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ClearSight Analyzer vs Wireshark comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ClearSight Analyzer
Average Rating
10.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (92nd)
Wireshark
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Network Troubleshooting (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ClearSight Analyzer is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 0.4%, up 0.1% compared to last year.
Wireshark, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 15.0% mindshare, up 13.3% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ClearSight Analyzer0.4%
Zabbix4.3%
SolarWinds NPM3.6%
Other91.7%
Network Monitoring Software
Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Wireshark15.0%
AirMagnet Survey PRO9.8%
LinkRunner7.2%
Other68.0%
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

DT
Senior Network Engineer at Montgomery College
Shows question being asked, breaks it down and it'll just show you who's not answering
I wouldn't want the interface to go towards the web because they did have a version that was inside of the TruView product. It was more web-based and, to me, the web-based applications lose the robustness of the intimacy of a true character interface. I liked that they were on that path and I hope that they stay on that path because it just looks like it's a better product. I would like to see a multi-user version where you can have a launch platform and, potentially, instead of buying six licenses you buy 12 seats or something like that. From a centralized platform, you could have multiple users using that particular product in a series of different ways. That's what I'd like to see, rather than having everybody running a standalone one on their own workstation.
Vijay Duggal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Specialist at Squarepoint Capital
Provides detailed traffic analysis and helps troubleshoot issues
There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. While the solution supports sampling as fine as one millisecond, it requires a copy at that interval. My Python script allows me to achieve a granularity of up to ten microseconds, but I can't go beyond that. When dealing with provisioning on both issues, it would be beneficial if I could go down to the microsecond level, if not the nanosecond. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"This is the best protocol analyzer I've used and I've used some from WildPackets and quite a few other places."
"What ClearSight will do is it actually maps out the conversation for you."
"Being able to dissect email data and figure out what is inside email messages was the most valuable feature."
"It helped in the sense that it allowed the team to troubleshoot networks faster."
"Wireshark is very user-friendly; even someone with basic IT knowledge can use it."
"I can save the traffic and analysis when I want to. Also, it's especially helpful to follow the stream (TCP, UDP, etc.)."
"Wireshark analyzes networks, captures traffic and decrypts information passed through the communication channels into a form that is readable and can thus be used to learn how network protocols work."
"Wireshark's best feature is that it's adaptive, which means it's the go-to tool for network-related developers."
"The strongest feature of this solution, is the ability it gives us to carry out deep-packet inspections on our network, particularly when a function isn't performing as it should."
"The best network analyzer tool out there in the market."
 

Cons

"I was upset when they sold the product to NETSCOUT."
"I would like to see a multi-user version where you can have a launch platform and, potentially, instead of buying six licenses you buy 12 seats or something like that."
"I would like to see Wireshark improve the ease of application of the command. The command is very powerful, but not easy to apply."
"Wireshark does not allow you to make any changes relevant to the network; in other words, you can only observe the network."
"It is easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of data you are looking at."
"The decryption of encrypted packets could be better."
"I was unable to use Wireshark on Windows, and I couldn't capture it, as I'm unsure how to configure the wireless card into monitoring mode on Windows."
"The initial setup depends upon the basics. You need to have a clear understanding of the basics."
"Big trace files (more than 1,000,000 packets) can be slow, but then you can use "TraceWrangler" (also free) to help with slicing and dicing the data."
"Wireshark's UI isn't easy to handle and doesn't have as nice a view as Omnipeek."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It was pretty modest because you could get it in different ways. I think the six licenses, at that time, were about $1,000 each. But then again, I work for a school and educators tend to get discounts on things. So maybe it cost us about five or six hundred a copy."
"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."
"I am using the free version of this solution."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"It's free."
"It's a stand-alone tool. If there is a commercial license for it I am unaware of it."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."
"Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wireshark?
Wireshark is priced at a medium range, not too high, not too low. The pricing could be more flexible, and they might make it more expensive. That said, compared to other products, it is competitive.
What needs improvement with Wireshark?
The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance. Performance can sometimes be a challenge due to numerous factors.
What is your primary use case for Wireshark?
We are using Wireshark for inspecting the vertical line to know the data flow in and out of the cables. This is to determine if there is real traffic flow through the physical connections or not. A...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
Comversion, ADP, Talbots
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Auvik, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software. Updated: March 2026.
886,906 professionals have used our research since 2012.