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Observer GigaStor vs Wireshark comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

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

Observer GigaStor
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (86th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (9th)
Wireshark
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 3.1%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 14.3%, up from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Wireshark14.3%
Observer GigaStor3.1%
Other82.6%
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

Jeroen-Dubbelman - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Bitrate
Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience
There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.
Vijay Duggal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Specialist at Squarepoint Capital
Provides detailed traffic analysis and helps troubleshoot issues
There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. While the solution supports sampling as fine as one millisecond, it requires a copy at that interval. My Python script allows me to achieve a granularity of up to ten microseconds, but I can't go beyond that. When dealing with provisioning on both issues, it would be beneficial if I could go down to the microsecond level, if not the nanosecond. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Industry-leading line rates, packet-capture technology and data-mining capabilities are the most valuable features."
"I have no regrets using this product, I am very satisfied for what I paid for it and for the things I am able to do with the product."
"The ability to capture packets. It is not only for monitoring. That is very important for a company that wants to keep an eye on the packets, the transactions, the flows..."
"It's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."
"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."
"Go take a look at it. It's a great product and has great capabilities."
"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."
"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"
"I can save the traffic and analysis when I want to. Also, it's especially helpful to follow the stream (TCP, UDP, etc.)."
"The transmission and reception issues are valuable."
"Wireshark is a great tool to help network engineers identify network problems like broadcasting, injection, poisoning, etc."
"I find Wireshark a very useful tool. Its best feature is that it allows me to deeply understand what's going on at the packet level, as well as any adverse signatures that I can analyze."
"This is the de-facto standard network protocol analysis tool."
"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."
"For example, while debugging through food issues, we can draw the graph of the data captured in the solution and see how the throughput is moving."
"The initial setup is simple."
 

Cons

"The Observer Console UI is consistent and stable, but could use some updating to be more modern."
"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily."
"The interface is pretty complex, so for the average user, it takes a while to get up to speed with it. I would like it to be more user-friendly."
"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."
"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."
"As of this moment, the graphics might need some improvement, because a lot of the information there must be input first to have full potential."
"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."
"There are some issues, in our environment that puts processing restraints on the Gigastor when turning on trending data to be sent to APEX."
"It is not an easy program. You will need to study to use it to its full capabilities (follow a course)."
"With Wireshark, you cannot download and utilize the packet in automation."
"This product needs to improve the UI."
"The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance."
"A room for improvement in Wireshark is its ease of use for beginners; it could be better."
"The solution’s user interface could be improved."
"The product is great but I wish there were more of an emphasis on the command line tools."
"Wireshark gets stuck when it is a larger file."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite expensive."
"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."
"Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved."
"It is free."
"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
"It's free."
"Wireshark is open-source and free of charge."
"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."
"It's a stand-alone tool. If there is a commercial license for it I am unaware of it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Wholesaler/Distributor
5%
Computer Software Company
5%
University
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Observer GigaStor?
There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues or...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer GigaStor?
I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten. It's quite expensive.
What needs improvement with Observer GigaStor?
GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities coul...
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange
Comversion, ADP, Talbots
Find out what your peers are saying about Observer GigaStor vs. Wireshark and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.