Masscan vs ZMap
Masscan
github.comZMap
zmap.ioSide by side
| Figure | Masscan | ZMap |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Port Scanner Software | 8.7 (#2) | 6.8 (#26) |
| 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 project describes ZMap as a tool for Internet-wide network surveys and lists research among the repository topics. |
| License | Masscan is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3, with no warranty stated in the license notice. | The repository provides ZMap under the Apache License, Version 2.0, whose license text grants a no-charge, royalty-free copyright license subject to its terms. |
| Platforms | Linux is the primary target; the code also runs on Windows and macOS, and the README gives build instructions for FreeBSD. | The README says ZMap operates on GNU/Linux, Mac OS and BSD, and that the latest stable release supports Linux, macOS and BSD. |
| Purpose | Masscan is an Internet-scale TCP port scanner designed for wide-range scanning of many machines. | ZMap is a fast, stateless, single-packet network scanner designed for Internet-wide network surveys. |
| Scan speed | The project says one machine can scan the entire Internet in under five minutes at up to 10 million packets per second. | The README says ZMap can scan the public IPv4 address space on one port in under 45 minutes on a typical gigabit desktop, or in under five minutes with 10gigE and netmap or PF_RING. |
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.