Best netcat Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from network diagnostic software ranked against netcat on the same published basis.
- 1netcat vs PingPlotter
- 2netcat vs DNSViz
- 3netcat vs Globalping
- 4netcat vs NetSpot
- 5netcat vs Nmap
- 6netcat vs SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager
- 7netcat vs Angry IP Scanner
- 8netcat vs Buddi
- 9netcat vs Open Visual Traceroute
- 10netcat vs RIPE Atlas
- 11netcat vs inSSIDer
- 12netcat vs iperf3
- 13netcat vs NETworkManager
- 14netcat vs SystemTrayMenu
- 15netcat vs WinMTR
- 16netcat vs nPerf
- 17netcat vs iperf2
- 18netcat vs WhatInStartup
- 19netcat vs DNSViz Toolkit
- 20netcat vs Ethr
netcat alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PingPlotter | 6.7 | Free plan | $29/mo | iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | DNSViz | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web |
| 3 | Globalping | 6.6 | Free plan | $10/mo | API, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 4 | NetSpot | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Nmap | 6.6 | Free plan | $9,980/mo | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 6 | SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Angry IP Scanner | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Buddi | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Open Visual Traceroute | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | RIPE Atlas | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Web |
| 11 | inSSIDer | 6.4 | Free plan | $16.67/mo | Mac, Windows |
| 12 | iperf3 | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted |
| 13 | NETworkManager | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 14 | SystemTrayMenu | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 15 | WinMTR | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 16 | nPerf | 5.6 | Free plan | $0.17/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 17 | iperf2 | 5.4 | No | — | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | WhatInStartup | 5.4 | No | — | Windows |
| 19 | DNSViz Toolkit | 5.3 | No | — | Web, Linux, Mac |
| 20 | Ethr | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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Questions about netcat alternatives
What is the best alternative to netcat?
PingPlotter, number 1 in network diagnostic software with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The others here: DNSViz, Globalping, NetSpot and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to netcat?
PingPlotter is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 16 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.