iperf2
The facts below are what the maker publishes about iperf2, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From iperf2's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Professional edition | Free | permit-key access gating · server-side latency histograms · UDP L4S · source and build available at no cost |
The facts
Each one read from iperf2's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API and SDKs
- The published developer interface is the command-line program and its documented options; no separate REST API or SDK is described on the project pages.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Development history
- The iperf3 FAQ states that McMahon restarted iperf2 development in 2014 after the original project had been orphaned, adding fixes and features while retaining broad platform support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- The project publishes a user manual, a man page, installation instructions, option reference, examples, diagnostics and bug-reporting guidance.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Enhanced metrics
- Enhanced reporting can expose RTT, congestion window, retries, packets per second and latency-related values.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- The source includes a Python asyncio flows framework and compile-time configure flags for professional features, fast sampling and diagnostics.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent packaging
- Homebrew provides a brew install iperf formula, identifies the software as a TCP/UDP bandwidth tool and lists BSD-3-Clause licensing with macOS and Linux bottles.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Source builds use GNU Autotools with ./configure, make and sudo make install; distributions commonly package it as iperf.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Interoperability limit
- iperf2 and iperf3 are independent implementations and do not interoperate at the protocol level.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Latency and jitter
- It measures latency, including one-way delay and round-trip time, together with UDP jitter.checked 15 Oct 2026
- License
- Debian's copyright record identifies the main iperf source and Broadcom-contributed files as BSD-3-clause licensed.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: long-run crash history
- A Debian bug report records iperf2 crashing during long tests on 40Gb/s NICs in version 2.0.10, with the issue fixed in 2.0.12.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: UDP throughput variance
- A GitHub issue reports iperf2 UDP throughput around 557 Mbps where iperf3 reached roughly 900 Mbps in the same test setup.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Multicast and IP versions
- The implementation supports multicast including source-specific multicast, plus IPv4 and IPv6.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Output formats
- The command line can produce human-readable reports and CSV output; JSON output is not listed for iperf2.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Packet loss and ECN
- Packet-loss reporting and ECN measurements are included in the published feature set.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Parallel and duplex modes
- Tests can use parallel streams, reverse traffic, bidirectional traffic and full-duplex operation.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: latency and broadcasting tests
- A SourceForge reviewer reports using iperf2 to compare TCP and UDP latency for video broadcasting and calls it a strong choice.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Praise: multicast and high-capacity testing
- SourceForge reviewers describe it as a must-have for multicast testing and effective for checking bandwidth on high-capacity links.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Project origin date
- SourceForge records the iperf2 project as registered on February 6, 2014.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Company and maintainer
- Robert (Bob) McMahon is identified as the creator and maintainer of iperf2 and as founder and CTO of Umber Networks.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Limit: Android availability
- AppBrain records the older Kaushik Battu Android app as unpublished from Google Play on February 6, 2025.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: Android usability complaints
- AppBrain comments report missing one-click client/server setup, options requiring an app restart, IPv6 display and detection problems, and commands that did not work for some users.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: Windows UDP server bug
- An open SourceForge ticket reports that a persistent Windows UDP server can stop returning acknowledgements after the first client disconnects.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Platform support
- Official project pages list builds for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, embedded systems and set-top boxes.checked 15 Oct 2026
Alternatives to iperf2
- 1
Globalping
Free planOpen sourceiOSWebAPIExtension8.3Free plan - 2
PingPlotter
Free planiOSWebAPILinux8.2From $6.99 a month - 3
nPerf
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI8.0Free plan - 4
inSSIDer
Free planAndroidmacOSWindows7.6From $200 a year - 5
NetSpot
Free planAndroidiOSmacOSWindows7.4$199 one-time - 6
RIPE Atlas
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS7.4Free plan