Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
Sagar More - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Ares Management Corporation
Real User
Jun 19, 2022
Free with excellent community support, enables deep packet inspection and is continually being improved
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to decrypt traffic and the abundance of filters available are both valuable features."
  • "Wireshark has been getting better and better in the time I've been using it and it is a very helpful tool."
  • "The solution has a steep learning curve. There are so many filters and features that are frequently being updated, it takes research, experience and familiarity to be able to use them. It could be a lot more user-friendly."
  • "The solution has a steep learning curve. There are so many filters and features that are frequently being updated, it takes research, experience and familiarity to be able to use them."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use Wireshark for troubleshooting critical issues in our network, retrieving packet headers using packet capture, and for creating custom apps. There are six people on our team and we all use Wireshark on our devices. 

How has it helped my organization?

When we are stuck with an issue that requires deep packet inspection, we capture the traffic with Wireshark, which allows us to resolve it.  

What is most valuable?

The ability to decrypt traffic and the abundance of filters available are both valuable features.

What needs improvement?

The solution has a steep learning curve. There are so many filters and features that are frequently being updated, it takes research, experience and familiarity to be able to use them. It could be a lot more user-friendly. 

Buyer's Guide
Wireshark
February 2026
Learn what your peers think about Wireshark. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I think Wireshark is the most stable product of its kind.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable, you can capture traffic on any device regardless of your vendor. 

How are customer service and support?

We have never needed to use customer service or technical support. Whenever we have an issue, a Google search provides us everything we need through community support including Wireshark tutorials.  

How was the initial setup?

The setup of the product is very simple. It's freeware, just download the .exe, go through the installation and select the desired interface you want to capture traffic on. It's a simple and very straightforward process. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees.  

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. Wireshark has been getting better and better in the time I've been using it and it is a very helpful tool. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Network Specialist at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
May 15, 2022
Free solution with a large online community, which makes it simple to troubleshoot problems
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to troubleshoot issues because there's a large online community."
  • "Wireshark is very good for network engineers; it's free software, you can install it very easily, and there are a lot of features."
  • "DNS could be improved."
  • "DNS could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

This solution is deployed on-premises.

What is most valuable?

Wireshark provides many different functions which are very useful for my job. There are a lot of features, and I still haven't used everything yet. It's easy to troubleshoot issues because there's a large online community.

What needs improvement?

DNS could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for 10 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is pretty good. If I have a big file, I can always divide it into smaller ones. I haven't had any problems with opening big files.

How are customer service and support?

There's a big community of people on the internet involved in Wireshark. There are a lot of free resources on Wireshark. If I ever need anything, I just search on YouTube, and there are people that are analyzing or troubleshooting a particular issue with DNS or with retransmission, etc.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is very easy. It's simple to install it on your PC.

We have a software team that automatically installs the solution on our PC, and a variety of my colleagues use it for troubleshooting. There are multiple teams involved.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment was done in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Wireshark is free software, so you don't have to pay any licensing fee. Individual people can use it and then donate to Wireshark.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 10 out of 10. 

Wireshark is very good for network engineers. It's free software, and you can install it very easily, and there are a lot of features. I mainly use Wireshark in Windows. My advice is to do research on the internet, especially on YouTube, if you have any troubleshooting issues.

It's a very popular solution, and if you're able to, I think it would be helpful to donate to the organization so people can continue to develop Wireshark.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Wireshark
February 2026
Learn what your peers think about Wireshark. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Aqeel Junaid - PeerSpot reviewer
Junior Executive - Information Security at sunshine holdings
Real User
Leaderboard
Mar 23, 2024
Used to analyze patterns in the network and check for any malicious traffic generated from devices
Pros and Cons
  • "Wireshark is a good tool to start with network analyzing and packet capturing."
  • "The solution’s user interface could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Wireshark is a network analyzer used to capture traffic. It's used to analyze patterns in the network to check for any malicious traffic generated from devices or endpoints.

What is most valuable?

Wireshark is a good tool to start with network analyzing and packet capturing. The solution provides good performance and stability.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s user interface could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Wireshark since 2019.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Wireshark is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Wireshark is not a scalable solution. The tool's purpose is not to scale, and there is no use case to scale it.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

I have deployed Wireshark on my laptop. You need to download the software from the web and then run it. It's free of charge, and there's no license involved. We need to enable the solution and run it to capture the traffic.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend the solution to other users. Wireshark is a good tool to start with network analyzing and packet capturing. You can use Wireshark for packet capturing to find the root cause of any issues in the network.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Ahmet Kilic - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Unit Manager at Bankalararası Kart Merkezi (BKM)
Real User
Leaderboard
Jan 12, 2023
It's an effective way to troubleshoot unknown issues, but it could use a dashboard

What is our primary use case?

Wireshark is a packet analysis tool. We check Wireshark when we don't know what's causing an issue.  The network packets never lie. Three people on my company's network team use Wireshark. 

How has it helped my organization?

It's an efficient solution for determining unexplained issues. It helps us rule out the network as the cause of an issue. When people don't know the reason for a problem, they always believe it's the network. Wireshark enables us to prove ourselves to the other teams. 

What is most valuable?

Wireshark is a simple solution. 

What needs improvement?

