The 16 Best Free Port Scanner Tools: The Ultimate Guide

There are several free port scanner tools available online. 

Here is our definitive guide to the 16 best free port scanner tools:

• Paessler Port Monitoring is an excellent tool for monitoring ports on servers. It’s part of a broader infrastructure monitoring solution called PRTG. You get up to 100 free sensors for testing purposes. Download the free 30-day demo.
• ManageEngine Oputils (FREE TRIAL): This paid tool combines an I.P. address manager and a switch port manager but is also available in a free version. Windows Server, Linux, and aws are all supported. It is free for Windows, Linux/BSD Unix, and Mac OS X.A. 
• PortChecker. Open the free port scanner tool from the Web Tool Hub website. A free online port scanner to check open ports on your computer. 
• Free Port Scanner is a free portable application to check TCP ports and runs on Windows. A free process monitor that allows you to determine open and closed ports. 
• Spiceworks I.P. Scanner is a cloud-based console with a local agent that can be installed on Windows (XP/Vista), Mac OS X, Ubuntu, and Debian Linux.

The best way to keep your network secure is to close all open ports – not just the ones connected to the internet.

Hackers often scan and search every port number used to connect to services. Anyone trying to get into your system must go through a firewall. If a port check tool or a port scanner on a website can not find the ports on your computer, the firewall will block them. You can use a tool to test for port vulnerabilities yourself.

Port Checker Operating Systems Table:

What features should you look for when choosing a free port scanner?

We took a look at the port scanner market and analyzed them based on these criteria:

• A way to scan a device or multiple devices at once for open ports. 
• The ability to query a specific port number or range of port numbers system that can detect computers on a network without needing to be installed on each computer service explains which protocols are associated with each port it examines. 
• A way to get a list of ports and the status of each port.Free tools that do not require payment.
• An effective port mapping system that is easy to set up and configure.

We searched for free port scanners based on these criteria. We focused on monitoring packages that offer more than just port scanning functionality.

Paessler Port Monitoring with PRTG (FREE TRIAL)

Paessler PRTG monitors networks, network connections, servers, and applications. It provides real-time monitoring for these elements through sensors. Sensors detect performance characteristics or cover specific aspects of the hardware.

Key Features:

• Two port mappers
• Network, server, application monitoring tools
• TCP ports
• Check a range of port numbers
• Operates per device

The Port Monitor contains three port sensors that monitor port activity for you. Each type of port sensor covers a specific range of port numbers. For example, one sensor can cover port numbers between 1024 and 5000, another between 5000 and 10000, and so on. You can also specify whether your sensors will operate with TLS enabled.

The port range sensor is similar to the port sensor except that it checks specific port ranges rather than individual ports. You can specify a list of port ranges instead of individual ports to check multiple ports simultaneously.

Pros:

• Uses flexible sensors to measure network performance and dozens of other metrics across networks, apps, and servers. 
• A network designed to sweep large networks.
• Customizable sensors can be designed for specific applications. 
• Pricing is based on each sensor, allowing large and smaller companies to use the PRTG platform for their needs.
• Supports auto-discovery, ideal for long-term monitoring.

Cons:

• It’s feature-rich, but it may take some time to get used to its features and functionality.

You can choose how many sensors you want to monitor with Paessler PRTG. If you want to use more than 100 sensors, you need to create a new sensor instance for each IP address/port combination. For pricing purposes, each instance is considered a separate sensor.

You will quickly exhaust your sensor allocation. You can get a free 30-day trial with an unlimited number of sensors to test the software. You can install Paessler PRTG on Windows or use it online as a cloud service.

PUBLISHER CHOICE

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is an excellent choice for a free port scanner application. It includes a powerful port scanner and offers a wide range of additional features such as packet sniffing, intrusion detection, bandwidth monitoring, and more.

You can easily set up alerts based on your rules and save these settings to create a schedule. Although the package includes many sensors, you do not have to pay anything to activate just 100 of them. Moreover, you can view detailed reports about your traffic data, including graphs and charts.

Get a 30-day free Trial.

Official Site: https://www.paessler.com/download/prtg-download

ManageEngine OpUtils (FREE TRIAL)

OpUtils is a tool for managing IP addresses and switching ports. It examines the cables connecting the switches and determines which devices are connected.

In addition to the port scanner, this package also includes a firewall. Port scanners can be used independently of switch port mappers. Although OpUtil is not designed as a network tool, it includes some network monitoring tools, including port scanners.

Key Features:

• Scanning for open ports
• Describes the protocol for each scanned port
• Indicates whether the port is open.
• Provides mapping of physical ports

One of the best aspects of using this tool is its several valuable features, including a network scanner, an IP address manager, and diagnostic tools. It also includes a report generator, which lets you see abandoned addresses, duplicates, and rogue devices on your network.

