Azure IPAM vs NIPAP
Azure IPAM
azure.github.ioNIPAP
spritelink.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Azure IPAM | NIPAP |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · IP Address Management Software | 8.3 (#8) | 8.3 (#9) |
| Deployment | The application can run as a container in Azure App Service or Azure Functions, and can be deployed API-only without a UI. | The maker officially supports Debian and Debian derivatives; it says NIPAP should also run on Unix-like systems with manual dependency installation. |
| Integrations | The documentation names ARM and Bicep templates, Terraform, and CI/CD pipelines as integration paths for reserving CIDR blocks. | The maker lists Python and Java client libraries and a web interface that communicates with the backend through an XML-RPC API. |
| Purpose | Azure IPAM helps Azure customers plan, deploy, manage, and monitor their IP address space. | NIPAP is an IP address management system built to handle large amounts of IP addresses. |
| Support | Project support is limited to the listed documentation and GitHub issue resources; users can file bugs and feature requests as GitHub Issues. | The maker directs users to GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, and other issues. |
Plans
In their own words
Azure IPAM
Azure IPAM helps Azure customers plan, deploy, manage, and monitor IP address space. It discovers networks, subnets, and endpoints across an Azure tenant, and can highlight orphaned endpoints and virtual network peers with misconfigurations. Users can group networks into Spaces and Blocks, monitor IP and CIDR consumption, and map external networks to Azure CIDR ranges. Planning tools show how many subnets of a chosen mask fit in a CIDR block. A REST API supports address-management automation for infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD workflows, with documented reservation paths through ARM and Bicep templates, Terraform, and CI/CD pipelines. The application runs as a container in Azure App Service or Azure Functions, or can be deployed API-only. Supporting infrastructure runs in the customer's Azure tenant, except for the public container registry. The open-source project is free; Azure infrastructure and hosting costs are separate. Deployment needs an Azure subscription and substantial tenant permissions.
NIPAP
NIPAP is a self-hosted IP address management system for large address inventories. It offers a web interface and a feature-complete command-line tool, and can allocate the next available address automatically. Search supports IP prefix operators and regular expressions. IPv6 has feature parity with IPv4, and VRFs are supported natively. The system also includes subnet planning, integrated statistics, and audit history. Address data is stored and indexed in PostgreSQL with the ip4r module. The backend communicates through an XML-RPC API, and the project lists Python and Java client libraries. NIPAP is open source under the MIT license and is free. Debian and Debian derivatives are officially supported; the maker says other Unix-like systems may run it with manual dependency installation. Installation involves configuring authentication accounts for both the backend and web interface. The maker describes user documentation as rather limited and directs users to GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, and other issues.