Alternatives to arp-scan
Command-line tool that discovers and fingerprints hosts on a local network using ARP. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
arp-scan
Command-line tool that discovers and fingerprints hosts on a local network using ARP.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as arp-scan.
netdiscover
An ARP scanner that finds hosts on a local network by active or passive discovery.
netdiscover is also a Linux command-line ARP scanner but adds passive discovery and works on networks without DHCP, while lacking arp-scan's fingerprinting helper.
Nmap
The network mapper: find out which hosts are up, which ports are open and what is listening on them.
Nmap scans beyond the local segment with port scanning, service detection and OS fingerprinting on Windows, macOS and Linux, under a custom licence that is not OSI-approved.
Angry IP Scanner
A fast, friendly IP and port scanner that needs no installation and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Angry IP Scanner offers a graphical, cross-platform scanner under GPL-2.0 that can scan internet ranges too, though it needs a Java runtime and finds only hosts and ports.
Advanced IP Scanner
Scans a home or office network and lists every device with its name, MAC address and shared folders.
Advanced IP Scanner moves the job to a free Windows GUI that lists MAC, manufacturer and shared folders, but it is closed source and last released in 2023.
Fing
Network scanner that identifies the devices on your network.
Fing provides accurate device identification in desktop and mobile apps with new-device alerts, but it is closed source and advanced features need a paid subscription.
Also worth comparing
These listings name arp-scan as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
iputils
The Linux ping, tracepath, arping and related network utilities.
arp-scan covers the arping side with LAN host discovery and vendor lookup, working only on the local segment and usually needing root.
LanScan
A Mac network scanner that lists active devices on the local network with their addresses and vendors.
arp-scan is a Linux command-line tool that finds devices that do not answer ping and shows MAC vendors, usually requiring root.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
NetAlertX
A self-hosted network scanner that discovers devices on your networks and reports changes.
WatchYourLAN
Lightweight self-hosted network IP scanner with a web interface and alerts for new hosts.
LAN Orangutan
Lightweight network scanner with persistent device labels.
fping
A command-line ping tool that sends ICMP echo probes to many hosts at once.
masscan
Scan large sets of IP addresses for open ports.
