EVE-NG vs GNS3: which to use

At a glance

How you use each one

GNS3 starts as an app on your computer. You draw the topology there, and a GNS3 server runs the devices: on the same machine, inside the GNS3 VM, or on another server. On Windows and macOS, any device that runs under QEMU needs the GNS3 VM, and that includes images such as IOSv, IOSvL2, ASAv and IOS-XRv.

EVE-NG is a server first. You install it on its own machine or virtual machine, then open its address in a browser to build labs, start nodes and open their consoles. Nothing has to be installed on the computer you work from. If you want consoles in your own terminal and captures in a local Wireshark, EVE-NG's client pack sets those up, and from version 7.0.1-1 you download it from your own server.

That difference decides most of what follows. GNS3 fits one person working on one capable computer. EVE-NG fits a lab that lives on a server and gets used from anywhere, by you or by a small team.

What they run

GNS3 has the longer list of node types. Dynamips emulates older Cisco router hardware and runs those routers' IOS images, but not Catalyst switch images. IOU needs a licence file that, as GNS3's docs put it, only Cisco provides. QEMU/KVM runs the virtual appliances most vendors ship today, Docker runs containers, VPCS gives you a light test PC with ping and traceroute, and GNS3 can also drive VirtualBox and VMware virtual machines.

EVE-NG concentrates on QEMU/KVM virtual machines and Docker containers, and every edition, including the free one, has Docker support. It also runs Dynamips routers and VPCS hosts.

For current routers, switches and firewalls the two overlap: both start a vendor's virtual appliance under QEMU, so the same image (IOSv, vSRX, FortiGate, PAN-OS) can run in either. Each expects the image installed its own way, so you prepare it once per tool.

Hardware and operating systems

GNS3 publishes a minimum of 4 GB RAM, 2 logical cores with Intel VT-x or AMD-V switched on, and 1 GB of disk, and recommends 8 GB, 4 cores and a 35 GB SSD, with more RAM for bigger labs. The GNS3 desktop app runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

EVE-NG runs on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. It needs Intel VT-x/EPT, or nested AMD EPT, and supports installs on Proxmox, VMware ESXi 6.7 or later, Workstation and Player 16 or later, Fusion 8 or later, and Google Cloud VMs. Its list of unsupported systems includes Hyper-V, VirtualBox, AWS, Azure and Apple M-series Macs.

In both, the nodes decide how much memory you need, because each one reserves what it's configured with. In CloudLabBox's EVE-NG templates, for example, an Arista vEOS node starts with 2 vCPUs and 6,144 MB, and a Nexus 9000v with 4 vCPUs and 12 GB.

Images and licences

Neither tool ships vendor images. GNS3's documentation says it can't provide IOS or any other Cisco images for legal reasons, and that you provide your own. EVE-NG says it doesn't provide copyrighted vendor images, and its licence makes you get each vendor's authorisation before using their products on it.

GNS3's Marketplace makes adding an appliance easier, but what you download is a template: you still supply the image file, and GNS3 checks its size and checksum against the template. GNS3's docs also note that some vendors give images away and others, Cisco included, don't.

Cisco's own source of licensed images is Cisco Modeling Labs, and Cisco licenses those images for use inside CML only. Read how EVE-NG compares with Cisco Modeling Labs.

Cost

GNS3 is free. What you spend is the computer, or the server it runs on.

EVE-NG has three editions. Freemium is free; EVE-NG's comparison lists it with admin accounts only, two at a time, "7 nodes per EVE instance" and 63 nodes per lab. EVE-NG Base costs €150 a year before VAT and raises the limit to 1,024 nodes per lab, still with two admin sessions. RBL adds licences for administrators, lab editors and lab users, one concurrent session each.

• A UK buyer saw €180.00 for Base at checkout on 2 November 2026: €150.00 plus 20% VAT, or £125.07 before VAT
• A new licence doesn't extend the old one; unused days are lost
• The licence is tied to one VM or one computer, which has to check in online at least once every 24 hours
• EVE-NG's licence terms say there are no refunds

See everything EVE-NG costs to run, with a worked example.

Sharing a lab with other people

A GNS3 2.x server can serve several clients, but GNS3's docs are plain about the limits: every user can see and change every project, and there's no quota, so one person can take the whole machine. GNS3 3.1 adds users, groups and roles, but it's an alpha release that its makers say not to use for real work.

EVE-NG counts concurrent sessions. Freemium and Base allow two administrators at once. RBL licences add lab editors and lab users who can be locked to their own folders, and EVE-NG's licensing page gives the rule: ten people working at the same time need ten licences.

Which to choose

You want it free, on your own computer

GNS3. It's open source, and a laptop that meets its recommended 8 GB and 4 cores runs a small routing lab. If Cisco's simulator covers what you're studying, Packet Tracer is lighter still.

You want to work from any computer, in a browser

EVE-NG, on a server you run or on a hosted service. Nothing is installed where you sit.

Several people will use the same lab server

EVE-NG with RBL licences gives each person a role and their own folders. GNS3 2.x shares a server without separating users.

You work on an Apple silicon Mac

Run the lab somewhere else and open it in the browser: a spare Intel or AMD server, a cloud VM, or a hosted EVE-NG workspace.

You don't want to build or patch a server

A hosted EVE-NG workspace, or a cloud VM if you'd rather run it yourself. Compare self-hosting in the cloud with a hosted lab.

EVE-NG without running a server

CloudLabBox runs EVE-NG Pro workspaces on its own servers. You sign in at lab.cloudlabbox.com, build with the 1,596 images in the Add Node list, and open consoles in the browser, or right-click a running device to open it in your own terminal, browser, Remote Desktop or VNC viewer. Labs stay in your folder between sessions.

• From £3 a day, or £0.50 an hour of signed-in time
• A free 30-minute demo with 6 vCPU and 8 GB, enough for a small lab, with no card
• Vendor licences aren't included, and there's no Cisco IOL: Cisco labs use IOSv and IOSvL2
• The largest plan is 24 vCPU and 48 GB, and labs reach only internet destinations a person has approved

If GNS3 on your own computer already does what you need, there's no reason to move. CloudLabBox is for when you want EVE-NG without the server work.

lab.cloudlabbox.com

See hosted EVE-NG labsTry the free demo

Questions

Where these facts come from

Checked on 2 November 2026 on the makers' own pages. Prices and limits change, so check them before you buy.

• GNS3 software page (version, requirements)
• GNS3 docs: where to get IOS images
• GNS3 docs: one server, multiple clients
• EVE-NG edition comparison
• EVE-NG supported hardware and software
• EVE-NG buying and licence terms