Best Network Packet Capture Software 2026

Termshark suits people debugging on remote machines who want to inspect captures without moving them to a desktop.

Arkime suits network operators who need searchable session records and packet inspection in a self-hosted environment.

TShark suits users who want command-line tools to capture or analyze network traffic, filter protocol data, or pass packet output to scripts.

Malcolm suits security teams that need to inspect network traffic and enrich session data.

It suits users who need command-line network monitoring and packet capture.

PCAPdroid suits Android users who want to inspect traffic from the device itself, or analyze captures with network tools.

It suits Linux users who need command-line network capture, packet filtering or offline trace analysis.

It suits enterprises and service providers needing continuous network monitoring and troubleshooting.

Airtool Pi is intended for WLAN and IT professionals who need remote packet captures from compatible Linux-based sensors.

It suits medium and large corporate teams monitoring network traffic.

It is aimed at security, network, and operations teams in sectors such as healthcare, finance, government, telecom, and broadcasting.

It suits security, network, and IT teams investigating incidents or performance issues using retained packet records.

It is designed for enterprise, federal, and ICS/OT teams that retain and investigate network traffic.

PacketWatch suits threat-hunting and security teams investigating network activity, cloud traffic, and forensic packet evidence.