Introduction
The products in this category are great little helpers providing a graphical representation of the network traffic going in and out of you PC. When I was reviewing possible contenders in this category I noticed two things. Firstly, it seems that each tool has a slightly different understanding of how to compute the bandwidth used (in and out). Secondly, most of them had problems to detect network devices under Windows. Quality wise they all don't give or take each other much. I found two of them a bit better than the other and made them number 1 and 2.
Rated Products
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: 5.5.5
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
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Actively developed and improved, this little taskbar monitor shows your download and upload traffic. Networx offers a lot of settings to tailor it to your needs. Up to version 5.5.5 the product is absolutley free. Newer versions are commercial now (since Dec 2016).
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Actively developed and improved, this little taskbar monitor shows your download and upload traffic. Networx offers a lot of settings to tailor it to your needs. Up to version 5.5.5 the product is absolutley free. Newer versions are commercial now (since Dec 2016).
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Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: 2.0
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 3/5 |
The network meter NetMeter is a simple beauty, graphically as well as in regards to quality and usability. Development paused since 2009 but was picked up again in 2013 resulting in version 2.0 evo. It does not offer as many settings as Networx but the stay-on-top histogram window with its customizable transparency is an awesome idea to keep your network traffic in sight.
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The network meter NetMeter is a simple beauty, graphically as well as in regards to quality and usability. Development paused since 2009 but was picked up again in 2013 resulting in version 2.0 evo. It does not offer as many settings as Networx but the stay-on-top histogram window with its customizable transparency is an awesome idea to keep your network traffic in sight.
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Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: 1.4.2710
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 2.5/5 |
FreeMeter does not need to be installed. Just doublclick the executable file to start the histogram. You can resize it but only up to 500*450 pixel. A righ-click in it opens a context menu with many settings to adjust. Unfortunately you cannot minimize it to tray like NetWorx. Also the predefined max values for a fixed scale miss the so important values between 100 Mbit and 1 Gbit.
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FreeMeter does not need to be installed. Just doublclick the executable file to start the histogram. You can resize it but only up to 500*450 pixel. A righ-click in it opens a context menu with many settings to adjust. Unfortunately you cannot minimize it to tray like NetWorx. Also the predefined max values for a fixed scale miss the so important values between 100 Mbit and 1 Gbit.
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Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) |
Version reviewed: 2.0.1
Gizmos Freeware
| Our Rating: 2/5 |
iTraffic Monitor hits the spot in combining the most important features of all the tools here and put them in a fast, easy and attractive piece of software. Customizable graph, network settings, and as one of the only few that identified all my network devices.
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iTraffic Monitor hits the spot in combining the most important features of all the tools here and put them in a fast, easy and attractive piece of software. Customizable graph, network settings, and as one of the only few that identified all my network devices.
Read full review...
Related Products and Links
There are lot of these little monitoring tools out there, too many to list them all here. A quick Internet search will surely make you find others.
We are looking for people with skills or interest in the following areas:
Comments
Test network speed ?
I have ADSL2 with a router/modem combined unit.
I use cat cables 6 and 6e
Sometimes the cat connections ain't great, and it goes to 100mbps
Which program can i use to keep an eye on the network speed ?
I have been using http://www.speedtest.net/ for years and have never had a problem with it. I keep it pinned to my task bar and use it anytime I feel there may be a slow down of my download speed.
Give it a try if you wish...
What a pity NetWorx now costs $29.00 (for up to 5 devices).
It could be free for a single device.
Same thing happened with Network Scanner of the same company. Used to be my favorite free scanner.
Yes, both Networx and Network Scanner are no longer freeware. Happened only a few days ago.