Packet Tracer vs CML vs EVE-NG for CCNA Labs: An Honest 2026 Comparison

Three lab platforms show up over and over on the US CCNA subreddit, Discord servers, and in every “how do I study for CCNA” question on LinkedIn. They are Cisco Packet Tracer, Cisco Modeling Labs (CML), and EVE-NG. They are not interchangeable, and the right choice depends on how far along you are in your CCNA study and what hardware you own.

This is a blunt comparison with no vendor loyalty. We teach CCNA for a living and recommend different platforms to different mentees based on the facts below.

The thirty second answer

The rest of this post explains why.

Cisco Packet Tracer

Cisco’s own training simulator. Not an emulator; it simulates the behavior of common Cisco devices rather than running real IOS. Free to download after a Cisco NetAcad enrollment (also free).

What it does best

• Runs on anything: Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS (in a browser context), Android, iPad
• Boots a 20 device topology in under 10 seconds on a seven year old laptop
• Covers 95 percent of CCNA 200-301 v1.1 exam objectives, specifically the ones that use the four most common Cisco gear types: ISRs, Catalyst 2960, Catalyst 3560, and 2504 WLC
• Clean topology editor; you can draw a lab in two minutes and share the .pkt file with a study partner
• Includes a built in Activity grader for self scoring

What it does not do

• Does not run real Cisco IOS. The command set is close but incomplete. You will find yourself typing commands that exist on a real Catalyst 9300 and get “invalid input” back
• No support for current platforms (Catalyst 9000 series, ISR 4000, newer WLCs)
• No containers, no automation lab, no Linux hosts. The devices are what they are
• Weak on IPv6 edge cases, OSPFv3, some BGP policies, and anything DMVPN

Who should use it

Students in the first month of CCNA. Anyone on a Chromebook, iPad, or sub 8 GB RAM machine. Teachers who want 30 students labbing at once on classroom hardware.

Who should stop using it

Anyone who is 60 days from the exam and still only using Packet Tracer. The muscle memory gap between Packet Tracer and real IOS is small but real; the exam uses the real syntax.

Cisco Modeling Labs Personal (CML)

Cisco’s own emulator product, formerly VIRL. Runs real IOS-XE, IOS, NX-OS, IOS-XRv, ASAv images on a hypervisor on your own machine. Personal license is $199 per year, lets you run up to 20 nodes in a lab.

What it does best

• Real IOS. Every command the exam shows you, works. Every error message is a real IOS error message
• Covers CCNA 200-301 v1.1, every CCNP concentration, and CCIE routing scenarios
• Vendor supported images and automation; virl CLI, PyATS, Terraform provider all available
• Browser based lab editor; your lab is just a YAML file you can version in git
• Updates follow Cisco’s own release pipeline. New IOS features appear in CML within weeks

What it does not do

• Needs real hardware. Cisco says 16 GB RAM, 4 CPU cores. Realistically 32 GB and 8 cores if you want to run more than a few nodes
• Does not run on a Mac or Linux host directly. You install the appliance in VMware ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, or an OVA on bare metal
• Is not free. $199 per year adds up if you are an on and off student
• Lab start time is slower; a 10 node topology can take 2 to 5 minutes to boot every image

Who should use it

Students past the first month who already know they want to work with Cisco gear professionally. People who already have ESXi or Workstation at home. Anyone studying CCNP ENCOR or CCIE after the CCNA.

Who should skip it

Students on a Chromebook, iPad, or laptop under 16 GB RAM. People who only want to pass CCNA once and never touch Cisco again.

EVE-NG

A community emulator platform. Runs almost any vendor image: Cisco IOS, IOS-XE, NX-OS, Arista EOS, Juniper vMX, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Linux containers, Windows VMs, Docker. Comes in a free Community edition and a Pro edition at around $125 per year for the single user license.

