Open Source NetLimiter AlternativesTop Firewalls & Network Monitors like NetLimiter

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Portmaster

    208 likes

   Free, open-source privacy suite monitoring all network activity, blocking unwanted connections, using trusted filter lists for ads and malware, enforcing DNS-over-TLS, providing custom app and global rules, and supporting advanced privacy management.

   44 Portmaster alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Firewall
   • Network Monitor

   Origin

   • Austria
   • EU

   Since

   • Since 2020

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux

   • Austria
   • EU

   

   

   

   +3

   

   More about Portmaster  

   

   Good alternative?Is Portmaster a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    

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   4comments

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   Portmaster vs NetLimiter Comments

   Negative comment by Guest · Jan 20, 2023

   Portmaster does not provide a way to set bandwidth limits, so it is not similar enough to NetLimiter to be an alternative.

   Negative comment by Guest · Mar 12, 2023

   NetLimiter's primary usage is to limit speed. Portmaster doesn't limit speed. So Portmaster is irrelevant.

   Positive comment by Martin Ligabue · Jan 2, 2023

   more options, more advanced, simpler, and open source

   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • Portmaster is Freemium and Open SourceNetLimiter is Paid and Proprietary
   • Portmaster is Privacy focused, Lightweight and DecentralizedNetLimiter is not according to our users
2. 

   

   simplewall

    216 likes

   Simple tool to configure Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which can configure network activity on your computer.

   41 simplewall alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Firewall
   • Network Monitor

   Origin

   • Kazakhstan

   Since

   • Since 2017

   Platforms

   • Windows

   • Kazakhstan

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about simplewall  

   

   Good alternative?Is simplewall a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    

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   6comments

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   simplewall vs NetLimiter Comments

   Positive comment by Guest · Jun 30, 2023

   Please add dns level blocking, i want to be able to block some dns request and allow others, the rest is fine.

   Negative comment by frenchiveruti · Dec 27, 2020

   Doesn't show network usage, like how many KB is an app using.

   Negative comment by Guest · Aug 30, 2020

   Does not allow traffic shaping. Only blocking.

   3 of 6 comments

   

   

   • simplewall is Free and Open SourceNetLimiter is Paid and Proprietary
   • simplewall is Lightweight and Privacy focusedNetLimiter is not according to our users
4. 

   

   Fort Firewall

    44 likes

   Standalone firewall for Windows 7 and later featuring flexible rules by application, address, or protocol, wildcards, parent process filtering, SvcHost controls, blocklists, bandwidth graphs, traffic stats tracking, speed limits, and real-time network monitoring.

   42 Fort Firewall alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Firewall
   • Network Monitor

   Origin

   • Uzbekistan

   Since

   • Since 2022

   Platforms

   • Windows

   • Uzbekistan

   

   

   

   +1

   

   More about Fort Firewall  

   

   Good alternative?Is Fort Firewall a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    

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   1comment

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   Fort Firewall vs NetLimiter Comments

   Positive comment by xSalty1 · Jan 31, 2026

   Dark mode, traffic shaping and light weight. I finally switched from Netlimiter Pro subscription loop thanks to this Open Source project.
   Cheers to the developer or the fort project tnodir for the active development and I look forward to it's future.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Fort Firewall is Free and Open SourceNetLimiter is Paid and Proprietary
   • Fort Firewall is Lightweight and Privacy focusedNetLimiter is not according to our users
5. 

   

   Minimal Firewall

    15 likes

   Minimal Firewall is a portable Windows firewall frontend that alerts users to internet connections without requiring custom kernel modifications or disabling core isolation, striking a balance between TinyWall's security and SimpleWall's functionality.

   37 Minimal Firewall alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Firewall
   • Network Monitor

   Origin

   • United States

   Since

   • Since 2025

   Platforms

   • Windows

   • United States

   

   

   

   +3

   

   More about Minimal Firewall  

   

   Good alternative?Is Minimal Firewall a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    
6. 

