SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Wireshark comparison

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Read 63 Wireshark reviews

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98% willing to recommend

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and Wireshark based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace, Auvik, SolarWinds and others in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA).

To learn more, read our detailed Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Report (Updated: January 2026).

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

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Helped 882,886 peers since 2012

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

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd)

Wireshark

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (4th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is designed for Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) and holds a mindshare of 5.8%, up 5.4% compared to last year.
Wireshark, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 12.3% mindshare, down 13.1% since last year.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer	5.8%
Darktrace	17.9%
Cisco Secure Network Analytics	10.5%
Other	65.8%

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Wireshark	12.3%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	10.0%
LinkRunner	9.4%
Other	68.3%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Raja Xabi

Technical Manager at APRAL

Improved bandwidth management and network visibility have resulted in financial benefits and streamlined operations

There is always room for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, such as implementing instant reporting based on business intelligence reports and more granular filters in their dashboard to improve the GUI view and reporting. The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model is quite costly compared to other brands. If users are comfortable with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, they have to make the hard decision to invest, and it's suggested from a user's perspective that SolarWinds should improve their financial model and licensing to become competitive, especially for small to medium businesses.

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DonniUgalde

Senior I.T. Systems Engineer at Pro Techs MSP

Provides visibility into the network, and the GUI is easy to use

I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated. It would have been easy to hit a drop-down and select a filter. If I only wanted to look at DCP, UDP, or IP, it would be easy to filter it out. Advanced network knowledge is required to get a lot out of the tool. However, it's very easy to install and deploy. It would be nice if there were some handheld Android devices with a Wireshark-specialized application that would allow us to mirror a Cisco port. Then, we can just plug into the port and click the green start button, and it will start ingesting the packet capture. Then, we won’t be using a laptop. The only downside is that we must have a laptop and connect a network cable. Some new laptops don't have network ports, so we have to get another adapter. Having an all-in-one device, like NetAlly or Fluke, and some of their network devices would be cool.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The support is excellent."

"The performance analysis is a valuable feature. With the performance analyzer, we can see the realtime monitoring, the realtime performance, and historical performance on specific components like virtualization storage, CPU, servers and network equipment."

"The bandwidth monitoring functionality is one of the most important features for our customers. When the customer notices that their bandwidth usage is too high for some reason, they will use the traffic analysis within SolarWinds NTA to identify which protocols (e.g. HTTPS) or applications are using up the bandwidth."

"This solution gives us important information about the utilization of protocols, particularly in terms of how often they are used."

"They have instructional videos and other information available on the site to assist you with learning it."

"The bandwidth indicates the utilization of the devices; if any issue occurs, it triggers an alert for me."

"In terms of the implementation, we've actually used SAM, the server and application monitoring tools. The network configuration tools are very useful in terms of bulk upgrading switches and infrastructure. Also, the Network Traffic Analyzer was extremely useful to track down errant users soaking up bandwidth."

"The solution helps manage networks."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

"It helps in analyzing if something looks suspicious, such as a brute force attack or scanning from somewhere."

"It has good basic features."

"Wireshark's best features are that it lets us see what traffic is in the network and what data should be encrypted."

"The most valuable feature is the traffic gate, which shows which IPs are getting more bandwidth or traffic."

"The solution is easy to install and use."

"The most valuable feature of Wireshark is the ability to choose a destination of flow that has not been working as expected."

"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 initial setup is simple."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

"Currently, it shows only the top ten applications or ports in use, while the remaining data appears as 'remaining traffic,' causing confusion."

"There are some areas for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. There are some challenges with the solution when compared to other monitoring tools such as difficulty in operations and difficulty with backup installation. My team is currently trying out different solutions but would need to see how it goes."

"It can be complex to set up and configure."

"It's scalable, but it could be simplified because it's not completely easy."

"I'm expecting to see a little bit more artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. They need a bit more sophistication in that."

"I would like to see more artificial intelligence capabilities."

"There is a lack of documentation ......as well as a lack of dashboards."

"The solution needs better log management and log coordination with tools."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

"The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance."

"The only thing that I don't like is sometimes there is an update, and something that I was using is either no longer there or it has changed."

"The initial setup depends upon the basics. You need to have a clear understanding of the basics."

"It would be better if they offered a hybrid version like My Cloud Control."

"The Wireshark search function shows green for a correct search and red for an incorrect search. If there were a way to provide a description about what a search - and the similar ones which are available - can do, while a person is typing it, it would make the product easier to use and simultaneously decrease the learning curve."

"Wireshark's UI isn't easy to handle and doesn't have as nice a view as Omnipeek."

"Its user interface was a little less friendly. They can make its user interface a little bit more friendly. It is for technical people, and most of the technical people would be able to figure it out, but it would be good to improve its user interface. They can maybe build artificial intelligence into it. Currently, it takes a lot of manpower to analyze and dissect all the data."

"I would like better control of bandwidth from the service provider."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of nodes."

"The solution's licensing is high-priced."

"While the pricing is fair, it could be better."

"We pay yearly, and we are happy with its price."

"I don't have information on the licensing cost for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because it's bundled with another SolarWinds solution. My organization has seven different models and pays for the license yearly. My organization also had to deploy additional pollers, but the cost wasn't very expensive, though I can't give the exact numbers."

"We have licenses for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer. In terms of pricing, its license is not that expensive versus other tools such as HP."

"SolarWinds' pricing structure is the primary reason why some customers opt for another solution such as ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. In NTA, you are charged per port, meaning that if you have a 24-port switch you will be charged for 24 individual nodes. ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, on the other hand, charges per switch, such that if you add a switch, the entire switch will count as one single node."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

"Wireshark is an open-source product, so it's free to use."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved."

"It is free to download and install. It runs on multiple platforms, so how can you go wrong?"

"The tool is free."

"I am using the free version of this solution."

"We're using the free version of Wireshark."

"It's free."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solutions are best for your needs.

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882,886 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Healthcare Company

University

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model i...

What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

Regarding improvement, the application monitoring capabilities are not exceptional. If SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer could improve in that area, it would be helpful. It is less AIOps driven a...

What do you like most about Wireshark?

The GUI is easy to use.

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.

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Product Reports

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Download SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer product report

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer report

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Also Known As

Netflow Traffic Analyzer

No data available

Overview

SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer enables you to capture data from continuous streams of network traffic and convert those raw numbers into easy-to-interpret charts and tables that quantify exactly how the corporate network is being used, by whom, and for what purpose.

SolarWinds

Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer.

Sample Customers

Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori

Comversion, ADP, Talbots

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)