Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Wireshark VS NetCrunch

Compare Wireshark VS NetCrunch and see what are their differences

Wireshark logo Wireshark

Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

NetCrunch logo NetCrunch

NetCrunch IT Monitoring Platform is easy to start and enterprise scalable. It allows monitoring of systems, logs, applications, cloud and SNMP devices.
  • Wireshark Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-11
  • NetCrunch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-22

Wireshark features and specs

  • Comprehensive Protocol Support
    Wireshark supports a vast number of protocols out of the box, allowing for detailed inspection and analysis of network traffic.
  • Free and Open-Source
    Wireshark is free to use and its source code is openly available, enabling customization and community-driven improvements.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Wireshark runs on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide audience.
  • Rich Feature Set
    It offers features like live capture, offline analysis, deep inspection of hundreds of protocols, and powerful display filters for granular traffic analysis.
  • Strong Community Support
    A large and active community provides extensive documentation, tutorials, and support forums, making it easier for users to troubleshoot and learn.

Possible disadvantages of Wireshark

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive feature set and technical nature, Wireshark can be challenging for beginners to master.
  • Resource Intensive
    Live traffic capture and analysis can consume considerable system resources, which may affect performance, especially on less powerful machines.
  • Security Risks
    Running packet capture tools like Wireshark on production systems carries inherent security risks, as it could potentially expose sensitive data.
  • Interface Complexity
    The user interface, while powerful, can be overwhelming and non-intuitive for new users, making navigation and finding specific features difficult.
  • Limited Support for Encrypted Traffic
    Wireshark has limited capabilities when it comes to analyzing encrypted traffic, as decryption support requires additional setup and access to encryption keys.

NetCrunch features and specs

  • Comprehensive Monitoring
    NetCrunch provides extensive monitoring capabilities for a wide array of network devices, systems, and services, ensuring thorough visibility into network performance.
  • Agentless Monitoring
    The platform operates without the need for software agents on the monitored devices, simplifying setup and reducing resource consumption on the endpoints.
  • Customizable Dashboards
    Users can create tailored dashboards that display the most relevant data and metrics for their specific monitoring needs, enhancing usability and efficiency.
  • Real-time Alerts
    NetCrunch offers real-time alerting with customizable thresholds and notifications, allowing for quick responses to potential network issues.
  • Automated Network Discovery
    The tool automatically discovers and maps network elements, saving time and effort in setting up and maintaining an accurate network inventory.

Possible disadvantages of NetCrunch

  • Complexity for Beginners
    The extensive feature set may be overwhelming for new users who might find it challenging to navigate and utilize the software effectively without proper guidance.
  • Cost
    NetCrunch can be relatively expensive, particularly for smaller organizations or those with limited IT budgets, which may hinder accessibility.
  • Limited Integration
    While NetCrunch supports a range of integrations, it might not offer direct compatibility with all third-party systems, requiring additional configuration efforts.
  • Resource Intensive
    The software might demand significant system resources for large-scale monitoring, affecting performance in environments with limited hardware capabilities.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its breadth of functionality, mastering NetCrunch may require a substantial learning curve, particularly for users unfamiliar with advanced network monitoring tools.

Analysis of Wireshark

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Wireshark is considered an excellent tool for network analysis. Its open-source nature, regular updates, and strong community support further enhance its reputation as a reliable and robust tool.

Why this product is good

  • Wireshark is widely regarded as a leading network protocol analyzer due to its comprehensive features, user-friendly interface, and extensive protocol support. It allows users to capture and examine data packets in real-time, making it invaluable for diagnosing network issues, performing security audits, and educational purposes.

Recommended for

  • Network administrators looking to troubleshoot connectivity issues.
  • Security professionals conducting penetration tests and analyzing network traffic for vulnerabilities.
  • Students and educators who need a practical tool to learn about network protocols and behaviors.
  • IT professionals managing complex networks who require detailed traffic analysis.

