A Docusnap alternative for small networks
Docusnap documents large Windows estates for audits. DeviceShelf maps a smaller network and keeps watching it.
Docusnap is a German IT documentation suite for companies with hundreds to thousands of workstations. It inventories Windows systems over WMI, reads switches over SNMP, draws network plans for Visio and feeds ISMS, asset management and compliance work (ISO 27001, NIS-2). Docusnap365 runs in the cloud with a Windows gateway on site; Docusnap 15 needs your own Windows Server and SQL Server.
DeviceShelf is built for the network that has no IT department behind it: a small office, a practice, a homelab, a customer site of an IT service provider. It finds and identifies every device, reads switches and routers over SNMP, draws the physical topology, checks for risky open services and alerts you when something new turns up. It runs on a Mac, a Windows PC or a Linux box, with no account and no subscription.
Try DeviceShelf free for 7 days
What is a good Docusnap alternative for a small network?
If you need to know what is on a network of a few dozen to a few hundred devices, and want to hear about changes as they happen, DeviceShelf covers that without a Windows Server, a SQL database or a yearly licence. It scans without agents, names devices by vendor and type, maps which device hangs off which switch port (LLDP, CDP and the switch's address table), flags duplicate IP addresses and a DHCP pool running full, and keeps purchase date, warranty end and location for each device. The server edition watches around the clock and is part of the same one-time purchase.
Docusnap stays the better pick when the documentation is what you hand over: Windows and Active Directory inventory, permission analysis, hundreds of ready-made reports, Visio plans for an auditor, and an ISMS that ties it all to ISO 27001 or NIS-2.
DeviceShelf vs Docusnap
| Feature | DeviceShelf | Docusnap |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) or server (Docker, .deb, .rpm, macOS package, Windows service) | Docusnap365: cloud (hosted in Europe) plus a Windows gateway on site · Docusnap 15: your own Windows Server and SQL Server |
| Account needed | No, data stays on your machine | Docusnap365: yes · Docusnap 15: no |
| Agentless discovery | ✓ (TCP sweep, ARP, mDNS, DHCP fingerprint) | ✓ (SNMP, WMI, SSH) |
| Switches and routers over SNMP v1/v2c/v3 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Physical topology (which device on which port) | ✓ (LLDP, CDP, bridge table) | ✓ (topology plans) |
| Network plans as Visio files | — | ✓ (Visio and PDF) |
| Windows inventory (software, users, Active Directory) | — | ✓ (WMI, AD, permission analysis) |
| IP address problems (duplicate IP, DHCP pool full) | ✓ | DHCP scopes, DNS zones and subnets documented |
| How fresh the data is | Continuous; a new device shows up within about a minute | Every 24, 12 or 6 hours, depending on edition |
| Alert when a new or unknown device joins | ✓ | Change journal between two scans |
| Uptime monitoring and offline alerts | ✓ (continuous) | Scheduled inventories; email notifications on rules you define (licences, contracts) |
| Security report (open ports, TLS, SSH, SMB, CVE hints) | ✓ | CVE and vulnerability analysis (Business edition) |
| Purchase date, warranty end, location per device | ✓ (warns before a warranty ends) | ✓ (warranty check) |
| Hypervisors and NAS | ✓ (Proxmox, vSphere, libvirt, Synology, QNAP) | ✓ (VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, Citrix, Proxmox) |
| ISMS, IT asset management, ISO 27001 / NIS-2 | — | ✓ (Business edition) |
| Reports | PDF, CSV and XML export, weekly report from the server | 200+ ready-made reports |
| AI assistant | ✓ (your own provider key) | ✓ (monthly credits) |
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| MCP server for AI assistants | ✓ (all editions) | ✓ (Business edition and up) |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase, server edition included | Yearly subscription, scaled by users and data volume (Docusnap365) or network size (Docusnap 15) |
| Free trial | 7 days, no credit card | ✓, no credit card |
✓ = yes · — = no. As of October 2026, from docusnap.com product, pricing and documentation pages; features may change.
Keep Docusnap or switch?
Keep Docusnap if your job is documentation for an audit or an ISMS, if most of what you manage is Windows and Active Directory, or if several admins work on the same inventory. DeviceShelf does none of the Windows-internal inventory and has no compliance module.
Use DeviceShelf if you look after a network without a server room: you want to know what every device is, which switch port it sits on and whether it exposes something it shouldn't, and you want to be told the moment something changes. It also fits as a second tool next to Docusnap at customer sites too small to justify a full Docusnap setup.
Try it on your own network
DeviceShelf has a 7-day trial, no credit card required. Install the desktop app, run one scan and compare the list with what you have documented.
Download DeviceShelf See the full comparison hub
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