   

   Gufw

    53 likes

   Gufw is an easy, intuitive way to manage your Linux firewall. It supports common tasks such as allowing or blocking pre-configured, common p2p, or individual ports port(s), and many others! Gufw is powered by Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw).

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application type

   • Firewall

   Origin

   • Spain
   • EU

   Since

   • Since 2009

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • Python

   • Spain
   • EU

   

   

   

   More about Gufw  

   

   Good alternative?Is Gufw a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    

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   1comment

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   Gufw vs NetLimiter Comments

   Positive comment by Guest · Jan 22, 2017

   On Linux, it uses netfilter to rate-limit ports and applications

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Gufw is Free and Open SourceNetLimiter is Paid and Proprietary
   • Gufw is LightweightNetLimiter is not according to our users
8. 

   

   NethSecurity

    1 like

   All the functionalities of a modern Next-Gen firewall in few clicks: MultiWAN, Deep Packet Inspection, VPNs, Threat Protection.

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application type

   • Firewall

   Origin

   • Italy
   • EU

   Since

   • Since 2024

   Platforms

   • Linux

   • Italy
   • EU

   

   

   

   +4

   

   More about NethSecurity  

   

   Good alternative?Is NethSecurity a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    
9. 

   

   CacheGuard Gateway

    7 likes

   CacheGuard Gateway is a free, open-source network security appliance for startups, growing businesses, and SMEs/SMBs that need enterprise-grade protection without the complexity or cost.

   140 CacheGuard Gateway alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application type

   • Firewall

   Origin

   • France
   • EU

   Since

   • Since 2016

   Platforms

   • Self-Hosted
   • VMware vSphere Hypervisor
   • VirtualBox
   • Microsoft Hyper-V Server
   • Proxmox Virtual Environment

   • France
   • EU

   

   

   

   More about CacheGuard Gateway  

   

   Good alternative?Is CacheGuard Gateway a good alternative to NetLimiter?

    

   |

   1comment

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   CacheGuard Gateway vs NetLimiter Comments

   Negative comment by Guest · Oct 11, 2019

   completely different software

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • CacheGuard Gateway is Free and Open SourceNetLimiter is Paid and Proprietary
   • CacheGuard Gateway is Privacy focused and LightweightNetLimiter is not according to our users
10. 

    

    vnStat Client

     Like

    GUI Client for vnStat Network Monitor for Linux or GNU/Linux - GitHub - Hulxv/vnstat-client: GUI Client for vnStat Network Monitor for Linux or GNU/Linux

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

    Application type

    • Network Monitor

    Since

    • Since 2022

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about vnStat Client  

    

    Good alternative?Is vnStat Client a good alternative to NetLimiter?

     
11. 

    

    TrafficToll

     1 like

    TrafficToll allows you to limit download and upload bandwidth globally (per interface) and per process, even during the process' runtime.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Platforms

    • Linux

    

    More about TrafficToll  

    

    Good alternative?Is TrafficToll a good alternative to NetLimiter?

     
12. 

    

    Bouncer App

     1 like

    Bouncer is an application to help you choose the correct firewall zone for wireless connections. When you connect to a new network, Bouncer will open a window prompting you for what kind of network (eg home, public, work) it is.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MPL-2.0)

    Since

    • Since 2025

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    

    More about Bouncer App  

    

    Good alternative?Is Bouncer App a good alternative to NetLimiter?

     
13. T

    T

    trickle - Userland Bandwidth Shaper

     3 likes

    trickle is a portable lightweight userspace bandwidth shaper. It can run in collaborative mode (together with trickled) or in stand alone mode.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Since

    • Since 2015

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Xfce

    T

    

    Good alternative?Is this a good alternative to NetLimiter?

     
14. 

    

    ufw KDE

     Like

    KDE front-end to ufw, similar to the GTK/Gnome based gufw.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Firewall

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE
    • Kubuntu
    • KDE neon

    

    Good alternative?Is ufw KDE a good alternative to NetLimiter?