netcat AlternativesNetwork Monitors and other similar apps like netcat

netcat is described as 'Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using the TCP/IP protocol. It is designed to be a reliable "back-end" tool that can be used directly or easily driven by other programs and scripts' and is a Network Monitor in the network & admin category. There are more than 10 alternatives to netcat for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iPhone apps. The best netcat alternative is Wireshark, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like netcat are socat, Ettercap, PCAPdroid and pwncat.

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Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using the TCP/IP protocol. ...

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netcat alternatives page was last updated Sep 9, 2022
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Alternatives
  1. Wireshark icon

    Wireshark

     912 likes
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    Wireshark is a premier network protocol analyzer used globally in industries and education, offering multi-platform support, deep protocol inspection, powerful display filters, and VoIP analysis. It allows both live capture and offline analysis, supporting various networks and protocols.

    54 Wireshark alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    Wireshark screenshot 1

    Wireshark Features

    1.  Detailed packet analysis
    2.  Network Usage History
    3.  Support for Android Things
    4.  Website Monitoring
    5.  Work Item Tracking
    6.  Command line interface

    Wireshark VS netcat

     
    Comments about Wireshark as an Alternative to netcat
    SuperS06
    Negative •Jan 28, 2021
    0

    Wireshark is a tool for monitoring network traffic. Netcat is a tool for generating traffic.

    netcat Icon
    Wireshark icon

    • Wireshark is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to netcat.

    • Wireshark is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to netcat.

    • Wireshark is Free and Open Sourcenetcat is also Free and Open Source
  2. socat icon

    socat

     6 likes
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    socat, SOcket CAT, is a relay for bidirectional data transfer between two independent data channels. Each of these data channels may be a file, pipe, device (serial line etc. or a pseudo terminal), a socket (UNIX, IP4, IP6 - raw, UDP, TCP), an SSL socket, proxy CONNECT...

    5 socat alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    socat screenshot 1

    socat Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Command line interface
    3.  Data transfer
    4.  Port Forwarding

    socat VS netcat

     
  4. Ettercap icon

    Ettercap

     18 likes
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    Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN. It features sniffing of live connections, content filtering on the fly and many other interesting tricks.

    17 Ettercap alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Ettercap screenshot 1

    Ettercap Features

    1.  Network Tools
    2.  Based on Ubuntu

    Ettercap VS netcat

     
  5. PCAPdroid icon

    PCAPdroid

     3 likes
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    PCAPdroid is an android app to capture the phone traffic and analyze it remotely (e.g. via Wireshark). The traffic can be easily downloaded from a remote device thanks to the integrated HTTP server, or streamed to a remote UDP receiver.

    42 PCAPdroid alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IT flagItaly
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Android
    • F-Droid
    PCAPdroid screenshot 1
    PCAPdroid screenshot 2
    PCAPdroid screenshot 3

    PCAPdroid Features

    1.  Traffic Monitoring
    2.  HTTP Monitoring

    PCAPdroid VS netcat

     

    • PCAPdroid is the most popular Android alternative to netcat.

    • PCAPdroid is Free and Open Sourcenetcat is also Free and Open Source
  6. pwncat icon

    pwncat

     4 likes
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    pwncat - netcat on steroids with Firewall, IDS/IPS evasion, bind and reverse shell, self-injecting shell and port forwarding magic - and its fully scriptable with Python (PSE).

    3 pwncat alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD

    pwncat Features

    1.  Port Forwarding

    pwncat VS netcat

     
  7. SmartSniff icon

    SmartSniff

     12 likes
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    SmartSniff is a packet sniffer that capture TCP/IP packets and display them as sequence of conversations between clients and servers. You can view the TCP/IP conversations in Ascii mode (for text-based protocols, like HTTP, SMTP, POP3 and FTP) or as hex dump (for non-text base...

    34 SmartSniff alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • IL flagIsrael

    Platforms

    • Windows
    SmartSniff screenshot 1

    SmartSniff Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Sockets

    SmartSniff VS netcat

     
  9. Packetyzer icon

    Packetyzer

     6 likes
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    Packetyzer provides a Windows user interface for the Ethereal packet capture and dissection library. Ethereal is used by network professionals around the world for troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education.

    27 Packetyzer alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Decode View
    Discontinued

    Packetyzer VS netcat

     

  10. PPerf

     2 likes
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    PowerShell Iperf GUI - A PowerShell script to start iperf and show the output (similar to Jperf).

    9 PPerf alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    PPerf screenshot 1

    PPerf Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Graphical User Interface

    PPerf VS netcat

     
  11. PsPing icon

    PsPing

     2 likes
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    PsPing is a command-line utility for measuring network performance. In addition to standard ICMP ping functionality, it can report the latency of connecting to TCP ports, the latency of TCP and UDP round-trip communication between systems, and the TCP or UDP bandwidth available...

    9 PsPing alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    PsPing screenshot 1

    PsPing Features

    1.  Network Tools

    PsPing VS netcat

     

  12. tcpflow

     3 likes
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    tcpflow, a TCP Flow Recorder, is a program that captures data transmitted as part of TCP connections (flows), and stores the data in a way that is convenient for protocol analysis or debugging. A program like 'tcpdump' shows a summary of packets seen on the wire, but...

    16 tcpflow alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    tcpflow screenshot 1

    tcpflow VS netcat

     
  13. Debookee icon

    Debookee

     2 likes
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    Debookee is the simplest & most powerful network traffic analyzer for macOS.

    14 Debookee alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Debookee screenshot 1

    Debookee Features

    1.  Network Scanner

    Debookee VS netcat

     

    • Debookee is the most popular commercial alternative to netcat.

    • Debookee is Paid and Proprietarynetcat is Free and Open Source
  14. Packet Sender icon

    Packet Sender

     1 like
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    Packet Sender can send and receive UDP, TCP, and SSL on the ports of your choosing. All servers and clients may run simultaneously.

    3 Packet Sender alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Packet Sender screenshot 1

    Packet Sender Features

    1.  SSL
    2.  Network Tools

    Packet Sender VS netcat

     

    • Packet Sender is the most popular iPhone, iPad & Android Tablet alternative to netcat.

    • Packet Sender is Freemium and Open Sourcenetcat is Free and Open Source
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