Start free. Pay when you scale.
No artificial cripple-ware - the full engine, every console and the licence-free nodes are free at every tier. Professional adds scale & persistence; Architect adds the automation toolbox; Team and Enterprise add the people and org layers.
Solo engineers, learners and power users - one seat, the full local toolbox.
- 1,000 nodes per lab
- 1 live lab
- Full engine (KVM/QEMU, Docker, namespaces, Dynamips)
- In-browser SSH & serial consoles
- Integrated packet capture (browser-native)
- Licence-free nodes that boot on install
- Instant device CLI - FRR & VyOS, no image upload
- Import & export labs (EVE-NG / GNS3 / .netplex)
- 50 Mbps per link
- 1,000 nodes · unlimited live labs
- Uncapped link speed
- GUI traffic generator + analyser
- GUI multicast generator + receiver
- One-click app nodes (Wireshark, Kali, desktops)
- VNC & RDP consoles (native client via connector)
- Presentation mode (laser, draw, annotate)
- Any Docker image (Hub / GHCR)
- Snapshots · freeze · Git backup
- 2-machine VXLAN fabricroadmap
- Everything in Professional, plus:
- Config management as code (templates + drift)
- Network Git versioning - diff, branch, rollbackroadmap
- Intent validation · pre-merge pipelines (pyATS / Batfish)roadmap
- Ansible + Terraform providers · API keys + CLIbeta
- QoS impairment · fault injection
- Flow animation · metrics dashboard · gNMI endpoints
- microVM & LXC/LXD runtimesbeta
- 4-machine VXLAN fabricroadmap
- Everything in Team, plus:
- Unlimited nodes & labs
- SSO / AD
- Multi-tenant namespaces · audit log
- Offline / HW-bound licensing
- Compute cluster · ∞ VXLAN fabricroadmap
- S3 / self-hosted git
- SLA + named contact
- Everything in Architect, plus:
- Multi-user collaboration on one topologyroadmap
- Collaborative Network Gitroadmap
- Role-based access
- 8-machine VXLAN fabricroadmap
- Shared image & template library
- Architect features + the classroom layer:
- Isolated student pods
- Grade & freeze
- Teacher dashboard
- Exam mode
- Live monitoring
- SSO / AD
- We install on your server & train staff - free
- Everything in Team, plus:
- Unlimited nodes & labs (soft OOM guard)
- admin:* & team-scoped keys
- SSO / AD
- Audit log
- Multi-tenant namespaces
- Offline / HW-bound licensing
- Compute cluster
- ∞ VXLAN fabricroadmap
- S3 / self-hosted git
Switching from EVE-NG, PNETLAB or GNS3?
EVE-NG Pro is ~$160/year, MAC-locked, no snapshots, no git backup, no API. netplex. Professional is $199/year, runs anywhere, and has all of it. Import your .unl in 30 seconds.
Actively developed - never stranded on an old version.
netplex. ships fixes and features continuously, and your self-hosted install updates in one click (netplex upgrade - pull, rebuild, restart). Your subscription keeps evolving; you decide when to take the update. No frozen builds, no waiting years between releases.
Every feature, side by side.
| Associate | Professional | Architect | Team | Class · AU | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | ||||||
| Nodes per lab | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | ∞ |
| Live labs | 1 | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | per pod | ∞ * |
| Link speed cap | 50 Mbps | None | None | None | None | None |
| Engine & content (free at every tier) | ||||||
| Full engine · SSH/serial consoles · licence-free nodes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basic packet capture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Import & export labs (EVE-NG / GNS3 / .netplex) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Persistence & runtime | ||||||
| GUI traffic generator | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GUI traffic analyser | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GUI multicast generator + receiver | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| One-click app nodes (Wireshark, Kali, desktops) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| VNC & RDP consoles (native client via connector) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Diagram export (SVG / PNG / PDF) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Any Docker image (Hub / GHCR) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Snapshots · freeze · Git backup | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ + S3 |
| Network Git versioning · roadmap | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Presentation mode (laser · draw · annotate) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| UI & terminal theming · syntax highlighting | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| microVM · LXC/LXD runtimes · beta | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Config, validation & observability | ||||||
| Config management as code | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intent & policy validation · roadmap | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pre-merge validation pipelines (pyATS / Batfish) · roadmap | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scoped API keys + CLI (REST & WebSocket) | read | read | read/write | read/write | read/write | + admin · audit |
| Ansible collection (lab & config modules) · beta | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Terraform provider (labs · nodes · links) · beta | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fault injection — pull a cable or fully isolate a node (TAP down · node stays on) | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| QoS impairment — delay · jitter · loss · rate cap per link (link stays up) | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live link traffic % | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Real-time flow analytics · roadmap | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in metrics dashboard · gNMI endpoints | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fabric & collaboration · roadmap | ||||||
| VXLAN multi-machine fabric | - | 2 | 4 | 8 | per Architect | ∞ (cluster) |
| Multi-user collaboration | - | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Collaborative Network Git · roles | - | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ |
| Teaching & organisation | ||||||
| Isolated student pods | - | - | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Freeze · reset · grade | - | - | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSO / AD | - | - | - | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-tenant namespaces · audit log | - | - | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Compute cluster · offline / HW-bound | - | - | - | - | - | ✓ |
| Licence & support | ||||||
| Licence model | Free | Sub | Sub or perpetual | Sub / seat | Free K-12 (AU) | Sub or perpetual |
| Support channel | Forums | Priority | Priority | Priority schools | SLA + contact | |
* Enterprise concurrent labs are unlimited - the orchestrator tracks resource usage and warns at 80% RAM, never hard-blocking a legitimate workload. Rows marked roadmap (VXLAN multi-machine fabric, Network Git, validation pipelines, real-time flow analytics, multi-user collaboration) are in active development - we list them so you can see where each tier is headed; single-host emulation and the full local toolbox ship today.
