11 must-have tools for monitoring your bandwidth and network traffic
Have your end-users ever complained about the slowness of their Internet connection ? If you thought your bandwidth was good enough... Don't worry, we've all been there.
But contrary to popular belief, increasing bandwidth is not necessarily the only solution to the problem. First and foremost, you need to identify the root cause of the performance problem(s).
To do this, you need a bandwidth monitoring tool. You can monitor and manage your entire network more effectively. So you don't get lost among the many solutions on the market, we present a comparison of the 11 best Internet connection monitoring software .
What is bandwidth monitoring?
Bandwidth monitoring is an essential IT activity that involves keeping track of devices and Internet connections, while detecting connectivity problems.
A bandwidth monitoring tool gives you clear, real-time visibility of your bandwidth performance, by :
- detecting malfunctions in your connection,
- and regulating the quality of the various network components.
Comparison table: top 11 bandwidth monitoring software products
1 of 6
 ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus |  Bandwidth Controller |  PRTG |  Nagios Core |  Site24x7 |  SolarWinds RMM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For companies with more than 1 employees | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus | Learn more about Bandwidth Controller | Learn more about PRTG | Learn more about Nagios Core | Learn more about Site24x7 | Learn more about SolarWinds RMM |
WhatsUp Gold
WhatsUp Gold is a comprehensive, modular and highly intuitive network supervision tool that gives you 360° visibility of your supervised IT infrastructure and monitoring of all your network resources.
Using real-time dashboards that report on all your interconnections, you can identify and resolve potential bandwidth failures in just a few clicks!
🧑💻Le software is designed for SMEs and ETIs.
💰 WhatsUpGold prices start at €1032.23 per year for 50 devices ("Business" package).
WhatsUpGold highlights :
- an automatic alert system for your virtual infrastructure, based on processor, memory, disk and interface usage thresholds,
- automatic generation of dynamic maps of your Hyper-V and VMware infrastructure in just a few clicks,
- a 360° view of your network traffic to manage and monitor bandwidth usage (users, applications or protocols used),
- the solution was recognized as an industry leader in the recent G2 Grid report for network monitoring solutions, winning a total of 8 awards.
ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus
ManageEngine Servicedesk is a comprehensive, modular IT service management (ITSM) tool that lets you manage your entire IT support cycle, while monitoring your entire IT environment.
Thanks to powerful network monitoring features , you can manage your entire IT infrastructure while ensuring optimum compliance through strict authentication processes.
🧑💻Le software is designed for businesses of all sizes.
💰ManageEngine is available free of charge. Paid options start at €14.13 per month.
ManageEngine highlights :
- a bandwidth management module to classify and analyze the root cause of network problems and reduce repeated IT incidents,
- an automated workflow tool to streamline the planning, approval and deployment of your IT actions, and eliminate unauthorized or unsuccessful modifications,
- reduced downtime and improved agent productivity to effectively manage the entire lifecycle of your IT support tickets,
- a project management module to easily manage resources and track progress.
ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus
Auvik
Auvik is application monitoring software that helps you prevent, detect and resolve network-related IT problems quickly. The tool's pre-configured monitoring and alerts keep you proactively informed.
You can quickly spot anomalies thanks to traffic analysis tools, and easily identify the root cause with device logs that are constantly updated as your bandwidth evolves.
🧑💻Le software is designed for MSPs (managed service providers).
💰 Auvik pricing on request.
Auvik highlights:
- secure, cloud-based network management with automated updates and AES-256-encrypted network data,
- continuous network monitoring to see exactly where each of your devices is connected, how your network is configured and analyze irregularities,
- advanced, customized analysis tools to quickly pinpoint bandwidth anomalies,
- a 24/7 support team and no technical knowledge required to use the software.
BandwidthD
BandwidthD is computer network monitoring software that's totally free and easy to get to grips with. Despite the fact that the program hasn't been updated since 2013, it's capable of handling a large flow of data and monitoring your network efficiently.
You can use BandwidthD on most platforms, including Windows.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of businesses.
💰BandwidthD software is free of charge.
BandwidthD highlights:
- creation of HTML files via visual graphs sorted by individual IP address and usage over periods of 2 days, 8 days, 40 days and 400 days,
- detection of DDOS attacks and analysis of the attacker's IP address (unless the attacker is using a botnet for his DDOS attack),
- find out which protocols are most frequently used by machines on the network (HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, VPN, P2P, etc.).
- detect the use of file-sharing software such as eMule, Bittorrent, etc.
Bandwidth Controller
PRTG Network Monitor
PRTG Network Monitor is a network supervision software that lets you monitor all your information systems, network connections, devices, applications and general IT infrastructure traffic.
PRTG Network Monitor runs on all your equipment, so you can keep control of all your data, configuration and updates.
🧑💻Le software is designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
💰 PRTG Network Monitor pricing starts at €137 per month.
