Fortra&#39;s Intermapper vs Nmap comparison

Read 23 Nmap reviews

4,380 Views
4,117 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortra's Intermapper

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Nmap and Fortra's Intermapper are complementary products in the network analysis and monitoring category, each excelling in different areas. Based on the data comparisons, Fortra's Intermapper appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and structured support.

Features: Nmap offers network scanning, security auditing, and effective identification of network vulnerabilities. Fortra's Intermapper provides real-time network mapping, enhanced visualization, and in-depth insights into network performance.

Room for Improvement: Nmap could improve by offering more straightforward deployment procedures, enhanced customer support, and better integration with other tools. Fortra's Intermapper could benefit from more competitive pricing options, broader feature flexibility, and reduced setup costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortra's Intermapper features simple deployment and comprehensive support, contributing positively to user satisfaction. Nmap, in contrast, requires technical expertise for deployment, with support largely managed through community forums.

Pricing and ROI: Nmap attracts cost-conscious organizations with no setup fees, delivering high ROI through free, open-source access. Fortra's Intermapper, with higher initial costs, justifies the expense through its robust network management capabilities and significant ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Intermapper vs. Nmap Report (Updated: April 2026).

Fortra's Intermapper vs. Nmap

Download the complete report

Helped 893,221 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

Fortra's Intermapper

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

80th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Nmap

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Fortra's Intermapper is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nmap is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Nmap	0.9%
Fortra's Intermapper	0.5%
Other	98.6%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Andrian Lubimov

SVP of Networking and Operations at Skywire Networks

It tremendously cuts down our troubleshooting timeframe, but needs advanced SLA monitoring and reporting

They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit.

Read full review

Sai Aditya Panda

Student at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Penetration testing has become efficient as I identify open ports and security risks with confidence

Nmap could potentially become a GUI and provide automatic reports with one-click downloads. For example, the report could show all the open ports for an IP address with a professionally formatted report. This is a far-fetched suggestion and not really required, but it could make the work a little better. On a scale of one to ten, I give Nmap a solid nine. I mean, how can you fix something that is not broken? Nmap is already the best, and I do not think there are any other features that can be added. Its job is reconnaissance, so I do not think there is more to add to it. However, if I get any ideas, I will let them know about this.

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 solution has a couple of features which are really interesting; it's not a fancy or expensive solution but we wanted to have a cost effective one and it's doing its job pretty well."

"The graphical alerting with the ability to obtain a quick overview of a monitored device is my favorite feature."

"The most valuable features are its: log history, real-time monitoring capabilities, accuracy - the number of false positives is very low, and the mapping features."

"Put Intermapper in as your base to start from, hands-down."

"Right now, it is really a combination of network topology, network monitoring, and network analyzing, so, in my opinion, it is awesome."

"What is really cool about HelpSystems InterMapper is that because of its SNMP base, you can integrate all different makes and models on the same map. You, of course, can have more than one map, but you have an option to have visibility into the entire network from one centralized system. You can monitor IPs, routers, radios, DC power plants, and UPS. You can do it all from one network management and monitoring solution. That's what really makes HelpSystems Intermapper great. Another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper is that you can really bundle different probes under one device. You can have a bundled device. You can monitor the physical status of a host based on the IP availability. You can also monitor services and actually see if anything happens. You can quickly determine whether it is the application layer, host layer, or network layer. HelpSystems Intermapper gives such a unique representation of a network. Ever since we started using HelpSystems InterMapper, we don't have to document everything in a detailed format and store it somewhere. Right now, it is really a combination of network topology, network monitoring, and network analyzing. So, in my opinion, it is awesome. When you have your SNMP topology defined, you don't require a dedicated NMS engineer to manage your system, which is another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper. I see how our operators get so excited by having the ability to map a device or interface and connect interfaces together. HelpSystems InterMapper is also very operator friendly; not just user friendly, but also operator friendly. This is a unique feature, and it works really great."

"It's a nice graphical interface, a nice map, that relates Layer 1 to Layer 3, virtually instantly, to the Helpdesk support staff. It provides a default place to get critical information so we can deploy our staff."

"It's all today portal-based which is a good feature for us."

"We chose this solution because it supports several frameworks, including coding frameworks."

"It is most efficient network scanner right now."

"Nmap's performance is great, and I've never noticed any issues in this respect. It really doesn't put a heavy load on the machine when using it."

"The scanning procedure includes UDP ports which sets it apart from competitors."

"The best feature of Nmap is that it lets me see useful information about each endpoint in my entire network environment. For example, I can see every single connection of the network as well as each and every port."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its scripts. These scripts prove beneficial when security features may obscure or block connections. Nmap helps identify vulnerabilities across different systems, including web servers and various server types."

"It helps us secure the network infrastructure."

"It works very nicely for troubleshooting, because when a service isn't running for any of your users, you can use Nmap to check it directly and easily determine whether the service is actually running or not."

More Nmap pros

Cons

"I have seen instances where Intermapper does not seem to recover from network changes."

"I'd love to see more of the network management side of it coming back into it."

"It's a smaller solution so tools are not as advanced as you would find in a larger solution"

"I'd love to see more of the network management side of it coming back into it. If we were able to run scripts to bounce ports on switches, that would be great. It's asking a lot, but it's actually very doable because I do it through scripting into other products. If we could incorporate that directly into Intermapper, that would be fantastic."

"They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit."

"It's a smaller solution so tools are not as advanced as you would find in a larger solution"

"The solution's initial setup could be better."

"They should deliver Playtech's username and password."

"Nmap will be a little difficult for beginners because of the learning curve and the CLI-based system, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes very powerful."