Pros:

• Searches a range of ports for an IP address.
• You can use the IP address to identify the device
• It shows which ports are open
• Scan-on-demand

Cons:

• Runs intermittently

ManageEngine provides OpUtils for free for a limited trial period. After that, you’ll need to purchase the full version. However, if you’re willing to pay for an enterprise solution, you should consider OpUtils Enterprise Edition. This product includes the following features: Port Scanner – Find open ports on your network.

PortCheckers

The Port Scanner tool can test the open ports on your PC. Not all of the port numbers have been checked. The service will check 37 well-known ports to determine whether any services are listening to them. A shorter scan checks just 13 of these ports. Some key features include:

• Online service
• Suggests port numbers for use by web servers
• Focuses on the most critical protocols

The network scanner’s services include FTP data, control channels (port 20), TFTP and SFTP, SNMP, DHCP, DNS, and communication, and security services such as HTTPS and HTTP SMTPS, POP3, POP 3SLS, IMAPS, SSH, and Telenet.

The results of the scans are displayed in a table on the website. In many cases, it makes sense to leave these critical ports open. In other cases, you can disable them with your firewall settings. You should not use email protocols such as SMTP, POP 3, and IMAP if you do not use an email client on your computer. If you only use webmail, you do not need these services.

Pros:

• You don’t need to download or install anything; access PortCheckers from any web browser. It’s easy to use and provides an accurate view of which ports are open, blocked, or filtered.

Cons:

• It doesn’t cover every port. Not be as comprehensive as some other competing tools.

You don’t need to pay anything to use the Port Checker.

Open Port Scanner

The Open Port Scanning tool is available on the Web Tools Hub website. This free port scanner allows you to select which open ports to scan. You must enter your IP address and list the ports you wish to check. Each scanning run can handle ten ports at once.

Key Features:

• The content is delivered through a website
• A range of nonconsecutive ports
• Open ports are identified

The scan results are presented in a table, along with the status of each port and its regular service. Entering the port number can be tedious. However, you can enter ranges such as 21-29. The results are returned quickly and can be exported to an Excel spreadsheet.

In contrast, a full report on all ports on your PC would take a long time, as the IANA port range is limited to 65535. The Web Tools Hub contains a comprehensive list of online tools. These include a port scanner, a backlink check tool, a whois query, and a ping test.

Pros:

• Suitable for checking a few ports quickly
• It doesn’t require an installation or download. You can access it from any web browser.

IP Fingerprints Network Port Checker

An excellent starting point is a network scanner like Nmap. If you enter an IP address in the box, it will show you what services are running on that machine. For example, if I want to see what’s listening on port 80 (the HTTP protocol), I can type 192.168.1.100 into the field. It will let me know if any services are listening on that port.

You can also query the TCP/UDP protocols, ICMP messages, and ARP requests. According to the text on the website, the search for port numbers above 500 takes a long time, and the search for an extensive range may never end. Therefore, you need to perform the entire scan in segments.

Key Features:

• Automatic discovery
• Scanning IP addresses and ports
• Monitoring of security systems

Despite this warning, we ran a port scan from 21 to 500. We found that the results were available in less than a minute. Unfortunately, the system reported only one of the four open ports detected by Nmap. IP fingerprints may be connected to the Internet, while Nmap is connected to the firewall-protected machine. IP Fingerprint claims that it can see through firewalls. For this purpose, they use the SYN stealth technique.

The DDoS attack strategy is widely used. Connect() and Syn() are also available for advanced port scanning. These two methods are interesting because they are the preferred methods hackers use to try to get into your network. According to the IP Fingerprint website, they can bypass a firewall. The Syn() method is a popular strategy for DDoS attacks. A geolocation tool and a Whois function are also available on the website.

Pros:

• Available online through your web browser without any installation required.
• It can scan any port range you want.
• Supports complex scans including SYN, ACK, and FIN
• You can scan it using a fragmented packet to prevent detection.

Free Port Scanner 3.5

You can get a copy of Free Port Scanner 3. 5 for Windows from majorgeeks.com. The program creators do not provide information about where they distribute it, so you can only get it from third-party software download sites.

Once you download the installer, you will find an executable file on your desktop. Double-click the file to start installing the program.

When prompted, select “I accept the license agreement” and follow the instructions.

Key Features:

• Scanning for open ports is a range of consecutive port numbers.
• Open ports are displayed
• Give an overview of the security

This utility allows you to scan port ranges to check all ports on your system simultaneously. When you start the application, it detects your IP address and offers a default list to scan. If you query many ports, scanning will take a long time.

If you want to scan the ports of another device (for example, your Wi-Fi router), it also takes longer because you need to specify your public IP address. To scan your computer, you should enter your network IP address in the corresponding field.

You can choose to show closed and open ports, and you can choose to show TCP or UDP ports. Since no documentation is included, it is impossible to tell what testing method the app uses. By default, Free Port Scanner 3.5 only tests TCP ports.

