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LAN Orangutan vs LAN Sheriff
LAN Sheriff focuses on mapping server connections on a world map, while LAN Orangutan emphasizes local device discovery and labeling.
LAN OrangutanTry our new network scanner with full Tailscale support!
LAN SheriffNothing leaves town unnoticed 🤠 Every server your devices talk to, live on a world map. Self-hosted, open source, zero config.Which to pick
Pick LAN Orangutan if you want…
- Lightweight network discovery with UI and CLI
- Network scanning
- Integrations with nmap, Linux or macOS (on LAN Orangutan's list, not LAN Sheriff's)
Pick LAN Sheriff if you want…
- Live outbound traffic map
- Visual server connection mapping
- Integrations with Discord, Slack or ntfy (on LAN Sheriff's list, not LAN Orangutan's)
LAN Orangutan is a network scanner focused on host discovery, while LAN Sheriff visualizes live outbound traffic.
Side by side
- What it is
- LAN Orangutan:LAN Orangutan is a self-hosted, open-source network scanner with persistent labeling and Tailscale support.
- LAN Sheriff:LAN Sheriff is a self-hosted, open-source tool that visualizes every outbound connection from your devices on a live world map.
- Best for
- LAN Orangutan:Lightweight network discovery with UI and CLI
- LAN Sheriff:Live outbound traffic map
- Who it’s for
- LAN Orangutan:Homelab owners and IT admins who need quick network visibility.
- LAN Sheriff:Home users, hobbyists, and small-team IT admins who want privacy-first network visibility.
- Pricing
- LAN Orangutan:Free
- LAN Sheriff:Free
- Open source
- LAN Orangutan:Yes, 999 GitHub stars
- LAN Sheriff:Yes, 105 GitHub stars
- Works with
- LAN Orangutan:nmap, Tailscale, Linux, macOS, Windows
- LAN Sheriff:Tailscale, Discord, Slack, ntfy, webhook
LAN Orangutan features
- Auto-discovery. Uses nmap to scan networks and retrieve IP, MAC, and vendor info.
- Persistent labeling. Label, group, and add notes to devices that persist across scans.
- Multi-network & Tailscale. Scan multiple subnets simultaneously and automatically include Tailscale peers.
- Modern web UI. Clean dashboard with light/dark mode showing all devices in a sortable table.
- Full CLI. Command-line interface with JSON output for scripting and automation.
- Cross-platform single binary. Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows with no external dependencies.
LAN Sheriff features
- Watchtower egress map. Shows a live world map with lines to every external server, including country, org, app and traffic details.
- Deputy & Patrol modes. Runs without privileges on a single machine or with elevated access to monitor all devices on a network segment.
- Radio Chatter DNS feed. Streams every DNS lookup with domain, resolver and classification of trackers or malware.
- Precinct network map. Auto-generates a diagram of devices and their connections based on observed traffic.
- Wanted List suspicion engine. Ranks and explains suspicious connections using plain-language reasons.
- Dispatch peer sharing. Pairs multiple instances to aggregate observations without exposing raw traffic.
- Export & alerts. Exports CSV/JSON and can send alerts to webhook, ntfy, Discord or Slack.
- Multi-language UI. Interface available in 12 languages, including right-to-left scripts.
LAN Orangutan vs LAN Sheriff FAQ
Is LAN Orangutan or LAN Sheriff free?+
Yes, both are free.
Is LAN Orangutan or LAN Sheriff open source?+
Yes, both are open source: LAN Orangutan (291-Group/LAN-Orangutan on GitHub, MIT license) and LAN Sheriff (291-Group/LAN-Sheriff on GitHub, AGPL-3.0 license).
Do LAN Orangutan and LAN Sheriff integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list Tailscale. LAN Orangutan also lists nmap, Linux, macOS and Windows; LAN Sheriff also lists Discord, Slack, ntfy and webhook.
On DevHunt
LAN Sheriff
32 upvotes · Launched on DevHunt on Aug 25, 2026
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.