Wireshark videos

Wireshark Tutorial for Beginners

More videos:

  • Review - Monitor Network Traffic with Wireshark - Review
  • Review - Wireshark 101: CloudShark Review - HakTip 144

NetCrunch videos

NetCrunch Performance Monitor

More videos:

  • Review - What makes NetCrunch network monitoring system unique?
  • Review - Getting Started with NetCrunch

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Wireshark and NetCrunch)
Monitoring Tools
90 90%
10% 10
Log Management
92 92%
8% 8
Performance Monitoring
86 86%
14% 14
Security
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Wireshark and NetCrunch

Wireshark Reviews

9 Best Angry IP Scanner Alternatives Reviewed 2021 (Free & Paid)
The beauty in Wireshark is that your network scans can be as broad or as granular as you make them. With a few clicks, you can begin capturing a snapshot of all packet traffic across your local area network. It can be overwhelming at first to see every single packet across a network, but Wireshark makes isolating specific events simple with its color coding and filtering...
10 Best WireShark Alternatives for Android Devices in 2021
If you are well enough into network communication, you must know about WireShark. WireShark is the most popular network analyzer for PC. You can use WireShark to see anything on your network that’s not encrypted. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an Android app, however, you can still track, monitor, or capture network packets on your Android devices using our best list of...
Source: techreen.com
11 Best Wireshark Alternatives in 2020
Wireshark is a widely used network monitoring and WiFi troubleshooting tool. However, with Wireshark tool is that you can only gather information from the network but cannot send this information.
Source: www.guru99.com
5 Best Wireshark alternative packet sniffers
Wireshark & Alternative tools FAQs ⭐Can Wireshark do deep packet inspection or do I need something else?⭐Is Wireshark a vulnerability scanner?⭐Is Wireshark good at port scanning?⭐Which tool is a command line alternative to Wireshark?
Comparing Charles Proxy, Fiddler, Wireshark, and Requestly
Although thousands of developers around the globe use Wireshark and Charles Proxy, they fail to occupy the top side in the design aspect. Wireshark’s interface is robust and detailed but can be intimidating for beginners. While Charles Proxy has a more approachable interface compared to Wireshark, it might seem cluttered to some users. Fiddler’s UI is information-rich and...
Source: dev.to

NetCrunch Reviews

  1. Danielle99palmer
    · Information Security Analyst at Net-Solution Inc ·
    A very good software to monitor all our IT infrastructure.

    I like how compatible it is with the different operating systems that exist, the monitoring of our network is very good, it is intuitive, it identifies vulnerabilities in the different devices connected to our network, the detection is very fast, it is a system that facilitates the detection of problems in our network.

    👍 Pros:    Accurate monitoring and easy configuration.|It has intuitive navigation and detailed features.|Very competitive price.
    👎 Cons:    No problem, the troubleshooting capabilities on our network are very good.

11 Best Nagios Alternatives (Free & Open Source) in 2024
Other features: NetCrunch offers policy-based configuration, SNMP traps and notifications, and Full SNMPV3 support. It can also monitor custom network services and the cloud.
Source: www.guru99.com
Alternatives to Nmap: from simple to advanced network scanning
NetCrunch has four scanning tools: Network Service Scanner scans for 70 known services (such as TCP, TLS andUDP) running on computers and other devices on a network. Open Port Scanner scans for open ports, based on a list of known ports or within a range you set. Ping Scanner can scan a range of IP addresses and perform DNS lookups. SNMP Scanner extracts basic information...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Wireshark seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Wireshark mentions (11)

  • Wifi problematic, wired connections seem okay. Help?
    Https://wireshark.org, opening that, go to edit preferences and enable "IP network" in the name resolution area, to show website names instead of only IP addresses. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Eeros in bridge mode with wired home
    To prove this, download wireshark Https://wireshark.org/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Lose internet when downloading large files
    Give that a try and I'll re-recommend for a second time, to run and watch Wireshark: Https://wireshark.org. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Performance scores for Google Lighthouse/Insights seem to be very inaccurate
    Https://www.gap.com/ returned a performance score of 10/100, with a time to interactive score of 36.1 seconds! Https://www.patreon.com/ returned a score of 18 Https://wireshark.org/ returned a score of 28, with "unused javascript" taking 14.9 seconds to load. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Is there a way to programatically turn off Downtime on a child device?
    I tried using Wireshark to figure out which URL is being called but my knowledge here is VERY limited and I couldn’t figure it out. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

NetCrunch mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of NetCrunch yet. Tracking of NetCrunch recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Wireshark and NetCrunch, you can also consider the following products

Zabbix - Track, record, alert and visualize performance and availability of IT resources

Datadog - See metrics from all of your apps, tools & services in one place with Datadog's cloud monitoring as a service solution. Try it for free.

SolarWinds NPM - Advanced network monitoring for on-premises, hybrid, and cloud. Download a FREE 30-day trial of SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) today!

Paessler PRTG - An advanced network monitoring solution to monitor network up/downtime, traffic and usage.

Microsoft System Center - Microsoft System Center provides solutions to simplify the deployment, configuration, management, and monitoring of the infrastructure.

Pingdom - With website monitoring from Pingdom you will be the first to know when your website is down. No installation required. 30-day free trial.