AirCheck G3 vs Wireshark comparison

NetAlly and Wireshark are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. NetAlly is ranked #7, while Wireshark is ranked #4 with an average rating of 9.2. NetAlly holds a 8.8% mindshare in NT, compared to Wireshark’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NetAlly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Wireshark users who would recommend it.

AirCheck G3

Read 13 AirCheck G3 reviews

1,136 Views
954 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Wireshark

Read 63 Wireshark reviews

2,723 Views
1,116 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

AirCheck G3

Wireshark

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

Wireshark and AirCheck G3 are leading network analysis tools with distinct user benefits. Despite Wireshark’s strong user reviews regarding its advanced capabilities and cost-effectiveness, AirCheck G3 stands out for its specialized hardware features and ease of use.

Features: Wireshark users value its comprehensive packet analysis, protocol decoding, and extensive filter capabilities. AirCheck G3 is appreciated for its hardware portability, network discovery features, and real-time troubleshooting.

Room for Improvement: Wireshark reviews suggest a need for more intuitive setup processes and improved graphical analysis tools. Users of AirCheck G3 point to its limited software-based network testing options and higher cost.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Wireshark users note a straightforward deployment but highlight a steep learning curve and community-based support. AirCheck G3 users find the device quick to deploy with strong technical support from the vendor.

Pricing and ROI: Wireshark is praised for its free usage model and high ROI by minimizing network downtimes through its detailed analysis. AirCheck G3’s higher initial setup cost is balanced by its portability and effective troubleshooting.

To learn more, read our detailed AirCheck G3 vs. Wireshark Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3 vs. Wireshark

February 2026

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Helped 881,757 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

AirCheck G3

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Wireshark

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirCheck G3 is 8.8%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 12.3%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Wireshark	12.3%
AirCheck G3	8.8%
Other	78.9%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

David-Prusynski

Senior Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

A portable, rugged device that reduces resolution time and saves thousands of dollars

It would be nice if I could import an AP list with a MAC address. When it looks at access points, it should tell me the AP name instead of the MAC address. When you get a MAC address, you can eventually find out where you want to go. However, a lot of times, if I just have an AP name, I know that's in this area or that's over there. I would like that function because AirMagnet, which is the precursor of this, had that ability where you could basically import a list of APs and MAC addresses, and then it could display those instead of just a MAC address. That'd be a nice function. We should be able to put an AP to MAC address in Excel and export it as a CSV file and then import it. That'd be nice to have because I have that information for all my hospitals. The one I'm doing this weekend has got 550 access points. It is much easier for me to look at an AP name than to get a MAC address. Currently, I have to go to a different spreadsheet and try to find that MAC address. If I had the AP name, it would be like, "Okay. Yep. See it. Done." They are doing spectrum analysis in G3, which I would love to have in G2. That's a nice tool to have, and from what I heard, that's the same price. I'd like to have that. The other function I would love to see is the ability to test fiber. I know the $10,000 version has the ability to test fiber, but I would love this lower-cost device to be able to test fiber.

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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to push data to Link-Live is really important. On the main screen, you can see all the system parameters, and then you can also go and see all the current systems that are operating. They all have different SSIDs or system identifiers, and you can see all SSIDs that are operating in a certain area. Being able to see that and being able to dive into each one and figure out what frequency it is operating under is valuable."

"The solution saves us a factor of 10 in time. If a typical WiFI ticket would cost me two hours with AirCheck, then it would cost me 20 hours without it. At 20 hours, you start to refuse to do tickets because it is just too expensive."

"The auto-test, channel scanner, packet capture, and Link-Live integration are all crucial features we use regularly. The wired cable tester is also indispensable. We frequently run into problems during cable testing that are hard to pin down. When tracking down a cable problem, you usually need to plug something into the cable and ensure the cable plant is reliable."

"The information provided by the solution for resolving connectivity and performance problems is very thorough. The reporting functionality is extremely good as I can pass that information on with little input. The device will identify issues and problems, e.g., the diagnostic material. When you have Internet access, it sends the information to your email address, which is very useful."

"The one-button AutoTest feature is an amazing tool. It works well. It tells you whether or not you have shorts in your network, your PoE+ is running low on voltage, and shows you your link speed."

"I also like the remote session and the ability to log in to the device remotely. You can log in to the tester with your computer and can see the screen and operate the tester remotely. This is a very cool function, but it's very advanced."

"AirCheck G2 gives me an overview of which channels are used by the access points or who delivers the Wi-Fi, which gives me a clear picture of what's going on."

"The AirMapper Site Survey on the AirCheck G2 is the most valuable feature. It is really nice to be able to upload the maps remotely to the website, and then have the analyst upload the results so we can review the data."

More AirCheck G3 pros

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

"What's best about Wireshark is that it doesn't require installation. It supports cards and monitoring permissions and is sufficient for appending and capturing activities. You won't need to install other tools to use Wireshark, so this saves you time. You can capture packets at any time from your laptop through Wireshark."

"The options that are required to get the details for the packet drops are good."

"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."

"The initial setup is simple."

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

"The GUI is easy to use."

"Wireshark helps us to understand network traffic."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

"If it was capable of downloading MIBs onto the device, then we could identify the manufacturer. Sometimes, when I am troubleshooting, there is a Mac address. For example, there is a rogue device and it just gives us a Mac address, which is fine. It gives us something, which is better than nothing. It would be nice if it was able to download a MIB where we could associate it with that Mac address and the manufacturer."

