Picture two technicians arriving at the same 30-desk office to produce a device list. One opens a Windows laptop, types a range, and ten seconds later is right-clicking a PC to open Remote Desktop. The other has a MacBook, a Linux mini-PC in the rack, and a habit of exporting everything to CSV for a script. Both are well served by a free scanner, just not by the same one.
Advanced IP Scanner from Famatech and Angry IP Scanner by Anton Keks are the two names that come up first when someone asks how to see what’s on their own network. Point either one at a home-lab /24 or a mid-size office LAN and the differences show up quickly. Here is how they differ in practice, judged the way this site judges every scanner: how quickly a non-specialist gets a device list they can trust.
At a glance
| Advanced IP Scanner | Angry IP Scanner | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Freeware (closed source) | Open source, GPLv2 |
| Platforms | Windows only | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Runtime | Native Windows app | Java-based |
| Portable use | Option to run without installing | Portable builds available on some platforms |
| Columns out of the box | Status, name, IP, manufacturer, MAC | IP, ping, hostname, ports (configurable fetchers) |
| MAC vendor lookup | Built in, on by default | Available as a fetcher, add it yourself |
| Shared folders | Lists SMB shares, opens them | Not built in |
| Remote actions | RDP, Radmin, HTTP/FTP, Wake-on-LAN, remote shutdown | Open in browser/other tools via configurable “openers” |
| Port checks | Basic (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, RDP, Radmin) | Any port list you define |
| Export | CSV, HTML, XML | CSV, TXT, XML, IP:port list |
| Command line | No | Yes |
| Extensible | No | Plugins (Java) |
Setup and first scan
Advanced IP Scanner is the smoother first run on Windows. It detects your subnet, pre-fills the range, and returns a list with manufacturer names already resolved from MAC addresses. For a small-office owner with no networking background, the result looks like an answer rather than a data dump. The “run without installing” choice at startup is genuinely useful on a client’s PC where you’d rather leave nothing behind.
Angry IP Scanner takes a minute more of configuration. Its default columns are IP, ping, hostname and open ports; to get MAC addresses and vendors you open Tools → Fetchers and add them. Once that’s saved, it’s just as informative. Because it runs on Java, check the vendor’s page for your platform: depending on the package, a Java runtime may be bundled or may need to be present already.
On raw speed, neither tool has a meaningful edge on a /24: both typically finish in seconds on a wired LAN. Angry IP Scanner lets you tune thread counts and timeouts, which helps on slow Wi-Fi or larger ranges; Advanced IP Scanner keeps those decisions away from you.
What you can do with the results
This is where the two philosophies split.
Advanced IP Scanner treats the list as a launchpad. Right-click a Windows host and you can open its shared folders, start an RDP session, send Wake-on-LAN, or shut it down remotely if you have admin rights. It integrates with Radmin, Famatech’s commercial remote-control product, which is how the free scanner fits into the vendor’s business. For an office manager who wants to find the accounts PC and jump into it, that’s exactly right.
Angry IP Scanner treats the list as data. Everything is a “fetcher” (a column) or an “opener” (an action you define, such as opening http://${fetcher.ip} in a browser or launching an SSH client). There is a proper command-line mode, so you can schedule a nightly scan and write the output to a file. Developers can write plugins in Java. For a homelab or an admin who scripts, that flexibility beats one-click RDP.
Platform and licensing
If anyone on your team uses a Mac or Linux, the decision is largely made: Advanced IP Scanner is Windows only. Angry IP Scanner runs everywhere, and because it is GPLv2 open source, you can read the code and your organization’s policy on “freeware from unknown vendors” usually doesn’t apply.
Advanced IP Scanner is free to use, including in businesses, but it’s closed source, and its value to Famatech is partly as a gateway to Radmin. That’s not a problem, just something to know. Neither tool asks for payment or has a paid tier.
Trust and safety
Both are widely used and both are also frequently imitated by look-alike sites. Get Advanced IP Scanner only from advanced-ip-scanner.com and Angry IP Scanner only from angryip.org or its GitHub releases page, and check the publisher signature on Windows before running. Our /where-to-get page walks through the checks.
Because Angry IP Scanner can scan ports and is open source, some antivirus products flag it as a “potentially unwanted” network tool. That is a category label, not a detection of malware, but it’s worth knowing before you run it on a managed corporate PC. Clear it with whoever runs endpoint security first.
Whichever you choose, scan only networks you own or administer.
Where each falls short
- Advanced IP Scanner: no macOS or Linux version, no command line, no scheduling, a fixed short list of ports, and results you can’t extend with custom columns.
- Angry IP Scanner: vendor lookup and MAC columns aren’t on by default, the interface feels dated, there’s no built-in share browser or remote shutdown, and the Java dependency can be a hurdle on locked-down machines.
Verdict
Pick Advanced IP Scanner if you work on Windows, want a readable device list with manufacturers on the first click, and would like to open shares, RDP or Wake-on-LAN straight from the results. It’s the gentler tool for office managers and junior IT.
Pick Angry IP Scanner if you need macOS or Linux, want open-source code, or plan to automate scans from the command line and feed the CSV into other tools. It’s the better long-term instrument for homelab users and admins who script.
Plenty of people keep both: Advanced IP Scanner on the Windows desk PC for quick checks, Angry IP Scanner on the laptop that goes everywhere. For a paid step up with WMI and SNMP details, see SoftPerfect vs Advanced IP Scanner, and for the full field, the IP scanners category. If your immediate problem is two devices fighting over one address, our IP conflict guide uses Angry IP Scanner step by step.