologies in a format you would want to put through a pull request. You cannot meaningfully diff two versions of a lab, branch one, or have CI build it. For study that does not matter. For a team that treats infrastructure as code, it is a real gap.

Feature comparison

EVE-NG, GNS3 and netplex.,
row by row.

Three-way comparison of EVE-NG, GNS3 and netplex., covering node limits, licensing, installation, console access, collaboration and automation in 2026.
Feature EVE-NG
Freemium / Pro		 GNS3
free		 netplex.
Associate, free
Free node limit 7, admin user only None None
Cost to remove the limit Pro licence Already free Already free
Licence tied to hardware Yes - MAC locked No No
What you install One server VM Desktop app plus a VM One server, then nothing
Client software needed Integration pack per desktop Yes - the GNS3 GUI None - a browser
Console in the browser No No Yes
Works on macOS and Chromebooks Browser yes, console no App yes, heavy Yes
Multi-user out of the box Pro only No Yes
Real-time shared canvas No No Yes
Documented public API Undocumented Yes Yes - versioned REST
Terraform and Ansible No Community only Official provider and modules
Topologies in git No Not diffable Yes - .npx is plain JSON
Real vendor images Yes - you supply them Yes - you supply them Yes - you supply them
Docker containers as nodes Yes Yes Yes
Packet capture Through the client pack Local Wireshark In browser or to Wireshark
Import the other two No No Yes - .unl and GNS3 projects
Commercial support Pro Community Paid tiers
Maturity and community size Large, many years Largest, oldest New in 2026

Node limits are from EVE-NG's own Freemium and Pro documentation after the June 2026 change, and GNS3's licence. The last row is the one that matters most against us and we have left it in: both of these have years of community answers behind them and we do not, yet.

So which one? Here is the actual decision.

Working alone, on Windows or Linux, comfortable with a desktop app, want to pay nothing: GNS3. Running a team or a training lab on one server and willing to buy Pro: EVE-NG. Need people to open a lab from any machine with no install, want the topology in git, or you are hitting the new 7-node free cap and do not want a MAC-locked licence: that is the gap we built for. The EVE-NG comparison and the GNS3 comparison go deeper on each.

Straight with you - where both of them beat us

Community is the big one. EVE-NG and GNS3 have a decade of forum threads, YouTube walkthroughs and blog posts between them, so when something breaks at 11pm there is usually already an answer written. netplex. is new and there is no such archive yet. GNS3 is free with no node cap and no account, which is a cleaner deal than any freemium tier including ours. EVE-NG Pro is a mature, proven product with a support contract and a very large installed base in training organisations - if it already works for you, there is no urgent reason to move. Both have far wider community-tested coverage of odd vendor images than we do. What we have that they do not is browser-native access with nothing to install, a documented API with Terraform and Ansible on top, topologies that live in git, and no node cap on the free tier.

The third column

What we changed and what we kept.

Same real firmware under QEMU. Different everything around it.

Nothing to install on the client

Console, canvas, packet capture and file transfer all live in the browser tab. No integration pack, no desktop GUI.

No node cap on the free tier

The ceiling is your RAM, not a licence file, and it does not change when a tier does.

Import both of them

EVE-NG .unl files and GNS3 projects import directly, so evaluating us is not a rebuild.

Labs that live in git

The .npx format is plain JSON. Diff two versions, review a topology in a pull request, roll one back.

Automation that is supported

Versioned REST API, a CLI, an official Terraform provider and Ansible modules.

Multi-user without a Pro tier

Several people on one canvas, per-user quotas and lab chat, on the free tier.

Questions

EVE-NG vs GNS3,
the common questions.

Is EVE-NG better than GNS3?
For a team sharing one server, yes - EVE-NG was designed that way and GNS3 was not. For one person who wants a free lab with no node limit, GNS3 is the better deal, especially since June 2026 when EVE-NG's free build dropped from 63 nodes to 7. Neither answer is universal; it depends on whether you are labbing alone or running a lab for other people.
Is EVE-NG still free?
There is still a free build, but it is much smaller than it was. In June 2026 EVE-NG retired the Community edition, 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 relying on Community, that is the change that sent you looking.
Does GNS3 have a node limit?
No. GNS3 is free with no artificial node cap - you are limited by the RAM and CPU of whatever runs the GNS3 VM. That is its single strongest argument against EVE-NG in 2026.
Which one runs on a Mac?
Neither runs comfortably on Apple Silicon. Both emulate x86 vendor images, so on an M-series Mac you are looking at slow emulation or a remote server. EVE-NG's web interface opens in Safari, but its console links still expect client software on the Mac. Running the emulator on a Linux server and using a browser avoids the problem entirely - see EVE-NG on Mac.
Can I move labs between EVE-NG and GNS3?
Not directly - there is no supported conversion in either direction, and people usually rebuild by hand. netplex. imports both formats, which is a practical way to get an old EVE-NG .unl and a GNS3 project into the same place.
Which is better for CCNA or CCIE study?
Either will do it if you have images. GNS3 costs nothing and has no node limit, so for self-study on your own machine it is the pragmatic pick. For a bootcamp running many students against one server, EVE-NG Pro or something browser-based makes more sense, because installing client software on twenty laptops is its own project.
Why should I trust a comparison written by a competitor?
You should not trust it - you should check it. Every claim here is from the vendors' own documentation and licence pages, and the section above lists where both of them beat us, including the one that matters most: they have a decade of community knowledge and we do not.
Keep comparing

Weighing up another tool? Read the side-by-side.

vs EVE-NG

The 7-node Freemium cap, the fixpermissions ritual, the MAC-locked Pro licence - and what changes without them.

vs GNS3

The desktop GUI plus a separate VM, versus one browser tab that anyone on your network can open.

EVE-NG 7 & Freemium

Free went from 63 nodes to 7 in June 2026. What your options actually are now.

The EVE-NG node limit

7 nodes on Freemium, 1,024 on Pro, none here - and why the cap exists at all.

vs PNETLab

Unlimited nodes for free, built on an EVE-NG Community fork that upstream disowns. What you trade for the zero price.

vs Cisco CML

Cisco's own images and per-seat licence, next to a multi-vendor platform with a free tier.

Or skip the choice
and import both.

EVE-NG .unl files and GNS3 projects import directly. Free tier, no node limit, nothing to install on anyone's laptop.

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