You started looking for EVE-NG alternatives because something got in the way. Maybe the free tier stopped at seven nodes. Maybe your laptop runs out of memory halfway through a CCNP topology, or your team needs separate logins, or your workflow lives in Git and EVE-NG's canvas does not.
Most of those problems are about where the lab runs, not which emulator runs it. A few are good reasons to move to another tool. This guide sorts them, reason by reason, so you can tell which kind you have before you rebuild your labs somewhere else. One disclosure first: CloudMyLab is an official EVE-NG hosting partner, tested and approved by EVE-NG Ltd, and we also host GNS3 and Cisco Modeling Labs (CML). We are paid whichever of the three you run with us, so this page also tells you when to pick one of the other two.
Start with the reason that matches yours. Next to it is the solution, and then where CloudMyLab fits, including the cases where we do not.
| Why you are looking | What fixes it | Where CloudMyLab fits |
| Your computer cannot run the lab | The same EVE-NG lab on a bigger machine | Hosted EVE-NG Pro |
| Your lab has to work from an Apple Silicon Mac | EVE-NG on a server, with the Mac as the client | Hosted EVE-NG Pro |
| The free tier is too small (7 nodes) | An EVE-NG Professional license, or GNS3 | Hosted EVE-NG Pro, or hosted GNS3 |
| Your team needs logins and roles | EVE-NG RBL or Learning Center, or CML Enterprise | Hosted EVE-NG Learning Center, or hosted CML |
| You need licensed Cisco images included | Cisco Modeling Labs | Hosted CML (you bring the CML license) |
| You build labs as code (YAML, Git, CI) | Containerlab, netlab | Not our product |
| You only need CCNA practice | Cisco Packet Tracer, or EVE-NG Freemium | Not needed |
| You will not pay for any license | GNS3, Packet Tracer | Not needed |
The first five reasons are where CloudMyLab hosted EVE-NG and our other hosted emulators come in. You get EVE-NG Professional, ready to use on a bare-metal server or a dedicated cloud instance, on a monthly or yearly subscription, and the same team runs GNS3 and CML if your reason points to one of those. You keep the tool that fits and stop maintaining the server. The last three are better served by free tools, and the sections below say which.
EVE-NG changed its free tier with version 7. The free path in version 7 is Freemium, which EVE-NG's release notes describe as "Freemium mode (7 nodes, unlimited VPCS, admin only)", and the older Community Edition is marked "End of Support & End of Life June, 2026" on the download page. We cover what the v7 change means for free users in a separate article.
Here is how the main options compare on their vendors' own figures:
| Platform | Free option | Node limit (vendor) | Multi-user | Images |
| EVE-NG | Freemium | Freemium 7 per instance; Base and RBL 1,024 per lab | RBL roles; Learning Center | You supply them |
| GNS3 | Fully free, open source | "the only limitation is your hardware" | 2.2: shared server, no user isolation; 3.0 and later: users, groups and roles | You supply them |
| Cisco CML | CML-Free, 5 nodes | Personal 20; Personal Plus 40; Enterprise 20, expandable by up to 300 more | Enterprise and Education | Cisco images included, for use in CML only |
| Containerlab | Free | Not stated by vendor | Web GUI for a shared lab host | You supply them |
| Packet Tracer | Free through Cisco Networking Academy | Not stated by vendor | Peer-to-peer multi-user | Simulated devices, no images |
Vendor pages checked on 2026-10-14. Editions change, so confirm on the vendor page.
Yes. The closest match is GNS3. Its documentation calls it "open source, free software" with "no limitation on number of devices supported (the only limitation is your hardware: CPU and memory)". The catch is the same one EVE-NG has: GNS3 states that it "is unable to provide IOS images or any other Cisco images", so you bring your own. Our EVE-NG vs GNS3 comparison goes through the trade-offs in detail.
Before you switch, check whether you need to. EVE-NG Freemium still gives you seven nodes plus unlimited VPCS endpoints, which covers small routing and switching topologies. If your labs fit inside that, the free tier is enough. If they do not, the choice is between paying for an EVE-NG Professional license and moving to GNS3. Either way you still need a machine big enough for the larger topology, which is the next question.
Two other free options come with Cisco's name on them. CML-Free runs up to five nodes and includes Cisco's own images, licensed for use only inside CML. Cisco Packet Tracer is free through Cisco Networking Academy, but it simulates devices instead of running real images, which matters more as you move past CCNA.
PNETLab is a free platform with an EVE-NG-style interface, forked from EVE-NG's Community Edition. Its relationship with EVE-NG is disputed, it has no EVE-NG support behind it, and we do not host it. If you are weighing it, our PNETLab and EVE-NG comparison sets out what you gain and what you take on.
The device images are what use the memory. EVE-NG's June 2026 Professional Cookbook lists 32 GB of RAM and a CPU with "Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI" virtualization enabled for a laptop or PC install. Modern router and switch images are heavy, and any emulator that runs them needs the same memory. GNS3's VM is light on its own ("4GB of free memory recommended"), but the images inside it need the same memory there as anywhere else.
If the topology is right and only the machine is wrong, moving the same lab to a bigger machine fixes it without a rebuild. Hosted EVE-NG Pro keeps your labs, your images and the canvas you know, and moves the hardware to a server. Size the topology first with the EVE-NG resource calculator so you know what you are asking for.
Switching tools does not shrink the images. If you move to GNS3 on the same laptop with the same images, you hit the same ceiling. The fix is the machine, not the emulator, and that holds whichever one you run. We host GNS3 and CML as well as EVE-NG.
Not locally. EVE-NG needs Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V virtualization, which an M-series Mac does not provide. That rules out the Mac as the server, not as the place you work from.
