Sheet C · Discovery & Inventory
Discovery and inventory tools for keeping the map current
A scan is a photograph; an inventory is a map you keep up to date. The difference starts to matter the moment somebody asks "which laptops are still on the old version of Windows?" or "when did that camera first appear?", and the only answer is a scan you ran three months ago and saved to your desktop. Discovery and inventory tools fill that gap, either by recognising devices more richly than a plain sweep does, or by scanning on a schedule and storing what they learn.
This category spans a wide range on purpose. At one end sits Fing, which a shop owner can run on a phone and which is remarkably good at putting a make and model on unknown gadgets. At the other sits Lansweeper, a commercial platform that logs into Windows machines with credentials you provide and records their hardware, installed software and users. In between are the scanners from our other sheets that can be pushed into inventory duty with exports and a spreadsheet. We rank them by how quickly a small team gets a list it trusts — and then keeps it trustworthy next month — as described on our methodology page.
6 discovery and inventory tools side by side
Ordered by how well each keeps an inventory current over time, not just on the day you first scan. Each row links to our full review; the vendor link opens the maker’s own site.
| Tool | Licence | Platforms | Key feature | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LansweeperLansweeper | Commercial · trial | Web console; scanning server on Windows or Linux | Agentless, credentialed inventory of hardware and software, kept up to date | Organisations that need a maintained asset register, not a one-off list |
| FingFing | Free + paid tiers | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS | Device recognition that names phones, TVs and IoT gear by model | Home offices and small shops identifying unfamiliar devices |
| SoftPerfect Network ScannerSoftPerfect | Commercial | Windows, macOS | Per-host queries over WMI, SNMP and the registry, plus IPv6 support | Technicians who need more than "it responds to ping" |
| Advanced IP ScannerFamatech | Freeware | Windows | One-click sweep with MAC vendor, shared folders and RDP/Radmin shortcuts | Windows offices that want a readable device list in minutes |
| NmapNmap Project | NPSL | Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD | Service and OS fingerprinting, scriptable checks, Zenmap GUI | Admins who want precise, repeatable, scriptable audits |
| Angry IP ScannerAnton Keks | GPLv2 | Windows, macOS, Linux | Pluggable "fetchers" for ping, hostname, MAC and ports; CSV/XML export | Mixed-OS teams that want the same scanner on every laptop |
Independent comparison — Scanlanmax is not any of these vendors, and none of them paid for placement. Licences and platforms checked against each vendor’s site at the date above.
How to choose
- Decide whether you need a list or a register
If you want to know what is on the network once a quarter, a scanner plus a spreadsheet is enough. If people will ask about software versions, warranties or who uses which laptop, you need a tool that stores history.
- Understand what credentials the tool needs
Agentless inventory usually means the tool signs in to your machines over WMI, SSH or SNMP. Create a dedicated, least-privilege service account for it, record where the password lives, and never reuse a personal admin login.
- Check how it names unfamiliar devices
Smart TVs, door systems and thermostats rarely announce themselves. Recognition databases that match MAC prefixes, DHCP fingerprints and mDNS names save hours of unplugging things to see what disappears.
- Look for scheduled scans and change alerts
The value of an inventory is noticing change. A weekly scheduled scan with an alert for new devices will catch the unapproved access point or the visitor’s laptop left on the staff Wi-Fi.
- Size the licence to your real device count
Commercial inventory tools price by asset or by tier. Count what you have first — a free sweep is ideal for that — so you are not paying for a tier two sizes too big, or discovering at renewal that you outgrew it.
Where a spreadsheet is still the right answer
For a team of ten with one router and a printer, a commercial inventory platform is more machinery than the job needs. A monthly scan with Advanced IP Scanner or Angry IP Scanner, exported to CSV and pasted into a shared sheet with an "owner" and "purpose" column, is a perfectly respectable inventory. Our spreadsheet walkthrough shows the exact columns we use. Move up to a scheduled tool when the sheet starts going stale between updates.
Vendor pages: Download for Windows · Download for Windows · Download for Windows · Download for Windows · Download for Windows · Download for Windows
Questions we get about discovery and inventory tools
What is the difference between network discovery and IT asset inventory?
Discovery finds devices and basic facts about them — address, MAC, vendor, open services. Inventory goes deeper and keeps records over time: hardware models, serial numbers, installed software, users, warranty dates. Most inventory products include discovery as their first step.
Do inventory tools need an agent on every device?
Not necessarily. Lansweeper, for example, can inventory Windows machines agentlessly using credentials over WMI, and reads network gear over SNMP. Agents help with laptops that are rarely in the office. Fing’s app needs nothing installed on the devices it identifies.
Can I build an inventory with free tools?
Yes, for small networks. Export a scan to CSV, add columns for owner, location and purpose, and repeat monthly. It takes discipline rather than money. Our device inventory walkthrough covers the process step by step.
How do I find a device I do not recognise?
Start with the MAC vendor and hostname from a scan, check the router’s DHCP leases for when it joined, and look at which ports it offers. Our walkthrough on identifying an unknown device on your own network goes through each clue in order.
Is Fing enough for a small business?
For identifying devices and getting alerts about newcomers on a single site, often yes. It is less suited to recording installed software or managing many locations, which is where a platform like Lansweeper earns its price.
Keep going
Disclosure: the vendor links on this page go straight to each vendor’s official site and earn us no commission. See our affiliate disclosure.