Pros:

• A simple port scanner for Windows that is easy to use. It automatically detects open ports on a computer.
• Detects your IP address so you can quickly scan websites
• Includes a description of which ports are open for use by the service

Cons:

• The interface is old and clunky when scanning for open and closed network ports.
• Slower than most other port scanners tested on our list.
• Advertisements are included.

Zenmap

Zenmap is a freely available network testing and security auditing tool. Zenmap is its user-friendly interface. It allows you to check on various factors about your system, including ports and services.

Key Features:

• You can install it on any operating system (Windows, Linux, BSD/Unix, etc.)
• Automatic discovery
• Scanning for open ports
• Monitoring security

There are not many tests available, but the system does an excellent job of giving you several choices. The utility scans every port on every machine on your network, as long as it is running Windows. The following tests are run on the open ports found by Nmap.

The basic test uses ping and a quick system check before scanning for ports. There is also a ping-free option where no packets are sent. You can run a full scan of all TCP or UDP ports. A full scan uses the SYN stealth method, which means the port never completes a handshake sequence.

These types of scans are not recorded as connection attempts. A comprehensive scan takes approximately two hours per device. Zenmap provides a wide range of information and works for any individual router or computer, which means it is not just for IT administrators.

Pros:

• It allows administrators to discover open ports, which You may use for malicious purposes.
• One of the most popular free networking tools is Nmap. It has a light command line interface (CLI) version called Nmap. You can use it for basic ping tests and advanced scanning capabilities.

Port Checker 1.0

Softpedia ensures that all the software it provides is safe by verifying the code before distributing it. If you’re concerned about viruses, you should be careful when downloading free applications from third-party websites.

Key Features:

• A portable executable file
• One scan per port
• Displays the status of the port

There is no Windows compatibility for this free tool. You need to download a zip file that contains the executable. Unzip the zip file and double-click on it to launch the application. The interface is simple and easy to understand. Enter an IP address and select a port from a drop-down menu.

One drawback is that you cannot scan for a specific port, only the ports listed. Another limitation is that you cannot enter port numbers in ranges. Enter your local IP address to see which ports are open on your computer and your external IP address to find out which ports are open on a router.

Pros:

• Very barebones, lightweight application
• You can use it from a USB stick, which makes it easy to carry around.

Cons:

• Cannot specify a port range
• There are no filtering features available
• Do not use the automatic discovery of IP addresses.

What is My IP: A port scanner for Windows

A popular web service called What Is My IP? Allows you to find out your IP address. It also offers several other valuable features, including a port scanner and an online tool for testing DNS servers.

Key Features:

• An online tool
• Both free and paid versions are available
• Scan ranges or non-consecu­tive lists of ports

This free online port scanner offers several valuable features. First, it is fast: results for multiple port ranges are delivered in seconds. However you can also create custom lists, but these two options are only available to paying site members.

What is it exactly?

One of the best features of My IP is the ability to check only one IP address, which is something that no other tool in this field offers. It offers port and service-related tests.

Usually, this is referred to as a “package” – for example, if you select the “Games” package, the scan will include ports used by popular online games.

Essential checks standard email and FTP servers; Web covers HTTP, HTTPS, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers; and Malicious examines ports associated with malicious software and hackers.

Pros:

• For a web-based port scanner, this is incredibly fast.
• Port scanners for game ports based on popular games and apps.
• Can scan based on a single IP address or a custom port number range.

TCPView

TCPView is a freeware utility that allows users to view open TCP/IP connections on a local network. It does not require any installation and works without requiring user interaction. It is designed to work on both 32bit and 64bit operating systems. It supports IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.

Key Features:

• It scans both TCP and UDP ports.
• A list of processes
• Process-specific ports are identified.

TCPView includes processes that listen for ports and update the display every second. To slow down the snapshot rate, click the Snapshot Rate menu item and select a lower value. To increase the rate, select a higher value.

New processes are added to the list as green records. Terminated processes are highlighted as red records. Processes with new status are highlighted in yellow. Additionally, the display shows the number of packets and byte counts for each port. TCPView does not support UDP ports.

Pros:

• Identifies which ports are used by each service running locally
• The tool provides detailed information about services, protocols, remote addresses, and wait times for troubleshooting.
• It’s lightweight and runs fast without consuming too many resources.
• It uses color coding so that it’s easy to identify which ports are open.

Spiceworks IP Scanner

The Spiceworks’ IP scanner consists of the web interface and the software client. You can access the web interface from any browser, but you need to download the software client for Windows computers.

Key Features:

• An on-site agent is required
• Specifications of the device
• Provides a list of all open ports

The data collected by your agent on your computer is transferred to the cloud server. The encrypted communication between your agent and the server is used for logging in and viewing your scan results. You must first register and create an account before accessing the Dashboard.

The installed program is supported by Ubuntu and Debian Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. The freeware tool provides comprehensive information about all computers on the network or your computer if you don’t have one yet. The Spiceworks tools are free but ad-supported, so you’ll see ads occasionally.

Once you download the program and sign in, y