SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Wireshark comparison

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...

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

To learn more, read our detailed Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Report (Updated: March 2025).

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

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Helped 845,040 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

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th)

Wireshark

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (3rd)

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 5.6%, down 7.1% compared to last year.
Wireshark, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 13.2% mindshare, up 12.2% since last year.

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

DeepakVyas

Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited

Utilization alerts enhance monitoring with good alerts

The tool itself is very complicated, so training is required to handle it effectively. Configuration and the streamlining process are very complex. In my view, it is a good product if properly configured and streamlined according to your IT infrastructure. For enterprise-level organizations, SolarWinds is more appropriate than for small and medium enterprises. I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

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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 software management tools are very useful for our customers."

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

"The most valuable features are the bandwidth analyzer, the monitoring, the network analyzer, it has overall good performance, and an easy deployment."

"This tool provides insights into top utilization applications or it identifies which circuit or application is consuming the most on the complete one-gig circuit traffic path."

"With SolarWinds, we are now able to accurately gauge bandwidth consumption."

"I find this tool very helpful in identifying the top traffic paths from source to destination, and determining which routes are consuming the most resources."

"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."

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

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pros

"Wireshark helps us to understand network traffic."

"The GUI is easy to use."

"The initial setup is simple."

"It is a stable product. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."

"I have found the most valuable feature you can design your sniffer the way you want to."

"It's easy to troubleshoot issues because there's a large online community."

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

"I can save the traffic and analysis when I want to. Also, it's especially helpful to follow the stream (TCP, UDP, etc.)."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

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

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

"It's not a cheap product, so the pricing could be improved."

"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."

"SolarWinds' technical support is ok, but it could be faster and more knowledgeable."

"The Atlas module that is used for building the network map is very bad."

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

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

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer cons

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

"It is difficult to scale this solution."

"A room for improvement in Wireshark is its ease of use for beginners. It could be better. Another room for improvement in the tool is for it to provide more details about the traffic load. At the moment, Wireshark is adequate for me, so there isn't anything I'd like added to it in its next version."

"Wireshark could make the filtering rules easier to apply and offer a drag-and-drop option as opposed to type and text."

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

"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."

"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."

"I have not used Wireshark to an advanced point where I could provide a detailed opinion on improvements needed."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The pricing is reasonable."

"Licensing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is paid yearly, and there are no additional costs that you need to pay apart from the standard licensing fees because you don't need to purchase another solution to make SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer work. Pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is more expensive than other solutions."

"The price of this solution is exceptional."

"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."

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

"The pricing is really good."

More SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."

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

"The solution is open source so is free."

"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."

"Wireshark is free software, so you don't have to pay any licensing fee. Individual people can use it and then donate to Wireshark."

"Wireshark is open-source and free of charge."

"I've never personally had to pay for it, making it a highly valuable internet resource that's accessible for use. While they offer some paid versions, our firm has utilized the free version for the past three years."

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

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

71%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

University

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

Prices care comparable.

What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?

The plotting of the device on the map is not appropriate. It should be like a Meraki cloud, where if you are familiar with Meraki devices, you can locate any device directly on the world map.

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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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer

Download SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer product report

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer report

Download Wireshark product report

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)