Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Platforms
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux

tcpdump is described as 'Common packet analyzer that runs under the command line. It allows the user to intercept and display TCP/IP and other packets being transmitted or received over a network to which the computer is attached' and is a popular network analyzer in the network & admin category. There are more than 25 alternatives to tcpdump for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and BSD apps. The best tcpdump alternative is Wireshark, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like tcpdump are NetworkMiner, Sysdig, Termshark and MicroOLAP TCPDUMP.

httpry is a tool designed for displaying and logging HTTP traffic. It is not intended to perform analysis itself, but instead to capture, parse and/or log the traffic for later analysis. It can be run in real-time displaying the live traffic on the wire, or as a daemon process...
PlayCap plays back captures made from Wireshark, tcpdump, WinDump, or any libpcap-based application. PlayCap was originally (and still is) a part of IG Scanner by Signal 11 Software, but was spun off as a separate app and released as Open Source software.

WebSiteSniffer is a packet sniffer tool that captures all Web site files downloaded by your Web browser while browsing the Internet, and stores them on your hard drive under the folder that you choose.


Log all traffic on your network card. Analyze and parse network packets. Capture transmitted files and passwords.


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.
Packet capture/Network traffic sniffer app with SSL decryption. Not that feature rich yet, but it's a powerful debugging tool especially when developing an app.



Pirni Pro is a network security tool designed for iOS, and specifically for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. It is capable of intercepting traffic on a wireless network segment, capturing passwords, and regular expressions entered by the user.


Pirni Pro is the most popular iPhone alternative to tcpdump.
Appknox is a mobile app security testing solution to detect and fix vulnerabilities in mobile apps using a combination of automated and manual tests.



Appknox is the most popular Web-based, SaaS & Self-Hosted alternative to tcpdump.
Driftnet is a program which listens to network traffic and picks out images from TCP streams it observes.

EtherPEG is a free program for the Macintosh that shows you all the JPEGs (and GIFs) going by on your network.