LinkRunner vs LinkSprinter comparison

LinkRunner and LinkSprinter are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. LinkRunner is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while LinkSprinter is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. LinkRunner holds a 19.6% mindshare in NT, compared to LinkSprinter’s 8.5% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of LinkRunner users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of LinkSprinter users who would recommend it.

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

2,466 Views
707 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

LinkSprinter

Read 3 LinkSprinter reviews

817 Views
300 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

LinkSprinter

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

LinkSprinter and LinkRunner are both network testing tools, competing in the network diagnostics category. Based on user feedback, LinkRunner holds the upper hand due to its comprehensive features despite being more complex and expensive.

Features: LinkSprinter offers basic testing functionalities, quick diagnostics, and ease of use, making it ideal for simple tasks. It emphasizes affordability, simplicity, and speed. LinkRunner provides advanced diagnostic tools, detailed network insights, and robust features appealing to users needing in-depth analysis. LinkRunner's extensive capabilities and comprehensive features make it a powerful tool for complex network issues.

Room for Improvement: LinkSprinter could benefit from enhanced durability, expanded testing capabilities, and improved ruggedness. Its users have noted that it tends to lack in long-term resilience under heavy usage. LinkRunner, while feature-rich, needs a more intuitive setup process, improved portability, and better user interfaces. Users find its complexity can be a drawback, particularly for those not deeply experienced in network diagnostics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LinkSprinter is praised for its straightforward deployment and user-friendly instructions, making it accessible to non-technical users. It garners positive feedback for its ease of use and effective customer service. LinkRunner, though more complex to set up, offers extensive deployment options and comprehensive customer support. Users value its thorough support despite the initial complexity in deployment.

Pricing and ROI: LinkSprinter is considered cost-effective, with faster ROI due to its lower initial setup costs. Users see it as a balanced offering regarding features and price. LinkRunner, while more expensive, is viewed as a worthwhile investment for its extensive capabilities and long-term benefits. The higher cost is justified by its expansive features and reliability, making it appealing for users seeking robust diagnostic tools.

To learn more, read our detailed LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

LinkRunner

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

LinkSprinter

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

5th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of LinkRunner is 19.6%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkSprinter is 8.5%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Jesse_B

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Impressive ease of use, gives comprehensive results in seconds, and saves a lot of time and resources

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources. Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits. When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

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JamesStout

IT Director at JVS Consulting

A small, convenient tool that is very stable, but needs to have a longer battery life

They could make it easier to set up originally, because the initial setup can be quite hit and miss. It is also quite battery intensive, so it might last a bit longer if it had a lithium battery. You're always having to replace the batteries, so it would be good if it could be USB-charged or something like that.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"In terms of documenting ad hoc additions and other changes to wired ethernet connections, this product is very good. It keeps the information in the cloud and I have the ability to name it. This makes it very nice and easy to see."

"The LLDP decoding is better than on some of the other devices that we've used. Specifically, it goes beyond the minimum of the LLDP data to decode, and it shows the LLDP port descriptions. That makes it vastly simpler to identify which port you're connecting to on a switch that's patched back to some other building, rather than having to figure out an SNMP index or something else."

"Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput."

"AutoTest is very helpful. It's very streamlined and it's very easy to set up and very easy to identify what we want to achieve. It's probably the feature we use the most. It provides us with LLTD, which is very useful."

"It provides a way to test 10Gig connectivity. Previously, we had to hook up a switch. That was our only way. Now, with LinkRunner, we can test on the fly if an SFP is bad or if the switch has the right configuration on it."

"In terms of network validation, and copper and fiber Ethernet configuration, I can't imagine life without LinkRunner devices. The minute I got the 10G, everybody was fighting over it. They had never used such a device before and it was just breathtaking for them to very quickly see the validation you can gain from these devices."

"It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate."

"The most valuable feature is the end-to-end testing with the "dart," as they call it, where you can test for faults in the cable or if they've been terminated properly."

Cons

"If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10. But because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable."

"It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load."

"I wish they had software that could create continuous streams of traffic. I'm not sure if that's possible with LinkRunner, but it would be very helpful in some of the test case scenarios that clients are looking for, in regards to quality of service"

"It runs tests quickly, but it takes a while to boot up. It's somewhat disappointing that LinkRunner takes some time to turn on. When I arrive in the space, I usually spend the first two minutes waiting."

