Software Alternatives & Startups

Penzu VS NetworkTests

Compare Penzu VS NetworkTests and see what are their differences

Penzu

Keep all of your thoughts in one place using Penzu. The app is similar to a journal that you might write in but with a few modern touches that allow you to do everything from sending messages to decorating the pages.

Rating
0 reviews
NetworkTests

Measure packet loss, latency, jitter, and hop-by-hop performance with real network diagnostics, DNS leak, VPN detection & more — delivered directly from your browser.

Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Penzu seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 1 time since March 2021.

social mentions
1 vs 0
Note Taking popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 11

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Penzu
NetworkTests
Website penzu.com networktests.com
Company — Startup from the United States · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in

About Penzu and NetworkTests

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Penzu
NetworkTests

No description of Penzu yet.

NetworkTests.com goes beyond a basic speed test. Most tools like Speedtest use TCP, which retransmits lost packets — reporting perfect delivery even when your network drops packets affecting video calls, gaming, and VoIP. NetworkTests.com uses WebRTC UDP to measure packet loss, latency, and...

Read more about NetworkTests

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Penzu 5 features
NetworkTests 5 features
  • Privacy
    Penzu offers highly secure writing with password-protected journals and military-grade 256-bit encryption, ensuring that your personal thoughts remain private.
  • Customization
    Users can customize their journal entries with different fonts, themes, and formatting options, allowing for a personalized journaling experience.
  • Accessibility
    Penzu is available on multiple platforms including web, iOS, and Android, making it easy to access your journal from anywhere.
  • Reminders
    The app allows users to set reminders to journal regularly, helping to build a consistent writing habit.
  • Search Functionality
    Users can search their journal entries by keyword, making it easy to find specific entries or topics.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    Many of the advanced features, such as encryption and customization, require a paid subscription, which may be a barrier for some users.
  • Complexity
    The wide range of features and customization options can make the app overwhelming for new users.
  • Offline Access
    Offline functionality is limited, meaning users need an internet connection to access all features and sync entries across devices.
  • Exporting Data
    Exporting journal entries to other formats is not as straightforward or integrated as some users might prefer.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might require some time to learn how to effectively use all the features, especially if they are not tech-savvy.
  • Free Access
    Many network testing tools like this are typically offered free of charge, allowing users to check internet speed, latency, and connection quality without any cost.
  • Convenience
    Being web-based, it allows users to quickly test their network performance from any browser without needing to download or install additional software.
  • Useful Diagnostics
    Such tools often provide helpful diagnostic information like ping, jitter, download/upload speeds, which can help users troubleshoot connectivity issues.
  • Simple Interface
    Network testing websites are usually designed with straightforward, easy-to-understand interfaces, making them accessible even to non-technical users.
  • Quick Results
    Tests are generally designed to run quickly, giving users near-instant feedback on their network performance.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Penzu
NetworkTests

Overall verdict

  • Penzu is a good choice for individuals seeking a straightforward, flexible, and private journaling tool. Its emphasis on privacy and user-friendly design makes it suitable for both casual and serious journal keepers. However, users who require advanced features like integration with other tools or extensive formatting options might find Penzu somewhat limited.

Why this product is good

  • Penzu is an online journaling platform that provides a secure and private way to keep a journal. It is praised for its simplicity, ease of use, and the ability to access your entries from any internet-connected device. Penzu also has features like customizable covers, the ability to add images, and reminders to help users maintain a regular journaling habit. Additionally, Penzu offers strong privacy options, including the ability to password-protect individual entries or the entire journal, making it appealing to those who value confidentiality in their writing.

Recommended for

    Penzu is recommended for users who value privacy in their journaling, prefer a simple and straightforward user interface, and want a digital platform that allows easy access across multiple devices. It's particularly suited for individuals who are keen on maintaining a consistent journaling practice without the need for complex features.

Overall verdict

  • NetworkTests appears to be a niche network diagnostic and speed-testing tool, but there is limited independent verification or widespread reputation data available to confirm its reliability, accuracy, or trustworthiness compared to established alternatives.

Why this product is good

  • Offers basic network testing functionality such as speed and connectivity checks
  • Simple, accessible interface for quick diagnostics
  • May be free to use without requiring account creation
  • Lacks strong third-party reviews or established reputation in the industry
  • Limited transparency about the company behind the service, data handling, and testing methodology

Recommended for

  • Users seeking a quick, no-frills network test without needing detailed analytics
  • Casual users who don't require enterprise-grade reporting
  • Those already familiar with the tool through direct recommendation
  • Not recommended as a primary tool for professionals needing certified or highly accurate network diagnostics

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Penzu 2 videos + Add
NetworkTests 0 videos + Add

Penzu How It Works

More videos

  • - Using Penzu for Reflection in Teaching

No NetworkTests videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Penzu
NetworkTests
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Penzu and NetworkTests.

What makes your product unique?

NetworkTests's answer:

Most network speed tests use TCP, which automatically retransmits lost packets — so they can report perfect results even when your connection is actively dropping packets that affect video calls, gaming, and VoIP.

NetworkTests.com uses WebRTC DataChannels in unreliable/unordered UDP mode to measure what real-time applications actually experience: packet loss, latency, and jitter — metrics that TCP-based tests hide. It also performs hop-by-hop path diagnostics from our servers back to the client's connection edge using STUN-assisted UDP — inbound path analysis directly from a browser, without any install or agent. This is unusual for a browser-based tool.
Beyond the core test, it includes 12 diagnostic tools: IP lookup, DNS lookup, DNS trace, AS lookup, reverse DNS, ping, traceroute, MTR, MAC lookup, VPN detection, DNS leak test, and SSL proxy / TLS interception check — all free, no signup required.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

NetworkTests's answer:

Traditional speed tests tell you how fast your connection is. NetworkTests.com tells you why your connection feels broken even when the speed test says it's fine.

