NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE vs Packetbeat comparison

NETSCOUT and Elastic are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. NETSCOUT is ranked #50 with an average rating of 8.5, while Elastic is ranked #66 with an average rating of 8.0. NETSCOUT holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Elastic’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NETSCOUT users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Elastic users who would recommend it.

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Read 7 NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE reviews

944 Views
897 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Packetbeat

Read 2 Packetbeat reviews

378 Views
374 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Packetbeat

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE and Packetbeat based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Auvik, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Monitoring Software Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

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Helped 881,082 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

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

50th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Packetbeat

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

66th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Packetbeat is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE	0.5%
Packetbeat	0.3%
Other	99.2%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Ian Munoz

Ingeniero en Telecomunicaciones at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Has improved traffic visibility and simplified dashboard use, but could benefit from better integration with other tools

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE works very well in our case. We have not experienced any troubles with traffic analysis SolarWinds has a dashboard that is older and not as user-friendly. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE has an easier dashboard to manipulate compared to SolarWinds. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is not…

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Mohammed-Abdelalim

Assistant Vice President at QualityKiosk Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Network analytics have delivered lightweight, integrated visibility for search, observability, and security

Packetbeat analyzes specific protocols and is not suitable for full capture of all network traffic and network flows. I recall that Packetbeat can cover a limited number of protocols including ICMP, but not as deeply as other solutions. It covers NetFlows and these types of flows, but not at the level of a deep packet capture that you can find in the market where it taps every single packet in the network. Packetbeat is more about bringing statistics about the packets, but it doesn't capture these packets. The development intention of Packetbeat appears to be to provide a window for application monitoring and performance analytics, and for that purpose, it is doing sufficiently well. However, if the vendor has another goal to build a similar network monitoring solution that exists in the market, which is outside of Elastic's business nature, Packetbeat is a sensor that needs to be improved to the level of deep packet capture where it loses no packets in the network. That improvement would take Elastic to another level.

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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 most valuable features of this solution are monitoring and maintaining traffic queuing, as well as seeing who is using the bandwidth."

"NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE has an easier dashboard to manipulate compared to SolarWinds."

"This is a very reliable and complete solution for troubleshooting and monitoring environments."

"The most valuable feature of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is the network troubleshooting analysis. You can pinpoint an issue before it could shut down the network."

"The solution's technical support team consists of good engineers and technicians."

"I like the single pane of glass view. I like being able to go to one place instead of having to hunt around for everything."

"I like the single pane of glass view because it presents everything in one window, obviously. You can see it all. With a quick glance, you get a pretty good snapshot of what's going on in a particular situation."

"The beauty of Packetbeat is that it is easy, free, and lightweight, while other solutions are expensive and will accumulate a huge amount of data."

"Elastic's scalability, in terms of cluster robustness, is definitely the most valuable feature."

Cons

"The GUI interface and dashboards could be more attractive to the customer."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

"They require a lot of manual effort as traffic flows, networks, and formal times change."

"In terms of additional features, I would like to see better event notification. Right now, we put in an email address to receive an alert and it receives every event and every alert that comes out. We need something a little more granular."

"NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is not integrated with SolarWinds. They work in different ways."

"Usability is the area with the biggest room for improvement. We've found that with NETSCOUT, while it's a fantastic product, the usability is a major factor because there are just way too many clicks. It's obvious, from our experience, that the people who are developing the product aren't using it."

"Before an attack starts, seeing the traffic behavior and activities would be great. The tool should also share alerts since it is an area where the product has certain shortcomings."

"The scalability of the agent itself could be improved."

"Packetbeat analyzes specific protocols and is not suitable for full capture of all network traffic and network flows."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive."

"The price of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is high. The other solutions are less expensive but we cannot depend on the other solutions, they are not as stable."

"Cost is contracted on a yearly basis. There is no additional cost beyond the standard licensing."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

18%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	4

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive.

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What needs improvement with NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is not integrated with SolarWinds. They work in different ways.

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What is your primary use case for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

I use the solution in my company to analyze international traffic.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Packetbeat?

Elastic is pretty cheap for large enterprises but unaffordable for small ones.

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What needs improvement with Packetbeat?

I think that the scalability of the agent itself could be improved. It is also a bit limited in terms of capabilities. When a customer needs to customize the collection, I think it's tougher there.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Packetbeat?

I've been using Packetbeat ( /products/packetbeat-reviews ) for call centers, for logs, for observability, network monitoring, and some search engine optimization.

See all answers

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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

Download Packetbeat product report

Also Known As

nGeniusPULSE

No data available

Overview

NETSCOUT’s nGeniusPULSE delivers the visibility needed into today’s evolving IT eco-system to ensure the availability, reliability, and performance of your mission-critical business services across your multi-cloud environment, from wherever users need access.

NETSCOUT

Packetbeat is an open-source real-time application monitoring tool designed to capture network packets and provide insights into application performance and network congestion.

Packetbeat allows IT professionals to monitor network traffic efficiently by collecting and analyzing packets. It provides valuable insights into network latency and helps identify performance issues. It is part of the Elastic Stack, making it easy to integrate with Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana for sophisticated data analysis and visualization. Its open-source nature adds flexibility for customization, catering to specific monitoring needs.

What are the crucial features of Packetbeat?

Real-time packet capture: Enables immediate analysis and monitoring of network packets.
Protocol analysis: Supports analysis of various protocols like HTTP, DNS, and MySQL.
Seamless integration: Works efficiently with other Elastic Stack components.
Open-source: Offers customization and adaptability for IT requirements.

What benefits or ROI should be expected?

Cost efficiency: Leveraging open-source software reduces license costs.
Enhanced visibility: Provides detailed insights into network operations.
Scalability: Can be scaled to monitor expansive networks as needs grow.

In industries like finance and healthcare, where network uptime and data integrity are crucial, Packetbeat is implemented to monitor network performance and troubleshoot issues promptly. Its ability to analyze traffic in real-time ensures that potential bottlenecks are addressed swiftly, maintaining operational efficiency.

Elastic

Sample Customers

Banco Votorantim

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

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