AirMagnet Survey PRO vs LinkRunner comparison

AirMagnet Survey PRO and LinkRunner are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. AirMagnet Survey PRO is ranked #6 with an average rating of 6.5, while LinkRunner is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. AirMagnet Survey PRO holds a 8.9% mindshare in NT, compared to LinkRunner’s 10.1% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of AirMagnet Survey PRO users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of LinkRunner users who would recommend it.

AirMagnet Survey PRO

Read 39 AirMagnet Survey PRO reviews

3,397 Views
577 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

1,961 Views
1,961 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

AirMagnet Survey PRO

LinkRunner

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

LinkRunner and AirMagnet Survey PRO compete in the network testing and analysis domain. While LinkRunner is cost-effective, AirMagnet Survey PRO holds the upper hand due to its extensive feature set and detailed capabilities.

Features: LinkRunner delivers instant network connectivity testing, PoE testing, and an intuitive AutoTest feature. Its speed in producing results and ease of use enhances on-site efficiency. AirMagnet Survey PRO provides comprehensive wireless network planning and performance assessment tools, including RF spectrum analysis and heat map generation, allowing users to predict and optimize coverage accurately.

Room for Improvement: LinkRunner could benefit from enhanced integration with more advanced network diagnostic tools and an extended range of supported devices. Its cloud-based result storage can be improved for greater flexibility. Additional training resources would support new users in leveraging all device functionalities. AirMagnet Survey PRO might improve its user interface for simpler navigation and streamline data sharing capabilities. Expanding the range of supported adapters could provide a more realistic assessment of network conditions. Enhanced mobile device compatibility would also be beneficial for onsite assessments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LinkRunner offers quick deployment with straightforward configuration, supported by a reliable and responsive customer service team. AirMagnet Survey PRO requires a longer setup due to its comprehensive features but provides extensive resources and dedicated support to tackle complex network issues effectively, catering well to detailed project deployments.

Pricing and ROI: LinkRunner's lower cost ensures a fast return on investment by cost-effectively diagnosing network issues. While AirMagnet Survey PRO is priced higher, potentially around $36,000 for full capability, its extensive features justify the expense by preventing downtimes and optimizing network performance, ensuring long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. LinkRunner Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. LinkRunner

December 2025

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Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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 Troubleshooting

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd)

LinkRunner

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.9%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkRunner is 10.1%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
LinkRunner	10.1%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	8.9%
Other	81.0%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon

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.

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Jesse_B

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Impressive ease of use, gives comprehensive results in seconds, and saves a lot of time and resources

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources. Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits. When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."

"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."

"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."

"Customer service is great."

"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."

"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."

"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO pros

"Having the results sent directly, via email, from the LinkRunner itself makes it really great for logging different things that you're trying to document within your organization. You can have a paper trail of what your organization has as far as infrastructure goes."

"The solution's ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is very useful to me. Otherwise, I’m guessing. Having a tool that I can trust doesn't solve all problems, but for the problems it solves, I can trust that it has told me “yes” or “no.” I would rate it highly for that."

"I like that LinkRunner is an all-in-one device with a touchscreen interface. You don't have to pair it with a phone or anything else to get the full functionality. The built-in tests are one of the most significant advantages. It will pull an IP, ping the gateway, ping out to the intra, and report everything on the screen. It will tell you when a test completes or fails and why."

"Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput."

"I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources."

"The LLDP decoding is better than on some of the other devices that we've used. Specifically, it goes beyond the minimum of the LLDP data to decode, and it shows the LLDP port descriptions. That makes it vastly simpler to identify which port you're connecting to on a switch that's patched back to some other building, rather than having to figure out an SNMP index or something else."

"It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate."

"LinkRunner 10G is very handy for onsite troubleshooting and implementations. We can quickly identify the links in terms of 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G on the copper side, and also from 1G up to 10G on the fiber side. It is very handy for me because we deal with a lot of banks. Especially for the provisioning of new services, we use this tool to identify the link capacity and do the necessary testing to ensure all the circuits are ready before the handover to the next team to operate the technology. This is something that saves a lot of time as compared to the old days."

Cons

"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."

"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."

"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."

"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."

"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."

"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."

"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."

"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."

More AirMagnet Survey PRO cons

"It runs tests quickly, but it takes a while to boot up. It's somewhat disappointing that LinkRunner takes some time to turn on. When I arrive in the space, I usually spend the first two minutes waiting."

"If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10. But because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable."

"A feature that I would like to see is the ability to send a tone down the cable. That would be great. I have to use a separate tool for that. If I'm trying to troubleshoot a cable that is not plugged into a network switch, I need the ability to tone."

"It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load."

"It's a little bit tough getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, and once you start using it more, like anything, it gets easier. The difficult part, at first, is knowing where to find each test and how to use the tests."

