No. 10 of 20 ·Network Packet Capture Software

PCAPdroid

Android

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

PCAPdroid is ranked #10 of 20 in network packet capture software on Freedom251. It runs on Android. There is a free plan.

PCAPdroid plans and pricing

All plans

Free Free Core network monitoring and capture · paid features excluded emanuele-f.github.io · 30 Sept 2026

Paid Features Not published one-time purchase Firewall · malware detection · PCAPng format emanuele-f.github.io · 30 Sept 2026

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The record

Purpose: PCAPdroid is an open-source network capture and monitoring tool that works without root privileges.
Traffic capture: It uses Android VpnService to receive app traffic and processes it locally without creating an external VPN.
Analysis: The app analyzes connections from user and system apps and shows protocol, ports, addresses, status and traffic volume.
Export: Captured traffic can be saved as PCAP files or sent remotely for analysis such as with Wireshark.
TLS decryption: PCAPdroid can decrypt HTTPS/TLS traffic for a specific app, subject to Android certificate trust limitations.
Firewall: The paid firewall can block individual apps, domains and IP addresses with configurable rules and allowlists.
Malware detection: The paid malware-detection feature uses third-party blacklists and can block malicious traffic in default VPN mode.
Privacy: PCAPdroid states that it collects no information, uses no remote VPN server and processes traffic locally.
Integrations: PCAPdroid supports real-time PCAP-over-IP analysis with tools including Wireshark, ntopng and tcpdump.
App integration: Third-party Android apps can integrate the pcapd daemon on rooted devices or control PCAPdroid through its API on all devices.
Capture limit: In non-root mode, PCAPdroid captures only outgoing connections started by the Android device.
Device scope: PCAPdroid only captures traffic from the Android device where it is running, not other devices on the network.
Support: The project directs questions to Emanuele Faranda by email and provides Telegram and Matrix community channels.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Network Packet Capture Software in 2026#10 of 20

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Sources

emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/quick_start.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/paid_features· checked 30 Sept 2026
emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/privacy.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/dump_modes.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
github.com/emanuele-f/PCAPdroid· checked 30 Sept 2026
emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/faq.html· checked 30 Sept 2026
emanuele-f.github.io/PCAPdroid/donate.html· checked 30 Sept 2026

PCAPdroid plans and pricing

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