The simplest route is to keep the Mac as the client and run EVE-NG on a server, at home or hosted. EVE-NG's interface is a web page, so you build and run the lab from the Mac's browser while the images run elsewhere. Hosted EVE-NG Pro does exactly that, and it keeps every lab you already have.
If the lab has to run on the Mac itself, the options get narrower. Packet Tracer has a macOS installer and covers CCNA-level practice. Containerlab's own guidance for Macs is to install it in an arm64 Linux VM and use ARM64 network OS images where possible, because x86 images under Rosetta carry a performance penalty "that might even make nodes not work at all".
Yes, with the right license. EVE-NG Base is administrator-only. The RBL edition adds admin, editor and user roles, and EVE-NG's licensing page gives a Learning Center example: one Base license with two administrators plus ten Lab User licenses "allows you to have 12 users connect and work with EVE at same time". Our EVE-NG Community vs Professional guide covers the Learning Center edition. We host EVE-NG Learning Center as well as Pro, so a training team gets the shared setup without running the server.
There are good alternatives here too. CML Enterprise is built "for organizations with many users", with multi-user functionality and 20 nodes that expand by up to 300 more. GNS3 2.2 lets several clients share one server, but its documentation warns that "there is no user isolation, all users can view all projects and modify them". GNS3 3.0 added role-based access control, and the 3.1 documentation covers users, groups and roles. If your team is choosing between EVE-NG and CML specifically, the EVE-NG vs CML comparison covers multi-user setups edition by edition. We host both, so the choice between them does not have to include who maintains the hardware.
This is the clearest reason to leave EVE-NG, and no EVE-NG edition changes it. EVE-NG and GNS3 both expect you to supply your own device images. Cisco Modeling Labs ships Cisco's images with the product, and Cisco is explicit that they are "only licensed for use within Cisco Modeling Labs". Using them in EVE-NG or GNS3 is outside that license.
Hosting does not change this either. A hosted EVE-NG server still runs the images you bring, so licensing is your responsibility wherever the lab lives. If you want Cisco images that come licensed, use CML. Our guide to the Cisco CML editions breaks down what each one includes. CML licenses come from Cisco, not from us; if you do not want to run the server, you bring your license and we run it as hosted Cisco Modeling Labs.
If your topology needs to live in a Git repository, change through pull requests and spin up in a CI pipeline, Containerlab is the tool built for that job. You describe the lab in a YAML file, and Containerlab runs container-based network operating systems as well as VM-based routers, which it packages through vrnetlab. It also has a GUI: a VS Code extension, a desktop app and a web interface for a shared lab host.
netlab is a separate topology tool that deploys labs through Containerlab; its documentation says it is "focusing exclusively on the containerlab (clab) provider".
EVE-NG Pro has an API and supports Docker containers, so you can script parts of it. If the canvas is how you work and automation is an extra, that is enough. If the YAML file is the lab, switch. Our roundup of cloud network emulation platforms covers where each tool fits in a wider stack.
Then EVE-NG may be more than you need. Cisco describes Packet Tracer as a "network simulation and visualization tool", free to Networking Academy students, and it covers the CCNA topics without any images or a hypervisor. EVE-NG Freemium's seven nodes also fit small CCNA topologies if you want real images early.
The jump comes at CCNP, when topologies grow and simulated features run out. Our GNS3 vs Packet Tracer guide covers when that moment arrives.
Go back to the table. If you like EVE-NG's canvas, mix vendors in one topology and already have labs built in it, and your problem was node count, team roles, hardware or a Mac, then the fix is an edition or a host. Switching would mean rebuilding every lab to solve a problem that a license or a server already solves.
If your reason is licensed Cisco images, CML fits better, and it can be hosted the same way. If your reason is labs as code, CCNA-only practice or not paying for software at all, Containerlab, Packet Tracer or GNS3 fits better, and each is free to try.
Whatever you choose, rebuild your largest real topology on it before you commit. A ping between two routers will not show you much. A working session with your actual images, node count and the way you access consoles shows you what changes.
Hosted EVE-NG Pro and hosted CML both come with a 24-hour free trial, which is long enough to load a real lab and work in it. GNS3, Containerlab and Packet Tracer are free to install, so you can test those on your own machine.
If you are weighing EVE-NG alternatives, the frustration that started the search decides the answer. Node limits, team roles, hardware and an Apple Silicon Mac have EVE-NG answers, and most of them come down to where the lab runs. Licensed Cisco images point to CML. Labs as code, CCNA-only practice and a zero budget point to Containerlab, Packet Tracer or GNS3.
If you want to stay on EVE-NG without running the server, start a free trial of hosted EVE-NG Pro. If your reason points to GNS3 or CML, we host those as well.
You can run EVE-NG itself in the cloud instead of switching. Hosted EVE-NG Pro runs on a provider's server and you reach it from your own machine. GNS3 and Cisco Modeling Labs can be hosted the same way, so a cloud lab does not force a change of emulator.
The free Freemium mode runs 7 nodes per instance plus unlimited VPCS, with admin-only access. That fits small topologies. If your labs need more nodes, a paid license such as EVE-NG Base raises the limit to 1,024 nodes per lab.
Not directly on an Apple Silicon Mac, because EVE-NG requires Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V virtualization. You can still use the Mac as the client: run EVE-NG on a remote or hosted server and work in it from the Mac's browser. To lab locally on the Mac, use Packet Tracer, or Containerlab inside an arm64 Linux VM.
It replaces EVE-NG when your labs are defined as code in YAML and run in Git or CI pipelines. It is less suited to people who build topologies visually and mix many VM-based vendor images, which is where EVE-NG's canvas is strongest.