"Unlike using an application like Wireshark, this device gives us no way to see network packets specifically to look at what's going on. It doesn't have the capability."

"It does take a little while to boot up if it's turned off."

"It doesn't turn off automatically, but the toning function goes to sleep. It seems to stop toning after five or six minutes if you don't find the cable. It could be up to ten minutes, but if you don't find the cable that you're trying to tone quick enough, you'll have to go back and restart the tone. So, it doesn't turn itself off, but while toning, it turns itself off."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing needs improvement."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"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."

"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."

"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."

"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."

"This product is very expensive."

"It was difficult to sell this to my management because the price is really high compared to other testing tools. However, we've seen a pretty good return on investment considering our outcomes and the time we have saved. The first year has been great."

"The price was fine. You pay for the unit, and there are no licensing or maintenance fees."

"I didn't have to buy it, but if I was going to have my choice, I wouldn't buy it just because of the price point. It works pretty well to do one thing. For the cost, it is definitely not worth it. There are other products out there that can do the same thing for probably 70% less. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"The cost of this device is very expensive, especially with the NetAlly Care on top of the costs. It is not for personal use and would be very expensive for smaller businesses."

"We... decided to go with NetAlly for the price and the bang for the buck."

"It's reasonably priced in my market. It provides good value for money. The device is competitively priced as compared to other solutions. It gives you a lot of functionality and saves you a lot of time and resources. I see it as a good buy and good value for money. I stand for it."

"Compared to another company's product, LinkRunner is cheaper, but it's still about $1,000 too expensive, considering that the operating system is a free operating system. The OS has just been tweaked to give you a graphical interface. I don't think it's priced right."

"They offer one price. I do like paying for support because I get software updates that way."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

15%

University

10%

Healthcare Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?

We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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Comparisons

Ekahau AI Pro vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 47% of the time

iBwave Unity vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 7% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 6% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 6% of the time

AirMagnet Spectrum XT vs AirMagnet Survey PRO

Compared 3% of the time

More AirMagnet Survey PRO Competitors

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs LinkRunner

Compared 25% of the time

IxChariot vs LinkRunner

Compared 20% of the time

LinkSprinter vs LinkRunner

Compared 19% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs LinkRunner

Compared 17% of the time

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs LinkRunner

Compared 7% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO

January 2026

Download AirMagnet Survey PRO product report

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner

January 2026

Download LinkRunner product report

Overview

AirMagnet Survey PRO provides efficient wireless network surveying and design capabilities, optimizing access point placement with dual passive-active surveys, spectrum integration, and real-time analysis.

AirMagnet Survey PRO offers comprehensive tools for wireless coverage optimization. It facilitates accurate SNR/RSSI data collection and features multi-floor planning with robust reporting capabilities. The software enables efficient spectrum analysis, predictive mapping, and simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz surveys, saving significant time. Users appreciate its intuitive interface, which aids technical assessments and visual displays. However, they suggest improvements in multi-floor integration, file import options, and a more dynamic license system. Enhanced cloud storage support, improved auto-placement features, and better device compatibility are also on the wishlist.

What are the key features of AirMagnet Survey PRO?

Dual Passive-Active Surveys: Streamline access point placement with dual survey types.
Antenna Customization: Tailor antenna parameters for optimal performance.
Predictive Mapping: Visualize potential coverage areas before deployment.
Spectrum Integration: Analyze interference and optimize signal paths.
Simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Surveys: Conduct faster, comprehensive surveys across frequency bands.

What benefits should users look for in reviews of AirMagnet Survey PRO?

Accurate Data Collection: Highly precise SNR/RSSI measurements improve network assessments.
Time Efficiency: Reduce survey duration with dual-band simultaneous assessments.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies complex tasks with intuitive visual tools.
Comprehensive Reporting: Offers detailed analysis and insights into network performance.
Cost Savings: Efficient planning and troubleshooting lead to reduced deployment costs.

In industries like hospitality, education, and healthcare, AirMagnet Survey PRO is instrumental in wireless network surveying and design. These sectors rely on the software for precise Wi-Fi coverage assessments, spectrum analysis, and real-time signal checks, using heat maps to identify dead zones for pre and post-installation verifications. Some opt for alternatives to support newer technologies like Wi-Fi 6E.

NetAlly

LinkRunner AT 3000 & 4000. Next Generation Copper and Fiber Ethernet AutoTester. Fast and comprehensive validation of network links and powerful copper and fiber network connectivity troubleshooting. Tests from 10Mbps to 10Gbps, PoE, VLAN, switch port, path analysis, packet capture, topology mapping and so much more!

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops

Philips Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, University of South Dakota, Memorial Hermann, Baltimore County Public Schools, Aaramrak.

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. LinkRunner

December 2025

Free Report: AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. LinkRunner

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