Best Network Testing Software in 2026
Updated
In short: PingPlotter is ranked #1 of 31 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of LibreSpeed and TRex. The best-ranked option with a free plan is LibreSpeed. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Ostinato at $12/mo.
Checking network behavior can involve different protocols, test methods, and ways to run tests. Compared on protocol support and test methods, these tools also vary in deployment, scheduled tests, distributed agents, and API access. Free-plan availability and paid starting price can help put those capabilities in context. PingPlotter, LibreSpeed, and TRex are among the options to examine against your testing needs. Consider what kinds of checks you need, whether tests should run on a schedule, and how the deployment and access details align with the environment you work in.
31 network testing software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
31ranked
13free plans on this page
$12/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Network Testing Software 25 channels on this page · 80 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromDeploymentTest methodsProtocol supportDistributed agentsScheduled testsAPI access Spec sheet Score
01 PingPlotter Free planYesPaid from$6.99/moDeploymenthybridTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 8.0
02 LibreSpeed Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportHTTP, HTTPS, ICMPDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 7.6
03 TRex Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsbothProtocol supportTCP, UDP, ARP, ICMP, IPv6/ND, DHCPv4/v6, IGMP, DNS, DOT1X, LLDP, mDNS, NetFlow/IPFIX, OSPF, RIP, and GTP-UDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 7.6
04 EVE-NG Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.4
05 GNS3 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.2
06 Ostinato Free planNoPaid from$12/moDeploymenthybridTest methodsactiveProtocol supportEthernet II, 802.3, LLC, SNAP, 802.1Q VLAN, QinQ, IPv4, IPv6, UDP, stateless TCP, ICMP, ARP, NDP, IGMP, MLD, GREDistributed agents1Scheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
07 Netperf Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportTCP, UDP, SCTP, XTI, DLPI, Unix domain sockets; IPv4 and IPv6 where documentedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.1
08 Netpicker Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
09 Cisco pyATS Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.0
10 Flent Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentdesktopTest methodsactiveProtocol supportTCP, UDP, ICMPDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 7.0
11 iperf3 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentdesktopTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.9
12 IP Fabric Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 2/8spec lines stated 6.8
13 OpenSpeedTest Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportHTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3Distributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 6.7
14 perfSONAR Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentnot statedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
15 NetBeez Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.4
16 iPerf2 Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportTCP, UDP, UDP L4S, IPv4, IPv6, multicastDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 6.2
17 Tessabyte Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportTCP, UDP, IPv4, IPv6Distributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsYesAPI accessnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 6.2
18 M-Lab NDT Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymenthybridTest methodsactiveProtocol supportndt7, ndt5, web100; WebSocket/TLS over TCPDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.1
19 PacketForge Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentdesktopTest methodsactiveProtocol supportEthernet, IPv4, TCP, UDP, RTP, VoIP, HTTP, FTP, DNS, video, 5G, BERTDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 4/8spec lines stated 6.1
20 Cisco ThousandEyes Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymenthybridTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.9
21 Pktgen-DPDK Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsactiveProtocol supportIPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP, VLAN, GRE, GTP-UDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 5.9
22 Invariant Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymenthybridTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportBGP, OSPF, IPSec, NAT, policy-based routing, VPN, ACL, VLANDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsYesAPI accessYes 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
23 PacketCheck Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentdesktopTest methodsbothProtocol supportEthernet, IPv4, UDP, TCP, ICMP, VLAN, MPLS, GTPDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.8
24 MoonGen Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsbothProtocol supportEthernet, IPv4, IPv6, UDP, TCP, ARP, ICMP, PTPDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 5.7
25 Batfish Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself hostedTest methodsnot statedProtocol supportnot statedDistributed agentsnot statedScheduled testsnot statedAPI accessnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.6
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment | Test methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PingPlotter | 8.0 | Free plan | $29/mo | Yes | 6.99 /mo | hybrid | — |
| 2 | LibreSpeed | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | active |
| 3 | TRex | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | both |
| 4 | EVE-NG | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | GNS3 | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Ostinato | 7.2 | No | $12/mo | No | 12 /mo | hybrid | active |
| 7 | Netperf | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | — | — | self_hosted | active |
| 8 | Netpicker | 7.1 | Free plan | $625/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | Cisco pyATS | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | — |
| 10 | Flent | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | — | — | desktop | active |
| 11 | iperf3 | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | desktop | — |
| 12 | IP Fabric | 6.8 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 13 | OpenSpeedTest | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | self_hosted | active |
| 14 | perfSONAR | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | No | — | — | — |
| 15 | NetBeez | 6.4 | No | — | No | — | cloud | — |
| 16 | iPerf2 | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | active |
| 17 | Tessabyte | 6.2 | No | — | No | — | self_hosted | active |
| 18 | M-Lab NDT | 6.1 | No | — | Yes | — | hybrid | active |
| 19 | PacketForge | 6.1 | No | — | — | — | desktop | active |
| 20 | Cisco ThousandEyes | 5.9 | No | — | No | — | hybrid | — |
| 21 | Pktgen-DPDK | 5.9 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | active |
| 22 | Invariant | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | — |
| 23 | PacketCheck | 5.8 | No | — | — | — | desktop | both |
| 24 | MoonGen | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | both |
| 25 | Batfish | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | self_hosted | — |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which network testing software is ranked first on Specifiction?
PingPlotter is ranked #1 of 31 with a score of 8.0. LibreSpeed is second and TRex third.
How many of these have a free plan?
13 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Ostinato has the lowest first paid tier we found: $12/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.
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