AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Kismet

AirMagnet Survey PRO is Wi-Fi heatmap and wireless design software for predictive modeling, site surveys, and network verification. Its Planner uses building materials, attenuation areas, and access-point details to estimate quantities and placement for new or existing networks without installing access points first. The software generates coverage heatmaps and supports active, passive, and iPerf surveys on 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands, plus data simulation. It can import walls from CAD floor plans and produce customizable reports. PRO adds outdoor surveys, multi-floor analysis, multiple survey reports, network-design verification, and VoWLAN deployment verification. AirMapper surveys from supported NetAlly testers can be used, and Cisco Prime NCS/WCS project exchange is supported. Outdoor results can be exported to Google Earth. The listed PC operating system is 64-bit Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise; MacBook Pro use requires supported Windows through Boot Camp or a virtual machine.

Kismet is a free, open-source wireless sniffer, intrusion detection system, wardriving tool, and packet capture tool. Depending on hardware and driver support, it can capture Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, wireless sensor, airplane beacon, and power meter data. It runs headless as a standalone capture and wireless intrusion detection system, or with a web interface. Linux and macOS are supported directly; Windows use is through WSL. Remote capture forwards capture types over TCP sockets or websockets for centralized collection. Kismet’s kismetdb logfile combines packets, device records, location, and runtime data in an SQLite3-based file. A REST-like API offers JSON records, streaming pcap-ng, and websocket publish-subscribe endpoints. WIDS alerts can be connected through REST APIs, syslog, and some SIEM tools. The project says stationary use is most effective for WIDS; mobile or channel-hopping operation can reduce accuracy and coverage. Its macOS adapter support is limited, and WSL cannot access local hardware interfaces for packet capture, though remote capture is supported. The downloads page lists 2025-09-R1 as the latest stable release.