"It takes a bit of time to get familiar with the solution and its options."

"The challenge often lies in finding suitable courses and professional resources."

"Nmap needs to improve its scanning speed."

"It takes a bit of time to get familiar with the solution and its options."

"I would like something more user-friendly to use and export data to various software."

More Nmap cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Nmap is an open-source product. You don't need a license to install it."

"The product's pricing is fine. The licensing options for Nmap include perpetual licenses and volume-based licenses. For perpetual licenses, once you purchase it, there's no need to invest in renewals. And for volume-based licenses, enterprise companies can use it multiple times based on the number of users or devices they need to scan. It's a pay-as-you-go model, similar to how you pay for what you use."

"Nmap is open source software, which suits us well because we are a manufacturing company and not an IT company, for example. If we were an IT company, we would probably need to pay for extra support or instead go for another software solution. But as it is, we don't have any need for high-end troubleshooting tools."

"The solution is free of cost, but there are specific services that we have to buy."

"The solution is free of cost."

"I am using the standard free version of Nmap."

"It's an open-source product, and I haven't seen any premiums. Options are available for those who purchase, but for my use case, everything I need is available in the community and forums."

"I am using the free version of Nmap."

More Nmap pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

18%

Construction Company

11%

University

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Government

10%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What do you like most about Nmap?

Nmap is mostly helpful during compliance checks. We run the scanner to see how many devices are on our network and find vulnerabilities in those that aren't compliant. We also use it monthly to sca...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nmap?

I am using the free version of Nmap.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Nmap?

My main use case for Nmap is reconnaissance, so identifying open ports or running services and ultimately finding the security risks or vulnerabilities in a system. OS detection is the most importa...

See all answers

Comparisons

SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager vs Fortra's Intermapper

Compared 19% of the time

ConnectWise RMM vs Fortra's Intermapper

Compared 14% of the time

Zabbix vs Fortra's Intermapper

Compared 8% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Fortra's Intermapper

Compared 6% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Fortra's Intermapper

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortra's Intermapper Competitors

SolarWinds NPM vs Nmap

Compared 7% of the time

Domotz Pro vs Nmap

Compared 7% of the time

LiveNX vs Nmap

Compared 7% of the time

OpenNMS vs Nmap

Compared 7% of the time

More Nmap Competitors

Product Reports

Network Monitoring Software

Download Fortra's Intermapper product report

Download Nmap product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems Intermapper

No data available

Overview

Fortra's Intermapper offers real-time network mapping and monitoring, ideal for IT teams seeking a reliable visualization and alerting tool to maintain uptime and connectivity.

Ideal for IT environments, Fortra's Intermapper provides dynamic and intuitive network mapping capabilities. Known for its ability to display an up-to-date graphical view of IT infrastructure, this solution enables proactive monitoring through instant alerts and performance insights. It helps IT teams swiftly address potential issues, ensuring consistent connectivity and performance.

What are the key features of Fortra's Intermapper?

Real-Time Network Mapping: Displays live network status for immediate infrastructure insight.
Customizable Alerts: Allows personalized notifications for targeted problem-solving.
Performance Monitoring: Tracks metrics to preemptively identify potential disruptions.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Supports different operating systems for wider usability.
Historical Data Maintenance: Retains past network data for trend analysis and reporting.

Which benefits or ROI can users expect from Fortra's Intermapper?

Improved Network Visibility: Enhances understanding of network status and layout.
Faster Issue Resolution: Real-time alerts and monitoring minimize downtime.
Cost Efficiency: By reducing outages, operational costs decrease significantly.
Enhanced User Experience: Stable networks boost overall end-user satisfaction.

In industries such as healthcare, finance, and education, Fortra's Intermapper is a vital tool for maintaining high network performance and reliability. It plays a crucial role in environments where uptime is critical, ensuring that network issues are resolved swiftly to support essential operations.

Fortra

Nmap is a comprehensive tool for network reconnaissance and security evaluation, offering features like port scanning and OS detection. It assists in uncovering network configurations, essential for cybersecurity operations.

Designed for network discovery and auditing, Nmap is a highly adaptable tool vital for penetration testing and security analysis. Users utilize it to identify open ports and operating systems, conduct vulnerability assessments, and map networks. While its CLI offers flexibility, the absence of a graphical interface can be a hurdle for new users. Enhancements in scanning speed and the addition of network issue resolution features would increase its effectiveness. Industry use cases show its necessity in cybersecurity, where it aids in uncovering network devices, evaluating services, and assessing security postures.

What are the key features of Nmap?

Port Scanning: Identifies open ports within a network.
Service Detection: Discovers services running on network devices.
OS Detection: Determines operating systems to assess vulnerabilities.
Network Diagnostics: Provides insights for system auditing and performance evaluation.
Script Integration: Utilizes scripts for enhanced vulnerability scanning.

What benefits should users look for?

Network Visibility: Helps reveal detailed network configurations for efficient management.
Security Posture Assessment: Evaluates an organization's exposure to threats.
Flexible Tool Integration: Works with other tools, enhancing cybersecurity decision-making.

Nmap is indispensable in industries focused on cybersecurity and network management. It plays a significant role in telecommunications, finance, and IT sectors by enabling detailed network analysis, enhancing penetration testing, and facilitating compliance assessments. Robust integration capabilities make it a versatile choice for enterprises and security experts.

Sample Customers

Greater Media Detroit, University of British Columbia, Don's Farm Supply

Lockheed Martin, Eastern Bank Boston, Perspecta, Harris Corporation, Discovery Communication

Fortra's Intermapper vs. Nmap