Best Network Protocol Analyzers in 2026
Updated
Protocol analysis begins with the traffic you can capture and the ways you need to inspect it. Compared on capture sources, PCAP support, and remote capture, these tools also vary across flow analysis, traffic decryption, and CLI tools. Deployment options, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing help frame setup and access. Scapy, Arkime, and Kismet are among the analyzers shown. Match the listed capture and analysis capabilities to your environment and investigation needs, including whether you need remote collection, command-line work, or traffic decryption.
Network Protocol Analyzers, one module each.A lit port is something its maker publishes; 8 of 8 with a known API signal have a public API.
- 01 A-Packets API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$8.25/mo
- 02 Scapy API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 03 Arkime API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 04 Kismet API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 05 HOMER API yesDOCS 7.0
- 06 CloudShark API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7$29/mo
- 07 Trisul Network Analytics API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7
- 08 VoIPmonitor API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7$21.58/mo
- 09 NetworkMiner FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 10 PacketSnitch FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 11 RedSplice Network Analyzer FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 12 termshark FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 13 Colasoft Capsa FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 14 EtherApe FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 15 Ettercap FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 16 NETCAP FREE yesDOCS 5.9$548/mo
- 17 tcpdump FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 18 TShark FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 19 Wireshark FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 20 Zui FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 21 netsniff-ng FREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 22 OpenGrep FREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 23 Glean Packets DOCS 5.5
- 24 CommView FREE noDOCS 5.4$12.42/mo
- 25 My Network Consultant DOCS 5.4
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment | Capture sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A-Packets | 7.4 | Free plan | $8.25/mo | Yes | server | ||
| 2 | Scapy | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | both | |
| 3 | Arkime | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | server | both | |
| 4 | Kismet | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | both | |
| 5 | HOMER | 7.0 | server | both | ||||
| 6 | CloudShark | 6.7 | No | $29/mo | No | server | both | |
| 7 | Trisul Network Analytics | 6.7 | No | No | server | both | ||
| 8 | VoIPmonitor | 6.7 | No | $21.58/mo | No | 22 /mo | ||
| 9 | NetworkMiner | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | desktop | both | |
| 10 | PacketSnitch | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | desktop | local | ||
| 11 | RedSplice Network Analyzer | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | No | desktop | both | |
| 12 | termshark | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | both | both | ||
| 13 | Colasoft Capsa | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | desktop | local | |
| 14 | EtherApe | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | desktop | both | |
| 15 | Ettercap | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | desktop | both | |
| 16 | NETCAP | 5.9 | Free plan | $548/mo | Yes | both | both | |
| 17 | tcpdump | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | both | |
| 18 | TShark | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | both | |
| 19 | Wireshark | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | desktop | both | |
| 20 | Zui | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | local | |
| 21 | netsniff-ng | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | local | ||
| 22 | OpenGrep | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | |||
| 23 | Glean Packets | 5.5 | server | both | ||||
| 24 | CommView | 5.4 | No | $12.42/mo | No | both | both | |
| 25 | My Network Consultant | 5.4 | Yes | server | local |
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Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.