Wireshark vs NetworkMiner

Wireshark9.4Visit NetworkMiner8.4Visit

Higher score Wireshark #1 in Network Protocol Analyzers 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Wireshark

vs

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

• Wireshark fits best

  Broad, free desktop packet analysis

• NetworkMiner fits best

  PCAP artifact extraction on Windows

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Side by side

Feature	Wireshark 9.4/10 Visit ↗	NetworkMiner 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.4
Ranking	#1 in Network Protocol Analyzers	#8 in Network Protocol Analyzers
Best for	Broad, free desktop packet analysis	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	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Email
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Wireshark 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	Live capture and offline analysis support Deep inspection, filtering, decryption, and PCAP support Includes TShark and remote capture over SSH	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 may not fit hosted or browser-based workflows Remote capture is provided through SSH Its extensive feature set is focused on technical packet analysis	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	Wireshark is an open-source network protocol analyzer for capturing, browsing, filtering, and inspecting network traffic. It is designed for network professionals, security experts, developers, and educators who need to examine live… 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

• Wireshark — where it wins

  • Live capture and offline analysis support
  • Deep inspection, filtering, decryption, and PCAP support
  • Includes TShark and remote capture over SSH

  Where it doesn't

  • Desktop deployment may not fit hosted or browser-based workflows
  • Remote capture is provided through SSH
  • Its extensive feature set is focused on technical packet analysis

• 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

• Wireshark9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad, free desktop analyzer for live captures, PCAP files, filtering, and protocol inspection.

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

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

  Visit NetworkMinerFull verdict →