"They should allow firmware updates even if you don't have an AllyCare contract. I'm in a situation right now where they've released firmware for bug fixes, but we cannot access those, which makes the device almost useless. You almost want to just throw it out the window because they're not supporting their product unless you have an AllyCare contract."

"It doesn't turn off automatically, but the toning function goes to sleep. It seems to stop toning after five or six minutes if you don't find the cable. It could be up to ten minutes, but if you don't find the cable that you're trying to tone quick enough, you'll have to go back and restart the tone. So, it doesn't turn itself off, but while toning, it turns itself off."

"Unlike using an application like Wireshark, this device gives us no way to see network packets specifically to look at what's going on. It doesn't have the capability."

"One area where LinkRunner could be improved is the battery life. Depending on which tests are run, it gets a decent six to eight hours. However, sometimes we need to do back-to-back shifts to meet a deadline, and we need access to an outlet to keep it plugged in and charging. It takes about an hour or two to charge."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing is all right. Of course, from the business point of view, the cheaper it is, the better it is, but I prefer to spend a bit more money to get a quick response, which is helpful especially when we are onsite or in a very critical situation. We are not only paying for the product. We are paying for the people behind the product in terms of developers and technical support. When you need some help, they will be behind it, and they'll support you. There are no additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."

"I didn't have to buy it, but if I was going to have my choice, I wouldn't buy it just because of the price point. It works pretty well to do one thing. For the cost, it is definitely not worth it. There are other products out there that can do the same thing for probably 70% less. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"It's reasonably priced in my market. It provides good value for money. The device is competitively priced as compared to other solutions. It gives you a lot of functionality and saves you a lot of time and resources. I see it as a good buy and good value for money. I stand for it."

"I would buy another one if I had a chance but they're too expensive. If they made it a bit cheaper, I think a lot of network engineers and network administrators would immediately jump onto it."

"The cost of this device is very expensive, especially with the NetAlly Care on top of the costs. It is not for personal use and would be very expensive for smaller businesses."

"The price was fine. You pay for the unit, and there are no licensing or maintenance fees."

"Compared to another company's product, LinkRunner is cheaper, but it's still about $1,000 too expensive, considering that the operating system is a free operating system. The OS has just been tweaked to give you a graphical interface. I don't think it's priced right."

"It's expensive but you definitely get what you pay for. I would buy another one if I had to."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

11%

Healthcare Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Healthcare Company

18%

Computer Software Company

University

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points

What do you like most about LinkSprinter?

The solution provides switch port and VLAN information.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LinkSprinter?

The product is a little bit overpriced. It probably needs to be 10 to 20 percent cheaper.

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What needs improvement with LinkSprinter?

The solution should improve cable testing.

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Network Diagnostics

March 2025

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Overview

LinkRunner AT 3000 & 4000. Next Generation Copper and Fiber Ethernet AutoTester. Fast and comprehensive validation of network links and powerful copper and fiber network connectivity troubleshooting. Tests from 10Mbps to 10Gbps, PoE, VLAN, switch port, path analysis, packet capture, topology mapping and so much more!

NetAlly

The LinkSprinter Pocket Network Tester verifies the functionality of copper Ethernet links and identifies errors in less than 10 seconds. The tester reveals network connectivity status and port information while ensuring documentation for every link. The comprehensive AutoTester measures PoE voltage, performs a switch test, and confirms the DHCP server is running and responsive. The tester also verifies gateway/router, internal IP service, and cloud reachability. When paired with the secure Link-Live Cloud Service, the Network Tester automatically uploads results and allows annotation of results enabling job supervisors to easily manage the progress of deployment and troubleshooting tasks assigned to their team.

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Philips Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, University of South Dakota, Memorial Hermann, Baltimore County Public Schools, Aaramrak.

Cisco, Marriott, Sands Expo, Valparaiso University, Memorial Hermann Health Care System, Mount Sinai, Cox Enterprises, George Washington University, University of Iowa.

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

March 2025

Free Report: LinkRunner vs. LinkSprinter

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