Our free tier vs EVE-NG.
netplex. Associate is free forever - here it is beside EVE-NG Community (free) and EVE-NG Professional (€150/yr, MAC-locked). An honest scorecard.
| netplex. Associate | EVE-NG Community | EVE-NG Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | €150 / yr |
| Max nodes per lab | 1,000 | 63 | 1,024 |
| Modern browser UI (React canvas) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Integrated consoles (SSH · serial) | ✓ integrated | HTML5 | HTML5 |
| Integrated packet capture | ✓ integrated | local only | integrated |
| Licence-free nodes that boot on install | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Instant device CLI (FRR / VyOS, no upload) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| One-click EVE-NG / GNS3 import | ✓ | n/a | n/a |
| Device config export / import | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| REST API | ✓ read | ✗ | ✗ |
| Link impairment (delay / jitter / loss) | Architect | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-config sets · lab timer | paid | ✗ | ✓ |
| Install model | Self-hosted · no MAC-lock | Self-hosted | Self-hosted · MAC-locked |
EVE-NG figures from the official features-compare page: Community caps labs at 63 nodes with 2 admin accounts and no link-quality, config-export or lab-timer; Pro is €150/yr and MAC-locked. netplex. Associate matches Pro on scale and beats Community on the modern stack - for free.
Pricing, answered.
Is it really free for Australian schools?
Yes - for every Australian primary and secondary school. We install the software on your school's server and personally train your teachers, all at no cost. TAFEs and universities, please contact us for a quote. Email edu@netplex.io to get started.
Why pay when EVE-NG has a free Community?
You don't have to - netplex. Associate is also free, and already better. You pay for what EVE-NG can't sell you: snapshots, fault injection, presentation mode, QoS and a built-in metrics dashboard - plus a Terraform provider and Ansible collection currently in beta.
Is the Associate tier time-limited?
No - free is free forever. 1,000 nodes, a live lab and the full engine - consoles, packet capture, built-in tool nodes, import/export - all included with no time limit.
What's the difference between Professional and Architect?
Professional ($199/yr) is the solo "version it and break it" tier - 1,000 nodes, snapshots, fault injection (pull a cable or isolate a node - the TAP interface goes down, the device process stays alive), presentation mode, any Docker image and one-click app nodes. Architect ($499/yr) adds QoS impairment (inject delay, jitter, loss or a rate cap per link - the link stays up but traffic degrades, for WAN simulation and VoIP testing), the full automation toolbox (API keys, CLI, CI lab tests; Terraform and Ansible in beta), the metrics dashboard and micro-VM/LXC (beta). Fault injection asks "does the network recover when something dies?" - QoS impairment asks "does the app survive when the network is sick?" Team brings the people layer; Enterprise the org layer.
Why is there a 50 Mbps cap on Associate?
It's intentional, gentle friction. Routing, switching and QoS study fit comfortably in 50 Mbps; production-scale throughput testing doesn't - and that's a Professional/Architect conversation.
Will a licence blip lock my running lab?
No. Enterprise uses MAC + TPM fingerprinting with a 30-day grace period on hardware migration. Reliability beats DRM zeal.
Ready when you are.
Start on the free Associate tier in minutes - no credit card.