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ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer vs Wireshark comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
8th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (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 July 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer is 2.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 13.4%, up from 11.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

Aneesh Mangla - PeerSpot reviewer
High cost-effectiveness and reliable alerting ensure proactive network management
Sometimes customers are unaware about their own network. For example, we need SMTP credentials for Layer 2 switches to do automatic discovery of network devices. Sometimes the network management teams are unaware of their SMTP credentials because the teams have been shuffled since the network was deployed. Or sometimes, when we support our government and defense customers, they don't have clearance to share these credentials with us. Some of the features, such as auto discoverability, get hampered if the customer is not aware of their own network or somehow can't share privileges and credentials with our tool for them to work properly. Not in ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer in particular, but there are other features of the OpManager suite that could afford to be updated. There is something called a CLI, command-line interface, that allows us to configure network devices such as switches. This is old technology. This product suite has CLI-based configurations, but as of last year, most network devices come with Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP). OpManager does not support this functionality, and we don't really have a timeline on when ZTP functionality will be available. In ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, we have to set custom thresholds to get alerted if there is a problem in network connectivity. It would be helpful if we could automate the tool such that we don't have to set thresholds manually, and the tool automatically alerts us when it detects issues. When experts deploy this tool, we already know what thresholds should be normal. But customers in general may not have this skill set. For newer customers who need to adopt this product, an automated method of alerting would definitely be beneficial.
Vijay Duggal - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"I give this solution a rating of 10 out of 10 and absolutely recommend it based on our experience."
"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."
"It has a good syntax to put the commands in and get information out of."
"It's easy to troubleshoot issues because there's a large online community."
"It gives us the ability to pinpoint problems and to communicate network problems with software and hardware vendors."
"I can save the traffic and analysis when I want to. Also, it's especially helpful to follow the stream (TCP, UDP, etc.)."
"The most valuable feature of Wireshark is the ability to choose a destination of flow that has not been working as expected."
"Wireshark has a lot of features. It's a powerful tool if you're familiar with it. You can see everything on the network with it."
"I use the filters very often, to determine what type of traffic I am looking for. The use of filter allows traffic to be segmented so that a value can be looked at individually apart from the other traffic."
 

Cons

"In ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, we have to set custom thresholds to get alerted if there is a problem in network connectivity. It would be helpful if we could automate the tool such that we don't have to set thresholds manually, and the tool automatically alerts us when it detects issues."
"The Wireshark search function shows green for a correct search and red for an incorrect search. If there were a way to provide a description about what a search - and the similar ones which are available - can do, while a person is typing it, it would make the product easier to use and simultaneously decrease the learning curve."
"Its user interface was a little less friendly. They can make its user interface a little bit more friendly. It is for technical people, and most of the technical people would be able to figure it out, but it would be good to improve its user interface. They can maybe build artificial intelligence into it. Currently, it takes a lot of manpower to analyze and dissect all the data."
"It needs the ability to follow multiple interfaces for specific traffic from different network zones/virtual networks. It would help to understand how any packet is going through the network."
"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."
"Sometimes I need to use tcpdump when I need to check the packets on CLI."
"Wireshark's UI isn't easy to handle and doesn't have as nice a view as Omnipeek."
"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 only thing that I don't like is sometimes there is an update, and something that I was using is either no longer there or it has changed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is an open-source solution."
"Wireshark is an open-source product, so it's free to use."
"I am using the free version of this solution."
"It is free to download and install. It runs on multiple platforms, so how can you go wrong?"
"We're using the free version of Wireshark."
"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."
"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 tool is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Energy/Utilities Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer?
The cost varies from industry to industry as the cost of a malicious or security incident varies largely among customers. ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer is definitely among the most cost-effective t...
What needs improvement with ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer?
Sometimes customers are unaware about their own network. For example, we need SMTP credentials for Layer 2 switches to do automatic discovery of network devices. Sometimes the network management te...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer?
ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer is an essential piece for anyone who wants to monitor their network because network monitoring is a general term that could mean several things. If you want to measure...
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

Metro Rail, Micron21, Lotus F1 Team, Elizabeth Board of Education, Queen’s University Belfast, DHL, Praxair, Adventist Health, Wipro Infotech, Tropical Shipping USA
Comversion, ADP, Talbots
Find out what your peers are saying about Auvik, NetAlly, Wireshark and others in Network Troubleshooting. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.