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LAN Orangutan vs WhyFi
LAN Orangutan is a network scanner with Tailscale support, not a real-time Wi-Fi diagnostics tool.
LAN OrangutanTry our new network scanner with full Tailscale support!
WhyFiSlow WiFi on Mac? Find out why. Fix it.Which to pick
Pick LAN Orangutan if you want…
- Lightweight network discovery with UI and CLI
- Network scanning with Tailscale
- A free, open-source tool
- Integrations with nmap, Tailscale or Linux (on LAN Orangutan's list, not WhyFi's)
Pick WhyFi if you want…
- Real-time Wi-Fi diagnostics on macOS
- Integrations with ChatGPT or Claude (on WhyFi's list, not LAN Orangutan's)
Side by side
- What it is
- LAN Orangutan:LAN Orangutan is a self-hosted, open-source network scanner with persistent labeling and Tailscale support.
- WhyFi:WhyFi is a macOS menu-bar app that monitors Wi-Fi, router, ISP and DNS in real time and tells you how to fix issues.
- Best for
- LAN Orangutan:Lightweight network discovery with UI and CLI
- WhyFi:Real-time Wi-Fi diagnostics on macOS
- Who it’s for
- LAN Orangutan:Homelab owners and IT admins who need quick network visibility.
- WhyFi:Mac users who need to diagnose slow or unreliable Wi-Fi connections.
- Pricing
- LAN Orangutan:Free
- WhyFi:Paid
- Open source
- LAN Orangutan:Yes, 999 GitHub stars
- WhyFi:—
- Works with
- LAN Orangutan:nmap, Tailscale, Linux, macOS, Windows
- WhyFi:macOS, ChatGPT, Claude
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.
WhyFi features
- Live connection monitor. Shows signal strength, noise, latency, jitter and DNS lookup time continuously from the menu bar.
- WhyFi Radar. Scans the room four times per second to locate the strongest Wi-Fi spot with a 0-100 score.
- Speed test with bufferbloat detection. Runs download/upload tests via Cloudflare and reports latency under load.
- AI-ready diagnostic export. Generates a shareable report that can be pasted into ChatGPT or Claude for assistance.
- One-click DNS switching. Switches between Google and Cloudflare DNS without leaving System Settings.
- Channel scanner. Shows congested Wi-Fi channels and suggests better ones.
- Captive portal detection. Identifies hotel or airport Wi-Fi login pages and alerts you.
- Battery-friendly polling. Polls faster when visible and slows down or sleeps when the Mac sleeps.
LAN Orangutan vs WhyFi FAQ
Is LAN Orangutan or WhyFi free?+
LAN Orangutan is free. WhyFi is paid.
Is LAN Orangutan or WhyFi open source?+
LAN Orangutan is open source (291-Group/LAN-Orangutan on GitHub, MIT license). DevHunt has no public source repository on record for WhyFi.
Do LAN Orangutan and WhyFi integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list macOS. LAN Orangutan also lists nmap, Tailscale, Linux and Windows; WhyFi also lists ChatGPT and Claude.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.