Both of these tools get opened in the same moment: an admin needs to know what is actually answering on a subnet, right now, from a laptop. That is where the similarity ends. Angry IP Scanner is built to tell you which addresses are alive, what they’re called, which MAC and vendor sit behind them and which ports are open. LizardSystems Network Scanner is built to tell you which Windows machines on the network expose shared folders, FTP or web resources, and whether a given user can read or write them. For the reconciliation work this site cares about (comparing the IP record with the live network), that distinction matters more than any feature checklist.
Use either tool only on networks you own or have explicit authorization to scan, and tell whoever monitors your IDS before sweeping a range.
At a glance
| Angry IP Scanner | LizardSystems Network Scanner | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Open source, GPLv2, no cost | Free for personal, non-commercial use; Business licence US$79.95 per machine at the time of writing |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux (Java-based) | Windows only; vendor lists Windows 7 through Server 2016 |
| Latest release | 3.10.0 (August 2026) | 21.07 (July 2021) |
| Address input | Range, netmask, random, text file of IPs | Lists of IPs, computers and ranges; expressions like 192.168.1-2,5.1-254 |
| Liveness check | Ping (several methods) plus TCP ports | Ping or connection to user-chosen ports |
| MAC address / vendor | Yes, on the local segment | Not listed by the vendor |
| Port scanning | Yes, configurable port list | Status check only, not a general port scanner |
| Shares and access rights | NetBIOS info (computer, user, workgroup) | Core focus: NetBIOS/SMB shares incl. hidden and system shares, FTP and web resources, read/write rights per user |
| Export | TXT, CSV, XML, IP:Port list | HTML, TXT, XML |
| Command line | Yes (-f:range … -o file -sq) |
Not stated by the vendor |
| Admin rights | Depends on OS and chosen ping method (raw ICMP may need elevation) | Vendor says scanning doesn’t need admin rights |
What each one is really for
Angry IP Scanner is an address census. Point it at a /24 and you get one row per address with ping time, hostname from reverse DNS, MAC address and vendor (when you are on the same Layer 2 segment), NetBIOS details and open ports. Exported to CSV, that table drops straight into a comparison with your IPAM: addresses present in the scan but missing from the record are undocumented hosts; addresses in the record that never answer are candidates for cleanup. That is exactly the workflow in finding genuinely free addresses before assigning a static.
LizardSystems Network Scanner is a resource audit. Its results tree lists computers and, under each, the shares it found, including hidden administrative shares, plus FTP and HTTP resources. It can check whether the current user, or a user you specify, has read or write access, and it lets you map a found share as a drive or open it in Explorer or a browser. For a Windows file-server estate, the question “which machines expose a writable share to Domain Users?” is answered faster here than with any general-purpose scanner.
Reconciliation value
For keeping an IP record honest, Angry IP Scanner has the edge. MAC and vendor columns let you tell a replaced device from a moved one, the port list catches hosts that drop ping, and the command line makes a scheduled sweep possible:
ipscan -f:range 10.20.5.1 10.20.5.254 -o branch1-$(date +%F).csv -sq(-s starts automatically, -q quits after export; the executable name depends on your platform and package.) CSV output diffs cleanly against an IPAM export.
LizardSystems Network Scanner contributes a different layer: it tells you what each Windows host is offering, which often explains why an undocumented box matters. Its exports (HTML, TXT, XML) are fine for reports but less convenient than CSV for a spreadsheet or script diff, and the vendor does not list MAC collection, so pairing an address with a physical device needs another tool.
Maintenance and platform
This is the sharpest difference. Angry IP Scanner is actively maintained, with a release in August 2026, and runs on all three desktop platforms. LizardSystems Network Scanner’s current version, 21.07, dates from July 2021; the vendor’s supported-OS list stops at Windows 10 and Server 2016, and the build is 32-bit. It may well run on newer Windows, but that isn’t documented, which matters if your change process requires vendor-supported software. On the other hand, it is a native Windows program with a non-admin install mode, which some locked-down desktops prefer over a Java-based tool.
Licensing
Angry IP Scanner is GPLv2, so commercial use costs nothing; the trade-off is community support only. LizardSystems offers a free personal licence for non-commercial use and requires a Business licence (per machine, perpetual, with a year of updates and email support) for work use, at US$79.95 at the time of writing. The vendor’s FAQ also describes an evaluation mode with reminder screens; check the current terms on the LizardSystems site before deploying across a team.
Verdict
Pick Angry IP Scanner if you need to know which addresses are in use, by what hardware, on any OS, and you want CSV exports or a scripted sweep to reconcile against your IPAM. It is the better general-purpose discovery feeder.
Pick LizardSystems Network Scanner if your job is auditing Windows file shares and access rights across your own network, you work on supported Windows versions, and you value a dedicated share browser with per-user permission checks over MAC and port data. Budget a Business licence for commercial use.
Many admins keep both: one for the address census, one for the share audit. Neither replaces an IPAM that stores the record; they feed it.