Looking for a phpIPAM alternative? phpIPAM is built for teams that plan and assign address space, including ranges reserved before anything is deployed. phpIPAM's trade-off: it records the plan for address space rather than the shape of the network, so what it holds is what someone entered or scanned into it. These are the best phpIPAM alternatives for network discovery, topology visualization, and living documentation, starting with the one we build, Scanopy.
The best phpIPAM alternatives
Scanopy Our pick
A dedicated network documentation tool: one scan produces four switchable views (L2 physical, L3 logical, workloads, and applications) plus per-host service detection, at flat pricing regardless of host count, with a free, self-hostable Community edition.
NetBox
NetBox is for network and automation teams building a structured source of truth to drive Ansible, Nornir, or Terraform.
Scanopy vs NetBox, head to head →Observium is for teams that want autodiscovering SNMP monitoring across mixed vendors and can treat mapping as a per-device view.
Scanopy vs Observium, head to head →OpenNMS Horizon / Meridian is for larger networks that want protocol-level topology discovery inside a full monitoring platform.
Scanopy vs OpenNMS Horizon / Meridian, head to head →Zabbix
Zabbix is for teams that want one free monitoring platform across servers, applications, and network devices.
Scanopy vs Zabbix, head to head →Auvik
Auvik is for MSPs who need monitoring, alerting, and network maps in one cloud-managed platform.
Scanopy vs Auvik, head to head →NetBrain
NetBrain is for large enterprises that need network maps integrated with automation and troubleshooting workflows.
Scanopy vs NetBrain, head to head →SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is for enterprise teams that standardize on Microsoft tools and need Visio-native network diagram exports.
Scanopy vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, head to head →Domotz
Domotz is for cost-conscious MSPs who need monitoring, remote access, and basic network maps at a published price.
Scanopy vs Domotz, head to head →ManageEngine OpManager is for mid-market IT teams that want monitoring and visualization at a lower per-device cost.
Scanopy vs ManageEngine OpManager, head to head →PRTG Network Monitor is for teams already running Paessler for monitoring who want status dashboards alongside their sensor data.
Scanopy vs PRTG Network Monitor, head to head →LibreNMS
LibreNMS is for teams with Linux skills that want free, self-hosted monitoring with basic topology visualization.
Scanopy vs LibreNMS, head to head →NetDisco
NetDisco is for network teams that want free, open-source Layer 2 topology discovery and device tracking.
Scanopy vs NetDisco, head to head →Faddom
Faddom is for enterprise IT teams mapping application dependencies for data center migrations and cloud transitions.
Scanopy vs Faddom, head to head →phpIPAM alternatives compared
How phpIPAM and each alternative compare on discovery, the four topology views (L2, L3, workloads, applications), service detection, pricing, and licensing.
| ToolProduct name and link to vendor site | DiscoveryProtocols used to find devices and map connections | Network ViewsWhich topology views the tool produces from discovery. L2 Physical switch ports and links L3 Subnets, VLANs, routing Workload VM/container host nesting Application Service-dependency / app grouping Yes supported Tag ? unverified Greyed not supported | ServicesNo No service awareness Basic Common port detection Yes Application-level fingerprinting | PricingStarting price or pricing model | Open SourceOSI OSI-approved open source license Source available Source code available, restricted license No Proprietary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| phpIPAM | SNMP ICMP [47] | No | Free | OSI GPL-3.0 | |
| Scanopy | SNMP LLDP CDP ARP TCP/UDP | Yes250+ types | Starts at $11.99 monthly, unlimited hosts | OSI AGPL-3.0 | |
| NetBox | ICMP SNMP SSH/CLI | No | Cloud and Enterprise: contact sales [42] | OSI Apache-2.0 | |
| Observium | SNMP CDP LLDP [50] | No | Free (Community); Professional subscription [51] | OSI QPL | |
| OpenNMS | SNMP CDP LLDP ICMP [52] | Basic | Free (Horizon); Meridian subscription [55] | OSI AGPL-3.0 | |
| Zabbix | SNMP ICMP | No | Free | OSI AGPL-3.0 | |
| Auvik | SNMP CDP LLDP ARP [1] | Basic [2] | Per-device (contact sales) | No | |
| NetBrain | SNMP CDP LLDP ARP SSH/CLI | No | Enterprise (contact sales) | No | |
| SolarWinds NTM | SNMP WMI CDP LLDP ICMP [3] | No | Perpetual ~$1,570 (subscription shift unclear) [44] | No | |
| Domotz | SNMP ARP ICMP CDP LLDP mDNS NetBIOS [5] | Basic [6] | $1.50/device/mo [7] | No | |
| ManageEngine OpManager | SNMP CDP LLDP ARP [8] | No | From $95/yr (10 devices) [9] | No | |
| PRTG | SNMP WMI ICMP [13] | No | Free to 100 sensors, then $200-$1,642/mo [4] | No | |
| LibreNMS | SNMP CDP LLDP [10] | No | Free | OSI GPL-3.0 | |
| NetDisco | SNMP CDP LLDP ARP [12] | No | Free | OSI BSD | |
| Faddom | NetFlow/sFlow [23] | Basicapp dependencies [23] | Free up to 50 servers then from $19,000/yr [24] | No |
Why Scanopy is a strong phpIPAM alternative
phpIPAM and Scanopy both keep a record of what is on the network, and they build it from different directions. phpIPAM is IP address management: subnets, allocations, VLANs, and device records in a structured database, populated from routing tables and from scan agents that ping, resolve DNS, and query SNMP. Its distinctive job is recording intent: ranges reserved before anything is deployed, subnets split as they are planned, VLAN and VRF assignment written down. Scanopy discovers hosts, services, interfaces, and topology on a schedule and renders four views of the same scan: physical (L2), logical (L3), workloads, and applications, with the host, service, and subnet data behind them available through the API and as CSV.