The strengths of PRTG Network Monitor :
- the tool is flexible and customizable , as well as being easy to learn and use. It can be adapted to suit any budget,
- the software benefits from more than 20 years' expertise in the network supervision market, and more than 500,000 customers worldwide,
- its all-in-one design supervises all your systems and equipment out-of-the-box, with a range of functions: ready-to-use equipment templates for suppliers, customizable alerts and notifications, detailed analytical reports, etc,
- add-ons and plug-ins are not required, as supervision of your IT infrastructure is 100% included in your price.
PRTG
Nagios Core
Nagios Core is network monitoring software that monitors all components of your IT infrastructure, including applications, services, operating systems, network protocols, system metrics and bandwidth.
Hundreds of third-party add-ons enable you to monitor virtually every internal and external application, service and system in your IT infrastructure.
🧑💻Le is designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
💰 PRTG Network Monitor pricing on request.
Nagios Core highlights:
- bandwidth monitoring made easy with over 5,000 different addons available,
- tools for monitoring the status of your applications (including Windows, Linux, UNIX and Web applications), so you can quickly detect application, service or process problems, and take prompt action,
- a system of alerts and notifications to maintain a safe and secure network.
- a fully customizable bandwidth usage calculator to create reports summarizing bandwidth usage by source, IP or any desired combination.
Nagios Core
Site24x7
Site24x7 is a network infrastructure monitoring tool powered by Zoho. The comprehensive, highly intuitive software can monitor your websites, servers, computer network and online applications in a secure, compliant way.
Thanks to innovative network monitoring features, the tool monitors the validity of SSL certificates and domain name leases, while monitoring the performance of your web platforms at various levels.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of businesses.
💰 Site24x7 prices range from €9 to €899 per month.
Site24x7 highlights :
- RUM (Real User Monitoring) mode to track real users and their experiences on your various platforms,
- real-time bandwidth monitoring to track errors and loading times, as well as the medium used for browsing and the Internet service provider,
- monitoring of workloads and virtualization platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, GCP and VMware,
- A free 30-day trial version is available to test the platform.
Site24x7
SolarWinds NTA
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA) is a network monitoring tool specializing in bandwidth analysis and data flow visualization. The robust software, designed for professional environments, offers complete visibility of network performance by collecting and correlating data from protocols such as NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, IPFIX and NetStream.
Thanks to its advanced real-time data collection capabilities, NTA monitors network activity to identify which users, applications or protocols are consuming the most resources.
🧑💻La solution is designed for all types of organization, from SMEs to large corporations, wishing to anticipate congestion and improve network service quality.
💰 SolarWinds NTA pricing starts at €5.30 per month.
SolarWinds NTA highlights :
- behavioral traffic analysis to identify "top talkers" (applications or users with the highest demand) and detect anomalies in network flows,
- continuous real-time bandwidth monitoring, with the option of triggering alerts in the event of overload or suspicious activity,
- multi-vendor compatibility, with support for all major network equipment (Cisco, Juniper, HPE, etc.) and flow standards,
- seamless integration with other SolarWinds modules (such as Network Performance Monitor) for unified network monitoring.
SolarWinds RMM
Zabbix
Zabbix is a free, open-source network monitoring application that gives you a powerful, graphical user interface . Easy to use, the solution is also modular, with cross-site virtualization capability.
Thanks to automation systems, you can configure an alarm according to your needs, to be triggered when your bandwidth reaches a specific level.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of business.
💰 Zabbix pricing is available on request.
Zabbix highlights :
- a central Web-based user interface with support for native encryption between all components,
- the software is backed by over 250 global partners and several external suppliers to provide enterprise-level monitoring and support for customers worldwide,
- a module for customizing messages either via ready-to-use message templates, or via an option for editing your own message template,
- widget-based dashboards displaying relevant, up-to-date information in real time.
Ntopng
Formerly known as ntop, Ntopng is an easy-to-use tool for probing traffic to generate detailed reports on your bandwidth usage. Ntopng is available in several versions for Windows and Unix.
As a result, your network traffic analysis can be filtered either according to personal preferences (such as stand-alone systems or L7 protocols), or by port or IP address.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of business.
💰Ntopng prices start at €88.26.
Ntopng highlights :
- live throughput monitoring and reporting to identify network and application latencies, round-trip time (RTT), TCP statistics (retransmissions, packets down, packets lost) and transmitted bytes and packets,
- automatic disk storage of persistent traffic statistics for future exploration and analysis,
- traffic behavior analyses such as lateral movements and periodic traffic detection,
- sort network traffic according to customizable criteria such as IP address, port, Layer 7 (L7) application protocols, throughput, autonomous systems (AS).
Cacti
Cacti is a free network monitoring software that collects device data via SNMP and displays it on a web interface in easy-to-view graphs.
This gives you a detailed view of your bandwidth and network in a more global way. Although the interface may not seem very intuitive, it is backed up by robust documentation (in English) and is available for Windows and Linux.
