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AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey PRO
Ranking in Network Modeling and Simulation
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Network Troubleshooting (3rd)
Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)
Ranking in Network Modeling and Simulation
3rd
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Modeling and Simulation category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 7.0%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is 7.6%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Modeling and Simulation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AirMagnet Survey PRO7.0%
Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)7.6%
Other85.4%
Network Modeling and Simulation
 

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon - PeerSpot reviewer
Wireless Services Manager at Veritas Managed Solutions
A solution for site verifications and enhanced with adapters that provide more realistic readings, but needs to support Wi-Fi 6E
Ekahau and AirMagnet Survey have their own pros and cons, in my opinion. For example, the APs are not visible in Ekahau but AirMagnet Survey allows us to see what APs and channels are being used in a live view, which Ekahau lacks. In Ekahau, the signal from the AP it's capturing at that time is visible which is a bit of an inconvenience. The predictive planner of AirMagnet's is better. However, Ekahau has advantages over AirMagnet because it groups all the SSIDs into one AP, whereas with AirMagnet, one needs to group them manually. Ekahau also supports Wi-Fi 6E, but its licensing is restrictive and more costly.
OB
CEO at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Limited support and costly setup detract from potential benefits
The stability of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is not very good. The iOSs consume so much memory that most typical machines do not have sufficient memory to utilize. For example, the Cisco 9200 iOSs require 24 gigabytes of memory to run in that tool, and that is only one image.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."
"We normally use AirMagnet products to meter voltage coming off any number of services at the venues that we go to, or generators in the instance that we're doing something that's a temporary powered situation; so, metering voltage, and then also metering amperage draw."
"Clear and easy to use maps."
"AirMagnet is a very stable and time-tested product, as proved by the fact that the world's leading IT companies use AirMagnet Survey and if we look at the release notes we can see a lot of new features instead of bug fixes as in the Ekahau Site Survey."
"The product is very good and I highly recommend it, especially if you have to present the survey finding to clients."
"It has helped us to survey coverage after implementation."
"The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."
"AirMagnet is a very stable and time-tested product."
"The initial setup of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is straightforward, but the images are complex and expensive to set up because they do not provide those for free."
"The ease of use of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is very valuable to me because it is straightforward."
 

Cons

"Often, AirMagnet will crash and you will have to reboot your laptop or tablet to start it again. Data will be lost if you haven’t saved it."
"It has not been entirely stable."
"I haven't been able to decide whether it is stable. I've had issues every now and again, but I cannot 100 percent say it was the fault of the software or the fault of my laptop."
"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."
"I would just like to see integration of more wireless cards to have a broader group of cards you could use, instead of just a couple of specific ones."
"I feel like the software crashed on my laptop so many times, as compared to when I was using the Ekahau, but it's fine."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"If you don't have very much practice with it, it is difficult to troubleshoot."
"Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) could improve by providing more in-depth switch options. For example, I cannot lab stacking at all."
"The stability of Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is not very good. The iOSs consume so much memory that most typical machines do not have sufficient memory to utilize."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is very expensive."
"The tool's pricing is medium."
"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise10
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...
What advice do you have for others considering AirMagnet Survey?
The AI simulation capabilities, especially the predictive feature in AirMagnet, have been somewhat helpful for network planning. However, both AirMagnet and other tools like Ekahau have accuracy is...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
On a scale of 1 to 10, Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is about eight or nine in terms of expense.
What needs improvement with Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
There are other areas where they could improve the product in my opinion.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)?
I have always used Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) in lieu of building practical labs and buying products for the labs so I can simulate configurations and test interoperability and things of that nature.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.