The difference is what each one produces. phpIPAM produces tables, and a network drawing is not part of it; requests for one are open feature requests rather than shipped features. Scanopy produces an interactive map, with the underlying host and service data available as CSV. Both are free to self-host: phpIPAM under GPL-3.0, Scanopy under AGPL-3.0, with flat pricing regardless of host count and commercial self-hosted editions when you outgrow the caps.
The split is intent against observation, which is why teams run both. phpIPAM holds what address space is meant to look like, including the parts nobody has deployed yet, and that is the one thing discovery cannot produce. Scanopy holds what is actually on the network and how it connects, without anyone maintaining it. If the job is planning and assigning address space, phpIPAM is built for it. If the job is seeing what is really there and how it fits together, that is what Scanopy is built for.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to phpIPAM?
The right alternative depends on what you use phpIPAM for. If you want automatic network discovery with living L2, L3, workload, and application views and per-host service detection, Scanopy is the closest dedicated alternative: flat pricing regardless of host count, plus a free, self-hostable Community edition. phpIPAM itself remains the better choice when you specifically need teams that plan and assign address space, including ranges reserved before anything is deployed.
Is there a free or open-source phpIPAM alternative?
Yes. Scanopy, NetBox, Observium, OpenNMS, Zabbix, LibreNMS, and NetDisco are open-source (OSI-licensed). Scanopy's Community edition is free to self-host under AGPL-3.0 and produces the full L2, L3, workload, and application views; the paid plans add cloud hosting and support at flat pricing.
Why do teams look for a phpIPAM alternative?
One documented limitation: it records the plan for address space rather than the shape of the network, so what it holds is what someone entered or scanned into it. Scanopy produces an up-to-date visual map of what is on the network without a separate monitoring platform, which is why it is compared against phpIPAM.
Comparing just these two? See the focused Scanopy vs phpIPAM head-to-head. For all 13 tools side by side, see the full network documentation tools comparison.
Sources
[2] Auvik - Can Auvik discover services on my network?
[3] SolarWinds - Network Topology Mapper
[4] Paessler - PRTG Pricing
[5] Domotz - Agentless Network Discovery for MSP Client Onboarding
[6] Domotz - Device TCP/UDP Ports/Services Discovery
[7] Domotz - Pricing
[8] ManageEngine - Discover Networks
[9] ManageEngine - OpManager Editions
[10] LibreNMS - Auto-Discovery
[12] NetDisco - Documentation
[13] Paessler - PRTG System Requirements
[23] Faddom - Agentless Application Dependency Mapping
[24] Faddom - Pricing
[42] NetBox Labs - Pricing (Cloud and Enterprise contact sales)
[44] SolarWinds NTM - Pricing (TrustRadius)
[47] phpIPAM - Open source IP address management (GPL-3.0)
[50] Observium - Autodiscovery via CDP, LLDP, FDP, EDP and OSPF neighbours
[51] Observium - Subscribe: Community vs Professional editions
[52] OpenNMS - Enhanced Linkd (Enlinkd): five link-discovery methods enabled by default
[55] OpenNMS - Meridian subscription pricing
Started as a homelabber, now deep in SNMP MIBs, Layer 3 topology, and service fingerprinting - building the network documentation tool I wished existed.