🧑💻Le is designed for all types of businesses.
💰Cacti is freeware.
Cacti highlights :
- advanced, template-based automation features for devices, graphics and trees,
- role-based user, group and domain management features plus a theme engine and multi-language support out of the box,
- expandability via multiple plugins and multiple data acquisition methods,
- an easy-to-use interface suitable for LAN-sized installations right up to complex networks with tens of thousands of devices.
How to choose a bandwidth monitoring tool?
Summary table of our selection of 11 software products
| Software | Type of user | Key benefit | 3 Key features | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsUp Gold | SMEs and large enterprises | Intuitive interface with dynamic network mapping | SNMP supervision, NetFlow/sFlow/jFlow analysis, customizable alerts | From €1032.23 per year |
| ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | Multi-site IT services | Full ITSM integration with asset management | Helpdesk, CMDB, change management | From €14.13 per month |
| Auvik | MSPs and agile IT teams | Rapid deployment with automatic network discovery | Real-time mapping, configuration backup, intelligent alerts | Price on request |
| BandwidthD | VSEs and Linux environments | Lightweight and easy to visualize IP traffic | IP flow analysis, HTML report generation, protocol-based monitoring | Free |
| PRTG Network Monitor | Businesses of all sizes | All-in-one supervision with customizable interface | SNMP/NetFlow supervision, advanced alerts, dynamic dashboards | From €137 per month |
| Nagios Core | Experienced Linux administrators | Robust open source solution with large community | Host/service monitoring, e-mail alerts, plug-in extensibility | Price on request |
| Site24x7 | Multi-site enterprises | Cloud supervision with extensive monitoring options | Network performance monitoring, NetFlow analysis, network configuration management | From €9 per month |
| SolarWinds NTA | Large enterprises | In-depth analysis of network traffic with NetFlow | Identification of major bandwidth consumers, detailed reports, integration with Orion | From €5.30 per month |
| Zabbix | Technical companies | Open source solution with complete supervision | SNMP supervision, personalized alerts, interactive dashboards | Price on request |
| Ntopng | Advanced network administrators | Detailed traffic analysis with web interface | Real-time monitoring, statistics by host/protocol, integration with Elastic Stack | Starting at €88.26 |
| Cacti | VSEs and Linux users | Network graph generation via RRDTool | SNMP supervision, automatic graph creation, user management | Free |
Selection criteria you should consider
Ease of deployment is a crucial starting point, so look for an intuitive interface and rapid configuration to avoid wasting time and resources, especially for limited IT teams.
You also need to assess the functional richness of the tool; your tool should offer :
- real-time analysis
- historical tracking,
- customizable alerts,
- detailed reports...
... each feature must meet a concrete need, both short- and long-term.
The software must integrate easily with your network equipment, operating systems and other business tools, while supporting standard protocols such as SNMP, NetFlow or sFlow.
And don't forget scalability, because your network is going to grow, and your tool needs to be able to keep pace without failing.
Of course, cost is another consideration. Compare pricing models, check whether a free or trial version is offered, and make sure that the price remains consistent with the features actually used.
☝️ Finally, don't overlook the quality of customer support and the existence of an active software community. These two elements will make all the difference in the event of a problem, or in exploiting the full potential of your solution.
The benefits of monitoring your network bandwidth
Optimized network performance
Internet connection monitoring software gives you a 360° view of your network, enabling you to identify which applications are consuming the most bandwidth, and for what purpose.
As a result, you can determine bottlenecks at a glance, analyze traffic trends and keep track of:
- response time,
- availability,
- router uptime,
- switches,
- and other SNMP-enabled devices.
👉Result? You identify the source of a performance problem before end-users complain about it .
A controlled budget and reduced costs
Increasing bandwidth can be a costly investment. If it's not accompanied by a bandwidth monitoring tool, it can prove risky.
👉With network monitoring software, you can anticipate problems without having to buy more bandwidth. As a result, you cut costs while setting a precise and sufficient budget.
Enhanced security
Cyber hackers are everywhere. They're on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to embed malware in your computer network.
👉So, by monitoring your bandwidth, you can quickly identify any suspicious activity with detailed reports of potentially malicious traffic flows on your system.
And yes, Internet connection monitoring software really is essential to the smooth running of your computer network. That's why we've put together a list of 11 must-have bandwidth monitoring software packages!
What you need to know about bandwidth monitoring software
Bandwidth monitoring software is an indispensable ally in keeping control of your network's performance:
- detecting peaks in consumption,
- identifying power-hungry equipment
- anticipating slowdowns, etc.
...so you can act before users complain.
Their usefulness doesn't stop at the technical: they also help you optimize costs, secure data exchanges, and make informed decisions about the evolution of your infrastructure. Whether you're looking for an open source tool for an SME, or a complete solution for a large organization, the key is to choose a software package that's flexible, easy to read and scalable.
Article translated from French