Most competitors use TCP, which hides packet loss through automatic retransmission. NetworkTests.com uses UDP via WebRTC — the same protocol used by video calls, gaming, and VoIP — so the results reflect what your applications actually experience. Key reasons to choose NetworkTests.com: - Accurate packet loss measurement — UDP doesn't retransmit, so real packet loss is visible instead of hidden - Hop-by-hop path diagnostics — pinpoints exactly which router on the path is causing the problem, directly from a browser session - All-in-one diagnostics — 12 tools in one place covering network quality, DNS, privacy, and security checks - Privacy tools — DNS leak test, VPN detection, and SSL proxy check in one place, useful for verifying your privacy setup - No friction — no signup, no install, no extensions. Open the browser and run the test - Free — everything is free with no paywalled features

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

NetworkTests's answer:

NetworkTests.com serves anyone who wants to understand what is really happening on their network, not just how fast it is.

Primary audiences: - Home users — people experiencing choppy video calls, laggy gaming, or buffering streams despite good speed test results. NetworkTests.com helps them identify the real cause — packet loss, jitter, or a bad hop on the network path - Network engineers & sysadmins — professionals who need UDP-based metrics, hop-by-hop MTR analysis, and real packet loss data for diagnosing and validating network performance - IT teams — diagnosing connectivity issues across office networks, validating ISP performance, and pinpointing bottlenecks with data - Privacy & security conscious users — people who want to verify their VPN is working correctly, check for DNS leaks, or detect whether their HTTPS traffic is being intercepted by a corporate or ISP proxy - Developers & researchers — anyone building or testing applications that depend on network quality and need accurate, protocol-level diagnostics directly from a browser

What's the story behind your product?

NetworkTests's answer:

I built NetworkTests.com out of personal frustration.

I kept running Speedtest and seeing great numbers — solid download speeds, low ping — while my video calls were still freezing and my connection felt unreliable. The speed test said everything was fine, but clearly something was wrong. After digging into it, I discovered the problem: Speedtest uses TCP, which automatically retransmits lost packets. It literally cannot see packet loss. My connection was dropping packets, but TCP was quietly hiding them — so the test looked perfect while real-time applications suffered.
I wanted a tool that measured what my applications actually experienced. Something that used UDP — the same protocol video calls, gaming, and VoIP use — and showed me the real numbers: packet loss, jitter, and latency without TCP's masking.
I also wanted hop-by-hop visibility — not just "your connection is bad" but "this specific router on the path is dropping packets." That led to building inbound MTR diagnostics using STUN-assisted UDP through NAT, directly from the browser — something I hadn't seen in other browser-based tools.
Over time it grew into a full diagnostics platform — DNS lookup, DNS trace, VPN detection, DNS leak testing, SSL proxy detection, traceroute, ping, MTR, and more — because these tools belong together when you're trying to diagnose a real network problem.
The goal is simple: give anyone — home user or network engineer — the tools to understand what is actually happening on their connection, for free, without installing anything.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

NetworkTests's answer:

NetworkTests.com is built on modern web technologies that enable real-time network measurements directly in the browser — no plugins, extensions, or installations required.
The core network quality test runs entirely client-server using browser-native APIs, enabling UDP-style packet loss, latency, and jitter measurements without any software install. The backend infrastructure is distributed across three geographic regions, allowing users to test against multiple server locations and get accurate hop-by-hop path diagnostics. All diagnostic tools — DNS lookup, traceroute, MTR, ping, VPN detection, DNS leak test, SSL proxy check, and more — run server-side and return results in real time through the browser interface.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

NetworkTests's answer:

Since NetworkTests.com is a free tool launched in February 2026 with no paid plans or signups, you don't have named customers yet. I'd suggest answering honestly:

NetworkTests.com is a free, public tool launched in February 2026. It does not require signup or registration, so we don't track named customers.
Our users include home users diagnosing connectivity issues, network engineers and sysadmins troubleshooting infrastructure, IT teams validating ISP performance, and privacy-conscious users verifying their VPN and DNS configurations.

User comments

Share your experience with using Penzu and NetworkTests. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Penzu no reviews yet
NetworkTests no reviews yet
  • The 8 best journal apps of 2022
    zapier.com · Apr 2022

    Writing a journal entry in Penzu is much like writing a blog post in WordPress, with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface, complete with a text formatting toolbar. So why not just use Word, WordPress, or...

  • 5 Best Apps That Make Journaling Super Convenient In 2022
    integrately.com · Mar 2022

    If you’re looking for security for a more private journal, then Penzu is your best bet. Whether you’re keeping a bullet journal, dream journal, or you’re looking for a food journal app, this has a straightforward user...

We have no reviews of NetworkTests yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Penzu 1 mention
NetworkTests 0 mentions
  • How to Leave an Abusive Relationship
    - Penzu is an online journal site that can only be accessed with the proper password. Keep a record of abuse on Penzu, and wipe all mention of the site from your browser history. Source: almost 4 years ago

Tracking NetworkTests since Mar 2026.

Alternatives to Penzu and NetworkTests

When comparing Penzu and NetworkTests, you can also consider the following products.