18.1
NETCAP converts network packet streams into structured audit records for network analysis, security research, machine learning and forensics.
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinux
Best Network Protocol Analyzers in 2026
Network protocol analyzers help you capture and examine traffic to investigate network activity. Compare capture sources, PCAP support, and remote capture to see how each option can work with your environment. Flow analysis, traffic decryption, and CLI tools offer different ways to inspect data, while deployment details, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing can inform setup and access. The entries include…
27.5
A-Packets analyzes PCAP and PCAPNG captures for incident response, forensics, and protocol inspection.
Free planWebAPILinux
37.5
Wireshark is a free, open-source network protocol analyzer for capturing and examining network traffic.
Free planOpen sourceAPILinuxmacOS
- 4
Colasoft Capsa
Colasoft Capsa is a Windows network analyzer for monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting wired and wireless networks.
Free planWindows7.4$295 one-time - 5
Arkime
Arkime is an open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively observes traffic and creates searchable session records.
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted7.3Free plan - 6
OpenGrep
OpenGrep is an open-source static analysis engine for searching source code patterns and identifying security issues.
Free planOpen sourceAPILinuxmacOSSelf-hosted7.3Free plan - 7
termshark
termshark is a terminal interface for tshark, inspired by Wireshark, for inspecting packet captures and network traffic.
Free planAndroidLinuxmacOSWindows7.0Free plan - 8
NetworkMiner
NetworkMiner analyzes captured network traffic and can sniff live traffic, extracting artifacts such as files, images, emails and passwords from PCAP files.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows6.9$1,300 one-time - 9
Scapy
Scapy is a free Python program and library for working directly with network packets.
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS6.9Free plan - 10
PacketSnitch
PacketSnitch analyzes PCAP and PCAPNG captures and turns them into searchable, protocol-aware information for network investigations.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows6.7Free plan - 11
VoIPmonitor
VoIPmonitor is an open-source packet sniffer with a commercial web GUI for monitoring, troubleshooting, and recording VoIP and RTC calls.
WebAPILinuxSelf-hosted6.5From $259 a year - 12
CommView
CommView is a Windows packet sniffer, network monitor, and protocol analyzer for wired networks.
Windows6.4From $149 a year - 13
HTTP Debugger
Windows6.3 - 14
Kismet
Kismet is a free, open-source sniffer, wireless intrusion detection system, wardriving tool and packet capture tool.
Free planAPILinuxmacOSSelf-hosted6.3Free plan - 15
TShark
TShark is the Wireshark project's terminal-mode utility for capturing and examining network traffic.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows6.3Free plan - 16
tcpdump
tcpdump is a free tool for network monitoring and data acquisition.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows6.2Free plan - 17
Zui
Zui is a desktop application for exploring, querying, and debugging data in Zed lakes.
Free planLinuxmacOSWindows6.2Free plan - 18
CloudShark
CloudShark is a centrally deployed packet analysis platform for network and security teams.
WebAPILinuxSelf-hosted6.1From $29 a month - 19
HOMER
HOMER is an open-source system for capturing and monitoring SIP, VoIP, and RTC traffic.
WebAPILinuxmacOS6.1 - 20
RedSplice Network Analyzer
RedSplice Network Analyzer is a desktop tool for capturing and examining network packets.
Free plan6.1Free plan - 21
Ettercap
Ettercap is a free, open-source suite for man-in-the-middle testing and network analysis.
Free planLinuxmacOSSelf-hosted6.0Free plan - 225.9Free plan
- 23
Omnipeek
Omnipeek is LiveAction’s Windows network protocol analyzer for examining packet data during investigations of network performance, application…
WebWindows5.9 - 24
GL PacketScan
GL PacketScan is a network packet analyzer for capturing and examining live IPv4 and IPv6 traffic or recorded traces.
WebLinuxWindows5.7 - 25
netsniff-ng
netsniff-ng is a free Linux toolkit for network analysis and development, including debugging, auditing, and reconnaissance.
Free planLinux5.7Free plan