Cacti vs GlassWire

Cacti is a free, self-hosted network graphing and operational monitoring framework built around RRDtool. It collects data through SNMP object identifiers or scripts, which can retrieve database information or run other code. Availability checks cover SNMP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP. Discovery and automation can create graphs and data sources, while Remote Data Collectors distribute collection and cache data during network interruptions. Graph items support line, area, stacked, horizontal-rule, vertical-rule, print, and comment types. Device templates connect devices with graph templates and data queries, and plugins can extend collection to other protocols, with WMI listed as an example. Role-based management covers users, groups, and domains. Cacti supports SNMP versions 1, 2, and 3, with a documented limitation for advanced SNMPv3 settings such as SHA224+ or AES192+ when PHP SNMP is used. It is available for Linux/Unix and Windows. Installation requires MySQL, PHP, RRDtool, Net-SNMP, and a PHP-capable web server such as Apache or IIS.

GlassWire is a network traffic monitor and personal firewall for viewing network activity and controlling app connections. Its desktop traffic analysis breaks usage down by IP or host, app, traffic type, and other categories. Alerts flag unusual network or app changes that could indicate malware and unknown devices joining Wi-Fi. The Android app graphs app data use, alerts when apps access the network, and can block connections over mobile or Wi-Fi. GlassWire says Android app and data usage information stays on the phone and the app itself uses no data. The free tier limits network history to 24 hours, bandwidth usage history to one day, and alert logs to the current day. Premium provides unlimited network history, bandwidth history, and alert logs, along with bidirectional firewall controls, custom profiles, Ask to Connect, and Lockdown Mode. The Personal Plan costs $2.99 per month when billed annually. The desktop download requires Windows 10 or later and supports x64 and ARM64 architectures.