SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Wireshark comparison

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

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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, Cisco and others in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA).

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

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

March 2026

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Helped 883,760 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) (4th)

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 6.1%, up 5.5% compared to last year.
Wireshark, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 14.3% mindshare, up 12.9% since last year.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer	6.1%
Darktrace	18.0%
Cisco Secure Network Analytics	11.2%
Other	64.7%

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Wireshark	14.3%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	10.3%
LinkRunner	8.1%
Other	67.3%

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

"It helps us know when a branch is down because it has a graphic presentation of all the locations a node represents."

"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's most valuable feature is its traffic analysis."

"The most valuable feature is the alarm that is set up to trigger based on bandwidth utilization."

"It provides proactive monitoring, rather than waiting for applications to go down due to heavy bandwidth or latency."

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

"The monitoring is perfect, showing you the details for the utilization of resources and network bandwidth."

"What people found most valuable in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is its report customization feature."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

"The initial setup is simple."

"Wireshark has a lot of features. It's a powerful tool if you're familiar with it. You can see everything on the network with it."

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

"Wireshark saves a lot of time, especially with network troubleshooting."

"Wireshark is very user-friendly; even someone with basic IT knowledge can use it."

"The drill-down available for packet analysis is great. It gives a network security engineer insight into what is going on at the packet level and enables better troubleshooting."

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

"Wireshark helps us to understand network traffic."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

"The solution should improve its automation feature. It's quite limited compared to other products."

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

"I would like to see better customization capabilities."

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

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

"Deployment needs improvement. The process is complicated, requiring attention to infrastructure settings and installation of components like the origin application server, platform, close storage, and policy agents."

"It is a scalable solution, but it is costly to scale. Therefore, I would rate scalability at eight out of ten."

"It is very slow to pick the dynamics of the network."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

"Sometimes I need to use tcpdump when I need to check the packets on CLI."

"You need some basic knowledge to work with Wireshark. Maybe it could be more user-friendly just for new users. Just for the new generation."

"I would like to see Wireshark improve the ease of application of the command. The command is very powerful, but not easy to apply."

"There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain."

"I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated."

"Wireshark is restricted when any sort of encryption is involved, such as XSL encryption or DLX."

"With Wireshark, you cannot download and utilize the packet in automation."

"Wireshark could be improved by adding more monitoring features."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"For our environment, we pay approximately $25,000 USD yearly."

"NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is reasonably priced."

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

"The pricing is really good."

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

"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."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

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

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

"It's a stand-alone tool. If there is a commercial license for it I am unaware of it."

"Wireshark is open source and gives great value and functionality to the network investigation."

"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."

"It is an open-source solution."

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

"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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883,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

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

February 2026

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer report

Download SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer product report

Download Wireshark product report

February 2026

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