NIPAP vs Tidal LightMesh
NIPAP
spritelink.github.ioTidal LightMesh
tidalcloud.comSide by side
| Figure | NIPAP | Tidal LightMesh |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $32.08/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · IP Address Management Software | 8.3 (#9) | 8.0 (#17) |
| Spec score · Ipam Tool | 8.3 (#7) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Deployment | The maker officially supports Debian and Debian derivatives; it says NIPAP should also run on Unix-like systems with manual dependency installation. | LightMesh is offered as SaaS on any plan, while Docker self-hosting on Ubuntu LTS, AWS, or Azure is available for Enterprise. |
| Purpose | NIPAP is an IP address management system built to handle large amounts of IP addresses. | LightMesh is cloud-first IP address management software for discovering, planning, and governing address data across cloud, DHCP, and imports. |
| Security | The installation guide describes configuring authentication accounts for the backend and web interface. | Tidal says it completed a SOC 2 Type II audit and uses AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS v1.2 in transit. |
| Support | The maker directs users to GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, and other issues. | Plan support ranges from best-effort email on Free and Pro to 8-hour email support on Team and email, phone, and Slack on Enterprise. |
Plans
Tidal LightMesh
- FreeFree
- Pro (monthly)$35 a month
- Team (monthly)$249 a month
- Pro (annual)$385 a year
- Team (annual)$2,739 a year
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
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.
Tidal LightMesh
Tidal LightMesh is cloud-first IP address management software for discovering, planning, and governing address data across cloud environments, DHCP, and imports. Its read-only Windows Discovery Agent brings Microsoft DHCP scopes, leases, hostnames, and history into a searchable view. Agentless integrations discover AWS VPCs and Azure VNets, subnets, and assignments. Cloud inventory sync is on demand for Free, hourly for Pro and Team, and every five minutes for Enterprise. TreeView and Network Containers show planned and live networks together, help flag overlapping ranges, and group address space. Subnet Builder visually divides a parent subnet into address sizes for cloud and data center plans. SaaS is available on every plan; Docker self-hosting on Ubuntu LTS, AWS, or Azure is limited to Enterprise. LightMesh supports API access, subnet planning, DNS and DHCP management, and IPv6. Free allows one user and fewer than 1,000 IPs. Pro costs $35 a month, and a 14-day trial is listed. Google Cloud support is on the future roadmap and is not currently available.