What it does best

• Multi vendor. If your target job uses Juniper or Palo Alto next to Cisco, EVE-NG is where you build the mixed topology
• Container support. You can drop a real nginx, bind9, FreeRADIUS, or Docker alpine host into a lab and test services for real
• Native HTML5 console in the browser; no telnet client, no SecureCRT
• Supports larger topologies than CML; experienced users run 40 to 60 node labs

What it does not do

• You source the images yourself. Cisco does not ship IOS to EVE-NG; you need to either own a Cisco license or extract images from existing hardware. For a US CCNA student with no corporate backing this is a legal and practical pain
• Steeper setup. The appliance works best on bare metal or Proxmox; Workstation and ESXi are supported but tune heavy
• Community edition has smaller limits on simultaneous nodes
• No vendor support contract; help is community forums only

Who should use it

Students who already have access to Cisco images legally and want a free emulator. Anyone studying for multi vendor roles (SP or security). Lab enthusiasts who want to go beyond CCNP scope.

Who should skip it

Anyone who is new to networking. The time cost of standing up EVE-NG and sourcing images is 10 to 20 hours before you type a single command. That time is better spent in Packet Tracer learning the basics.

Three questions that decide for you

Rather than reading more feature lists, answer these three questions.

1. What hardware do you have today?

• Under 8 GB RAM, or a Chromebook or iPad: Packet Tracer, plus browser labs on this site
• 8 to 16 GB RAM, no desire to buy more: Packet Tracer plus CML trial, OR EVE-NG if you can get images
• 16 GB plus RAM, SSD, decent CPU: any of the three; pick based on budget

2. Will you stay in a Cisco shop after this cert?

• Yes, you already have or want a job on Cisco gear: CML Personal is worth $199 per year once you are two months in. Real IOS is real IOS
• Maybe, you are keeping options open: EVE-NG if you can get images; Packet Tracer if you cannot
• No, you are using CCNA as a stepping stone to cloud: Packet Tracer is enough. Save the $199 for your AWS cert

3. How much time until your exam date?

• More than 90 days: start on Packet Tracer. Move to CML or EVE-NG around day 45 once you know the basics
• 30 to 90 days: switch to the real IOS environment now. Muscle memory on switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q is faster to build on the actual syntax than to retrain later
• Less than 30 days: do not switch tools mid cram. Finish on whatever you have been using

Common mistakes we see

Downloading EVE-NG without a plan for images. Students install it, discover they need to source a real IOS .bin, give up, and lose a week. If you cannot cleanly answer “where will my IOS images come from” before you install, go with CML or Packet Tracer.

Buying CML before you know Cisco basics. CML’s power is that it runs real IOS. If you cannot yet navigate enable, configure terminal, and basic VLAN config, Packet Tracer teaches those faster. Spend 30 to 45 days there first.

Only ever using Packet Tracer. The exam uses real IOS. Packet Tracer’s simulator is close but not perfect. Your last 30 days should include at least some real IOS reps, either on CML, EVE-NG, or a browser based IOS lab like the ones on this site.

Running CML or EVE-NG on 8 GB RAM. You will spend more time waiting for nodes to boot than learning. If your hardware cannot handle it, use something lighter.

What we actually recommend to mentees

The pattern that works for most of our US based mentees who come in with a basic laptop and 90 days of study time:

• Days 1 to 30: Packet Tracer. Every chapter of the OCG, every lab in the back of the book, every topology from the training videos. Build muscle memory
• Days 30 to 60: CML Personal $199 for the next three months of CCNA, or EVE-NG if you have the images and the RAM. Repeat the same labs on real IOS. Notice where the syntax differs from Packet Tracer; those are the places that will trip you on the exam
• Days 60 to 85: Mix. Use the exam specific labs on packetmentor.com for the Fix-the-Broken-Network scenarios. Use CML or EVE-NG for new concepts. Use Packet Tracer for quick what if drills
• Days 85 to 90: Stop building. Review your mistakes. Walk through the exam objectives and name the show command you would run for each one. Rest the day before

That pattern has sent more mentees to the pass line than any single tool.

Browser based alternative

If none of the three fits (budget, hardware, time to set up), the exam specific lab engine at /exam/labs/ runs real Cisco IOS style command behavior in your browser, no install, no account. The topologies are smaller than CML or EVE-NG but they cover every CCNA 200-301 v1.1 objective and run on a Chromebook. Good for 20 minute lab breaks between study blocks.

Whichever platform you end up on, log every command you type. The students who pass the CCNA on the first try are the ones who can look back at their last 60 days and name three show commands they ran on Tuesday. Pick a tool, open a lab, start typing.