Ettercap vs NetworkMiner

Ettercap8.6Visit NetworkMiner8.4Visit

Higher score Ettercap #7 in Network Protocol Analyzers 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Ettercap

vs

NetworkMiner #8 in Network Protocol Analyzers 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit NetworkMiner

• Ettercap fits best

  Traffic interception and Wi-Fi decryption

• NetworkMiner fits best

  PCAP artifact extraction on Windows

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Side by side

Feature	Ettercap 8.6/10 Visit ↗	NetworkMiner 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	8.4
Ranking	#7 in Network Protocol Analyzers	#8 in Network Protocol Analyzers
Best for	Traffic interception and Wi-Fi decryption	PCAP artifact extraction on Windows
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	$1,300/user one-time
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Linux, macOS	Windows, Linux
Support	Email, Docs	Email
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Ettercap 5/5 · NetworkMiner 4/5
PCAP support	✓	✓
Traffic decryption	✓ (best)	—
CLI tools	✓	✓
Remote capture	✓	✓
Flow analysis	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Capture sources	Both	Both
Our review
Pros	Free and open source with no commercial pricing tier Supports SSL interception and WEP/WPA Wi-Fi packet decryption Combines live sniffing, PCAP handling, filtering, and plugins	Extracts files, images, emails, credentials and certificates from captures Supports PCAP parsing, live sniffing and PCAP-over-IP reception Builds host inventories with passive asset and protocol discovery
Cons	Desktop deployment limits it to local analyzer workflows Platform support is focused on Linux and macOS Packet modification and interception require authorized security work	Does not decrypt TLS traffic itself Professional pricing starts at $1,300 per license Desktop platform coverage is limited to Windows and Linux
Our verdict	Ettercap is an open-source network security suite for authorized traffic inspection and man-in-the-middle testing. It is aimed at security professionals and network administrators who need to inspect live traffic, analyze protocols, work… Read the review →	NetworkMiner is an open-source network forensics and packet-analysis tool for incident responders, SOC analysts, investigators and law-enforcement teams. It analyzes PCAP and other capture data, extracts artifacts such as files, images,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Ettercap — where it wins

  • Free and open source with no commercial pricing tier
  • Supports SSL interception and WEP/WPA Wi-Fi packet decryption
  • Combines live sniffing, PCAP handling, filtering, and plugins

  Where it doesn't

  • Desktop deployment limits it to local analyzer workflows
  • Platform support is focused on Linux and macOS
  • Packet modification and interception require authorized security work

• NetworkMiner — where it wins

  • Extracts files, images, emails, credentials and certificates from captures
  • Supports PCAP parsing, live sniffing and PCAP-over-IP reception
  • Builds host inventories with passive asset and protocol discovery

  Where it doesn't

  • Does not decrypt TLS traffic itself
  • Professional pricing starts at $1,300 per license
  • Desktop platform coverage is limited to Windows and Linux

• Ettercap8.6/10 · Free plan

  A free desktop analyzer for traffic interception, PCAP work, and Wi-Fi decryption.

  Visit EttercapFull verdict →
• NetworkMiner8.4/10 · Free plan

  A focused Windows-first choice for extracting evidence from PCAP and live captures.

  Visit NetworkMinerFull verdict →