"I would like them to modify the interface. The button to change profiles is fairly small. When you have interventions, it is not always possible to have a ballpoint pen or perfect precision touch with it, since sometimes you need to touch it quite a lot when your hands are very dirty. I would like a special pen that is compatible with that responsive screen. That would make it easier."

"A feature I would like to see is the ability to charge the device via a PoE outlet. Usually, I need to charge it at home. It would be good to leave the device plugged in and charging at a PoE source at the customer site after a quick look at the network when I have moved on to other tasks."

"The solution doesn't have much functional information online."

"I would love to have a button that pretends that you're an iPhone 5 or an Android Samsung, then tell me what you think the experience is. This is a very difficult thing to do because each of these things has different radios in them and behaves differently. Now, I can go into the user's office, and say, "The tool says everything's green. The WiFI infrastructure is fine, but their iPhone experience sucks." Is it a problem with their particular iPhone or is it a problem with any iPhone model? If I could have this solution emulate an iPhone model so I can walk into that room, and say, "My tools pretending to be your iPhone and it works fine. It must be your particular iPhone that we have a problem with." I found mobile phones in general have lousy radios and the coverage isn't strong enough, but it would be a nice feature."

"NetAlly has been behind the curve on visualization, Wi-Fi design, and heat maps for a little while now. They're perfectly aware of this deficiency, but what they offer is good enough for a lot of people. It's not suitable for larger shops, but it works in a pinch. The AirMapper and subsequent AirMagnet integration is an afterthought."

"We use .1x authentication, so I need to download the certificate onto the device. It would be nice to have this functionality through the cloud as well. Right now, you need to do it through the software by connecting your laptop physically to the AirCheck. This is one thing that is a bit slow."

"It would be nice if I could import an AP list with a MAC address. When it looks at access points, it should tell me the AP name instead of the MAC address. When you get a MAC address, you could eventually find out where you want to go. However, a lot of times, if I just have an AP name, I know that's in this area or that's over there. I would like that function because AirMagnet, which is the precursor of this, had that ability where you could basically import a list of APs and MAC addresses, and then it could display those instead of just a MAC address."

More AirCheck G3 cons

"We'd like to be able to extract the output into an Excel table."

"It is difficult to scale this solution."

"Wireshark is similar to an OS defense tool, meaning that it runs on an OS such as Ubuntu and Fedora, but I'm unsure if it's compatible with Windows or if it's a straightforward process to run it on Windows. Right now, my team needs to run Wireshark from a dongle to use it, so it's an OS-dependable tool, and that's an area for improvement. I was unable to use Wireshark on Windows, and I couldn't capture it, as I'm unsure how to configure the wireless card into monitoring mode on Windows. The process was straightforward on Linux, but it wasn't the case on Windows OS. It seems Wireshark isn't compatible with all OS. For example, you can analyze the log, and you can analyze it on the Windows server, but you can't do a capture in Windows. Configuring Wireshark for Windows isn't as easy as configuring it for Linux."

"You need good network connectivity to download during the setup, otherwise, it might take a while."

"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."

"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."

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

"This product needs to improve the UI."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'd always love a lower price, but as compared to some of the other tools, it is fairly reasonable. I personally bought one. So, I must have thought the value was there because I'm spending my own hard cash on it, not just the company's. You can get support. I don't have support on my personal device. We did buy support for our company devices. It is reasonable. It is not super expensive or astronomical."

"If you find a feature you need, you have to call them and add it, but you should be able to use the product. You spend money on and invested in multiple devices and can't even use half of the features. They should negotiate with large enterprises who buy large numbers of units to provide NetAlly support for all of them at a nominal fee."

"Pricing is on par with the rest of the industry and the licensing is decent."

"The price is fairly expensive, if you are a single individual. For me, it's well worth the cost of the unit. Depending on the nature of the work that you're doing, the upfront costs can be expensive. Typically, what happens in an environment is a department might have one device as opposed to technicians having them individually."

"The upfront cost of the solution is around $4,000."

"The overall cost of the solution, compared to the time saved—the number of man-hours devoted to other means of troubleshooting—is incomparable."

"For a few thousand dollars, you save yourself a ton of time. It's a great deal."

"The product has a pretty good price."

More AirCheck G3 pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

"The solution is open source so is free."

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

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

"It is free."

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

"It is an open-source solution."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

11%

University

Government

Performing Arts

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	11

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

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Wireshark?

The GUI is easy to use.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs AirCheck G3

Compared 12% of the time

iTrinegy NE-ONE Professional vs AirCheck G3

Compared 9% of the time

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Microsoft Network Monitor vs Wireshark

Compared 12% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Wireshark

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Wireshark

Compared 8% of the time

Colasoft Capsa vs Wireshark

Compared 7% of the time

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Wireshark

Compared 7% of the time

More Wireshark Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3

February 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Wireshark

January 2026

Download Wireshark product report

Also Known As

AirCheck G2, AirCheck

No data available

Overview

AirCheck G3 is the most cost-effective hardware-enabled site survey solution for Wi-Fi 6/6E networks. It provides network professionals of any skill level with complete and accurate information to survey and validate Wi-Fi deployments and changes, resolve connectivity and performance problems quickly, speed up closure of trouble tickets, and ensure your Wi-Fi network meets end users’ needs.

The new and improved battery life of 10 hours (3 - 4 hours charge) lasts you and your teams throughout the day.

AirCheck G3 Product Info

NetAlly

Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer.

Wireshark

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Comversion, ADP, Talbots

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3 vs. Wireshark

February 2026

Free Report: AirCheck G3 vs. Wireshark

Find out what your peers are saying about AirCheck G3 vs. Wireshark and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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