Arkime vs PacketSafari
Arkime
arkime.com
PacketSafari
packetsafari.comSide by side
| Figure | Arkime | PacketSafari |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Network Packet Analyzer Software | 9.0 (#3) | 8.6 (#5) |
| API | Documented common, viewer, WISE and Cont3xt APIs are available, but the project warns that they can change. | The on-prem HTTP streaming API uses POST /api/v2/ai/agent/run with bearer authentication and supports cli, tshark, and standard modes. |
| Integrations | Arkime uses OpenSearch or Elasticsearch for indexed metadata and offers WISE threat-intelligence integration. | Security intelligence sources can include ET Open, abuse.ch SSLBL and URLhaus, and Stamus lateral-movement feeds. |
| Purpose | Arkime is an open-source network analysis and session search tool that passively watches network traffic and creates searchable session records. | PacketSafari investigates packet captures for root-cause, performance, and security questions and returns findings linked to packet evidence. |
| Security controls | Arkime supports TLS for the viewer, digest authentication, reverse-proxy authentication, OpenSearch credentials and API keys. | The Trust Center states that TLS protects browser and API traffic, capture storage uses encrypted EBS volumes and snapshots, MFA and audit events are implemented, and SBOM and dependency scans support release checks. |
| Self-hosting | Arkime is installed as Linux packages or official containers and runs its capture and viewer services on infrastructure you operate. | Enterprise On-Prem keeps captures, identity, storage, retention, AI endpoints, and egress inside customer-controlled infrastructure. |
| What it does | Arkime passively captures network traffic, indexes session metadata and can retain packets as standard PCAP for investigation. | PacketSafari analyzes PCAP, PCAPNG, and CAP files for root-cause and security investigations, returning packet-linked evidence and reports. |
Plans
PacketSafari
- Free EvaluationFree
- Dedicated Enterprise SaaSPriced on request
- Enterprise On-PremPriced on request
- Teams SaaSPriced on request
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.
PacketSafari
PacketSafari has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.