netcat Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to netcat for Windows and since it's discontinued a lot of people are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is Wireshark, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 10 alternatives to netcat and 11 are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to netcat are Ettercap, pwncat, SmartSniff and Packetyzer.

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netcat alternatives are mainly Network Analyzers but may also be Network Monitors or HTTP(S) Debuggers.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of netcat.
netcat iconnetcat
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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...

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

    Wireshark

     895 likes
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    Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network. It is the de facto (and often de jure) standard across many industries and educational institutions.

    54 Wireshark alternatives
    Wireshark screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey

    Wireshark Features

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

    Wireshark VS netcat

    Is Wireshark a good alternative to netcat?
     
    Comments about Wireshark as an Alternative to netcat
     
    SuperS06

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

    Negative comment •Jan 28, 2021
    0
    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. Ettercap icon
    Ettercap icon

    Ettercap

     17 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
    Ettercap screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Ettercap Features

    1.  Network Tools
    2.  Based on Ubuntu
    Ettercap iconnetcat Icon

    Ettercap VS netcat

    Is Ettercap a good alternative to netcat?
     
  4. pwncat icon
    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

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD

    pwncat Features

    1.  Port Forwarding
    pwncat iconnetcat Icon

    pwncat VS netcat

    Is pwncat a good alternative to netcat?
     
  5. SmartSniff icon
    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...

    33 SmartSniff alternatives
    SmartSniff screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows

    SmartSniff Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Sockets
    SmartSniff iconnetcat Icon

    SmartSniff VS netcat

    Is SmartSniff a good alternative to netcat?
     
  6. Packetyzer icon
    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.

    26 Packetyzer alternatives
    Decode View

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Protocols View
    Connections View
    +2
    TCP Flow - Trace
    Discontinued
    Packetyzer iconnetcat Icon

    Packetyzer VS netcat

    Is Packetyzer a good alternative to netcat?
     

  7. PPerf

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

    8 PPerf alternatives
    PPerf screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows

    PPerf Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Graphical User Interface
    PPerf screenshot 1
    PPerf screenshot 2
    netcat Icon

    PPerf VS netcat

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  9. PsPing icon
    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
    PsPing screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows

    PsPing Features

    1.  Network Tools
    PsPing iconnetcat Icon

    PsPing VS netcat

    Is PsPing a good alternative to netcat?
     

  10. 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...

    15 tcpflow alternatives
    tcpflow screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    netcat Icon

    tcpflow VS netcat

    Is tcpflow a good alternative to netcat?
     
  11. Packet Sender icon
    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
    Packet Sender screenshot 1

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Packet Sender Features

    1.  SSL
    2.  Network Tools
    Packet Sender screenshot 1
    Packet Sender screenshot 2
    +4
    Packet Sender screenshot 3
    Packet Sender iconnetcat Icon

    Packet Sender VS netcat

    Is Packet Sender a good alternative to 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
  12. TcpLogView icon
    TcpLogView icon

    TcpLogView

     2 likes
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    TcpLogView is a simple utility that monitors the opened TCP connections on your system, and adds a new log line every time that a TCP connection is opened or closed.

    10 TcpLogView alternatives
    TcpLogView screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    TcpLogView iconnetcat Icon

    TcpLogView VS netcat

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  13. AirSnare icon
    AirSnare icon

    AirSnare

     Like this app
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    AirSnare is another tool to add to your Wireless Intrusion Detection Toolbox. AirSnare will alert you to unfriendly MAC addresses on your network and will also alert you to DHCP requests taking place.

    35 AirSnare alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    The official website is no longer available. Last version, 1.5, released in May 2006, can be still downloaded from Download.com

    AirSnare iconnetcat Icon

    AirSnare VS netcat

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11 of 11 netcat alternatives