Arkime vs Colasoft Capsa
Arkime
arkime.comColasoft Capsa
colasoft.comSide by side
| Figure | Arkime | Colasoft Capsa |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Network Packet Capture Software | 8.9 (#1) | 8.9 (#2) |
| Spec score · Network Packet Analyzer Software | 9.0 (#3) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Spec score · Network Protocol Analyzers | 9.0 (#3) | 9.0 (#4) |
| Integrations | Arkime uses OpenSearch or Elasticsearch for indexed metadata and offers WISE threat-intelligence integration. | The pages opened describe protocol and application analysis, but do not identify named third-party integrations. |
| Licence | Arkime is distributed under the permissive Apache License 2.0. | The EULA describes copyrighted proprietary software with perpetual single-seat and five-seat licensing and prohibits reverse engineering or redistribution of full versions. |
| Packet capture | Arkime can store full packets in standard PCAP format or run as a metadata-only engine, with rules to select which traffic is saved. | Enterprise captures and saves packets from wired and 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networks in real time. |
| Purpose | Arkime is an open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively watches network traffic and creates searchable session records. | Capsa is a portable network analyzer for monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting wired and wireless networks. |
| Support | The project offers a Slack workspace and office hours for questions, and GitHub Issues for bugs and feature requests. | Colasoft maintenance includes priority email support, free product updates, and access to prerelease products during the maintenance period. |
| What it does | Arkime passively captures network traffic, indexes session metadata and can retain packets as standard PCAP for investigation. | Capsa is a Windows LAN and WLAN analyzer for real-time packet capture, traffic monitoring, protocol analysis and network troubleshooting. |
Plans
Colasoft Capsa
- Capsa FreeFree
- Capsa FreeFree
- Capsa Standard$295, paid once
- Capsa Professional$695, paid once
- Capsa Enterprise$995, paid once
- Capsa Enterprise$1,295, paid once
In their own words
Arkime
Arkime is a free, open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively observes traffic and creates searchable session records. It parses layers 3–7 and indexes fields including protocols, DNS names, HTTP headers, TLS/JA4 fingerprints, file hashes, and GeoIP in OpenSearch or Elasticsearch. Operators can store full packets in standard PCAP format or use metadata-only capture, with rules to select traffic for saving. Users can search sessions, inspect packet data, and export results as PCAP or CSV. Cont3xt enriches supported indicators using commercial and OSINT sources, including VirusTotal, Censys, and Shodan; phone enrichment is limited to the U.S. Parliament groups clusters and displays cluster issues and Elasticsearch health. Capture can scale by adding machines or increasing CPU and disk. Arkime has no license fees or paid-only features. Installation guidance covers Linux, recommends Debian or Ubuntu LTS, and links to a container guide. OpenSearch or Elasticsearch is required for session metadata. Authentication options include basic, form, digest, header, and OIDC, while the project advises against anonymous authentication.
Colasoft Capsa
Colasoft Capsa is a Windows network analyzer for monitoring, analyzing and troubleshooting wired and wireless networks. The Enterprise edition captures packets in real time from local networks and can save transmitted data. It analyzes more than 1,800 protocols and sub-protocols, including VoIP, and displays packet details in Hex, ASCII and EBCDIC. Capsa can diagnose network problems and suggest solutions, monitor conversations, reconstruct packet streams and generate reports for selected items, the whole network or a particular network group. Its security analysis detects DoS and DDoS attacks, worm activity, ARP attacks, TCP port scans and suspicious conversations in real time. Users can set email or sound alerts and schedule capture once, daily or weekly. Capsa Free monitors up to 10 IP addresses, ends sessions after four hours and lacks WiFi connection monitoring. Professional is listed at $695, paid once for a single-seat perpetual license, one machine and one year of maintenance. Enterprise is $1,295, paid once and has a 30-day trial.