Masscan vs Naabu
Masscan
github.comNaabu
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Masscan | Naabu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Port Scanner Software | 8.7 (#2) | 8.8 (#1) |
| Integrations | The project describes PF_RING DNA support for high-speed packet transmission and says Masscan can use PF_RING ZC when the adapter name indicates it. | It integrates with Nmap for service discovery and can pipe discovered ports to ProjectDiscovery's httpx tool. |
| Intended users | The README describes Masscan as tuned for scanning many machines across wide ranges, while Nmap is described as designed for intensive scanning of a single machine or small range. | The README describes Naabu as designed to work with other tools for attack surface discovery in bug bounties and penetration tests. |
| Purpose | Masscan is an Internet-scale TCP port scanner designed for wide-range scanning of many machines. | Naabu is a Go port scanner that enumerates valid ports on hosts quickly and reliably. |
| Scanning | It supports arbitrary port and address ranges and asynchronous transmission. | It supports fast SYN, CONNECT, and UDP probe-based scanning. |
Plans
In their own words
Masscan
Masscan is a free command-line TCP port scanner for scanning many machines across wide address ranges. The project says one machine can transmit 10 million packets per second. It supports asynchronous transmission, arbitrary port and address ranges, and scanning IPv4 and IPv6 together without a separate IPv6 mode. Banner checks cover protocols and services including FTP, HTTP, IMAP4, memcached, POP3, SMTP, SSH, SSL, SMBv1, SMBv2, Telnet, RDP and VNC. Results can be saved as XML, binary, grepable, JSON or list output. Its usage and output are intended to be familiar to Nmap users, with some Nmap-compatible options. Masscan runs on Linux, macOS and Windows and is available for self-hosting. The project describes PF_RING DNA support for high-speed transmission and says it can use PF_RING ZC when the adapter name indicates it. It is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3, whose notice states there is no warranty. Users must specify ports and target IP addresses or simple ranges; DNS names are not accepted. The README warns that its custom TCP/IP stack can conflict with the local stack and describes using a separate source IP or firewalling its source port.
Naabu
Naabu is a free, open-source command-line port scanner for identifying valid ports on hosts, with SYN, CONNECT, and UDP probes. It accepts hosts, IP addresses, CIDR ranges, and ASNs directly, from a file, or through standard input. Results can be emitted as JSON, CSV, text, or standard output. It supports IPv4 and experimental IPv6 scanning, DNS port scans, passive enumeration through Shodan InternetDB, and experimental host discovery. Naabu can work with Nmap for service discovery and version detection, and discovered ports can be piped to ProjectDiscovery's httpx to identify running HTTP servers. The CLI can upload or display scan results in the ProjectDiscovery Cloud dashboard. Installation options include ready-to-run binaries, Docker, and Go. Packet capture requires libpcap on Linux or macOS, or Npcap on Windows. Service version detection needs a local Nmap service-probe database or a custom path. The README recommends running as root for best results and adjusting scan flags and rate on local systems.