The following tables compare general and technical information for several packet analyzer software utilities. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date.
Basic general information about the software—creator/company, license/price, etc.
| Creator | GUI / Console | Cost (USD) | Software license | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nGenius Infinistream | NetScout | GUI | ? | Proprietary EULA |
| AppTransaction Xpert | OPNET Technologies | GUI | Unknown | Proprietary EULA |
| Cain and Abel | Massimiliano Montoro | GUI | Free | Freeware |
| Capsa Free Edition | Colasoft | GUI | Free | Proprietary EULA |
| Carnivore | Federal Bureau of Investigation | ? | N/A | N/A |
| Clarified Analyzer | Clarified Networks | GUI | 300€ and up | Proprietary EULA |
| Clusterpoint Network Traffic Surveillance System | Clusterpoint | web GUI | $3,000 and up | Proprietary EULA |
| dSniff | Dug Song | Console | Free | BSD License |
| EtherApe | Juan Toledo | GUI | Free | GNU GPL |
| Ettercap | ALoR and NaGA | Both | Free | GNU GPL |
| I/O Ninja | Tibbo Technology Inc. | GUI | $30 | Proprietary EULA |
| justniffer | The Justniffer team | Console | Free | GNU GPL |
| Kismet | Mike Kershaw (dragorn) | Console | Free | GNU GPL |
| LANMeter | Fluke Corporation | handheld | ? | ? |
| netsniff-ng | Daniel Borkmann | Console | Free | GNU GPL |
| NetworkMiner free edition | NETRESEC AB | GUI | Free | GNU GPL |
| NetworkMiner Professional | NETRESEC AB | Both | 500€ | Proprietary EULA |
| ngrep | Jordan Ritter | Console | Free | Other |
| Microsoft Network Monitor | Microsoft | GUI | Free | Proprietary EULA |
| Observer | Network Instruments | GUI | ? | Proprietary EULA |
| OmniPeek (formerly AiroPeek, EtherPeek) | WildPackets | GUI | $1,194.00 and up | Proprietary EULA |
| PacketView Pro | Klos Technologies, Inc. | Console | $1,299.00 | Proprietary EULA |
| pt360 Tool Suite | PacketTrap | ? | $99 | ? |
| Sniffer Portable | NetScout | GUI | ? | Proprietary EULA |
| snoop | Sun Microsystems | Console | Free | CDDL |
| tcpdump | The Tcpdump team | Console | Free | BSD License |
| Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) | The Wireshark team | Both | Free | GNU GPL |
| Xplico | The Xplico team | Both | Free | GNU GPL |
The utilities can run on these operating systems.
| Client | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | Solaris | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AppTransaction Xpert | Yes | Version 3.5 capture agents on PowerPC only | GUI, plus version 3.5 capture agents | No | Version 3.5 capture agents on SPARC only | Version 3.5 capture agents on AIX and PA-RISC HP-UX only |
| Cain and Abel | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Capsa Free Edition | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Carnivore | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Clarified Analyzer | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? |
| Clusterpoint Network Traffic Surveillance System |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Any virtual-machine compatible OS |
| dSniff | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| EtherApe | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Ettercap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| I/O Ninja | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Kismet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| LANMeter | No | No | No | No | No | Fluke proprietary hardware |
| netsniff-ng | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| NetworkMiner free edition | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| NetworkMiner Professional | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| ngrep | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | AIX, BeOS, HP-UX, IRIX, Tru64 UNIX |
| Microsoft Network Monitor | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Observer | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| OmniPeek (formerly AiroPeek, EtherPeek) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| PacketView Pro | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| pt360 Tool Suite | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Sniffer Portable | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| snoop | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| tcpdump | Yes (WinDump) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Tru64 UNIX |
| Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Tru64 UNIX |
| Xplico | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| justniffer | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |