Wireshark
Input—per 1M tokens
Output—per 1M tokens
Context—tokens
WeightsClosed
About
Wireshark is ranked #5 of 29 in network protocol analyzers on Inferse. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.
Compared on network protocol analyzers
- Free plan
- Yeswireshark.org
- Traffic decryption
- Yeswireshark.org
Facts
- Purpose
- Wireshark captures and interactively browses network traffic as a network protocol analyzer.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Users
- Network professionals, security experts, developers, and educators use Wireshark.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Protocol inspection
- It supports deep inspection of hundreds of protocols.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Capture and analysis
- It supports live capture and offline analysis, with a graphical interface and the TShark terminal utility.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Filtering
- Wireshark provides display filters, whose syntax differs from capture filters.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- File formats
- It reads and writes many capture formats, including pcap and pcapng, and can decompress gzip-compressed capture files on the fly.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Analysis features
- Features include VoIP analysis, packet coloring rules, and export to XML, PostScript, CSV, or plain text.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Decryption
- It supports decryption for protocols including IPsec, Kerberos, SSL/TLS, WEP, and WPA/WPA2.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- License
- Wireshark is open-source software released under the GNU General Public License version 2, and the downloaded version is the full version without a license fee.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Capture dependency
- The Windows packages include Npcap, which is required for live packet capture.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Capture limitation
- The traffic visible to Wireshark depends on the operating system, capture library, network interface, and network configuration; switched networks may not expose unicast traffic between other ports.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Support
- Community support is available through the Q&A site and Wireshark users mailing list.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Security updates
- The download page links release security advisories, including notices for dissector crashes and other vulnerabilities.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
- Project history
- The project began in 1998 and is developed with contributions from networking experts around the world.wireshark.org · 29 Sept 2026
Company
- Founded
- 1998wireshark.org · 23 Sept 2026
Best Wireshark alternatives
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8.9 Scapy Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan
8.7 Kismet Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan
8.6 Arkime Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan
7.7 VoIPmonitor $21.58/mo first paid tier Free trial
7.4 TShark Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan
6.9 tcpdump Free free plan, no paid price published Free plan Where it ranks on Inferse
Sources
- wireshark.org/faq.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
- wireshark.org/about· checked 29 Sept 2026
- wireshark.org/download.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
- wireshark.org· checked 23 Sept 2026