Wireshark doesn't have a dashboard. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Wireshark for around 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Wireshark is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Wireshark is scalable.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Wireshark is easy and usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Wireshark is open source, but you can pay for support. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Wireshark seven out of 10. If you use the free version, you can't get technical support, but it's cost-effective. When you first use Wireshark, it can seem complex, but it's an effective solution once you get used to it. Packet analysis is complicated, but it's the best way to do the job once you understand the solution.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2045031 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 26, 2022
Good for diagnostics and working with packet data and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is simple."
  • "Whenever we select one of the packets, in terms of the number of bytes, for example, there are three planes, and in the detailed plane, I have to count the number of bytes manually."

What is our primary use case?

I have been using Wireshark for the packet tracing, and it has helped me to find out whatever site, et cetera. It is useful, basically capturing packets of data on the network.

It helps us to identify the source the packet is originating from and it also helps us to know about the return time of the packet from when the packet is going from our computer to when it reaches the destination IP address. It helps diagnose internet connectivity problems and also helps us to know what the website data consists of and how much data is in the website.

And it also helps us to know about the various protocols which are being utilized when we are connecting to the internet. We also get to know what bites, et cetera, are present in our data or if there is any malicious packet that is not supposed to come in. Based on it, we can configure our firewall. 

What is most valuable?

It's helping me to get to know about the packet data. I'm getting to know about the source destination IP, for example. That's quite useful to me. 

Overall, it's a great product. 

The initial setup is simple. 

It is stable. 

What needs improvement?

Whenever we select one of the packets, in terms of the number of bytes, for example, there are three planes, and in the detailed plane, I have to count the number of bytes manually. 

Also, sometimes when I'm trying to select the number of bytes, the selection does not go properly. If we were to go on selecting it, the number of bytes also showed up as to how many bytes have been selected in the detailed plane.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable. I don't have any issues with Wireshark while running it. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. I can capture as few or as many packets as I want. There's no issue at all. 

That said, I haven't worked on it professionally, so I cannot comment much on that right now from an organizational perspective.

How are customer service and support?

I've never called technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not use another similar product before. 

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process is not complex at all. You just have to click on the interface, and your Wireshark starts capturing the packets. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not aware of the exact pricing. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user. I'm using it at my college.

I would recommend Wireshark for various network diagnostic purposes.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Hafiz Umar Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder & CEO at ITGAT
Real User
Nov 9, 2022
A comprehensive troubleshooting tool, with excellent deep-packet inspection functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "The strongest feature of this solution, is the ability it gives us to carry out deep-packet inspections on our network, particularly when a function isn't performing as it should."
  • "The strongest feature of this solution, is the ability it gives us to carry out deep-packet inspections on our network, particularly when a function isn't performing as it should."
  • "We would like the product to be developed so that it doesn't rely on internet access for installation. We would like to see all of the components required to be integrated into the installer."
  • "We would like the product to be developed so that it doesn't rely on internet access for installation."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for troubleshooting network issues.

What is most valuable?

The strongest feature of this solution, is the ability it gives us to carry out deep-packet inspections on our network, particularly when a function isn't performing as it should.

What needs improvement?

We would like the product to be developed so that it doesn't rely on internet access for installation. We would like to see all of the components required to be integrated into the installer.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been working with this solution for around three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have found this solution to be scalable across all operating systems.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution is very simple.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved.

What other advice do I have?

We would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PraveenMoule - PeerSpot reviewer
System Network Administrator at Mungi Engineers Pvt. Ltd.
Real User
Jul 29, 2022
Easy to use and feature-rich
Pros and Cons
  • "Wireshark's best features are that it lets us see what traffic is in the network and what data should be encrypted."
  • "Wireshark's best features are that it lets us see what traffic is in the network and what data should be encrypted."
  • "Wireshark could be improved with a delay option when getting data automatically."
  • "Wireshark could be improved with a delay option when getting data automatically. It could also work faster."

What is our primary use case?

I mainly use Wireshark for knowledge purposes, debugging, and to view what's going on in the network.

What is most valuable?

Wireshark's best features are that it lets us see what traffic is in the network and what data should be encrypted.

What needs improvement?

Wireshark could be improved with a delay option when getting data automatically. It could also work faster.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Wireshark for over five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Wireshark is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Wireshark is easy to scale.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, I used Microsoft Network Monitor but switched to Wireshark because it's open-source and richer in features.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty simple.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented Wireshark myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Wireshark is open-source and free of charge.

What other advice do I have?

Wireshark is a very nice product that's really easy to use from the start. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
ASM Naushad Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
May 23, 2022
The best packet capturing tool
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the traffic gate, which shows which IPs are getting more bandwidth or traffic."
  • "The most valuable feature is the traffic gate, which shows which IPs are getting more bandwidth or traffic."
  • "Wireshark could be improved by adding more monitoring features."
  • "Wireshark could be improved by adding more monitoring features."

What is our primary use case?

I mainly use Wireshark to look at traffic conditions when something is getting stopped in our network.

What is most valuable?

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

What needs improvement?

Wireshark could be improved by adding more monitoring features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Wireshark since 2008.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Wireshark is stable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very simple.

What other advice do I have?

Wireshark is the best packet capturing tool, and I would rate it eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user