Ostinato vs PingPlotter
Ostinato
ostinato.org
PingPlotter
pingplotter.comSide by side
| Figure | Ostinato | PingPlotter |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12/mo | $6.99/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 6 |
| Spec score · Network Testing Software | 8.1 (#11) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Data handling | The privacy policy says Ostinato does not sell personal data, uses Paddle for payment processing without storing full card numbers on its servers, and applies reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. | Pingman Tools says Microsoft Azure stores PingPlotter CloudConnect and Cloud trace data collected by remote agents, and that payment information is handled by third-party processors. |
| Founded | 2010 | 1998 |
| Integrations | The maker lists GNS3, EVE-NG, Cisco CML, and Containerlab as supported lab environments, and says Ostinato works on AWS and Azure cloud VMs. | REST-call alerts can post to Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat and create Jira tickets. |
| Support | Customers with Pro or Business licenses may submit support tickets; Pro email support is available for 30 days from purchase, and community forums are available to all listed license tiers. | PingPlotter directs users to its support team for help with downloads, licenses, and product questions. |
Plans
Ostinato
- Solo$12 a month
- Pro$49 a month
- Business$208 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
PingPlotter
- FreeFree
- Standard$6.99 a month
- Professional$29 a month
- Professional Edition$29 a month
- PingPlotter Cloud$90 a month
- Standard EditionPrice not published
In their own words
Ostinato
Ostinato generates and customizes network traffic, or replays PCAP files, to help validate throughput, QoS, multicast, routing, switching, protocol behavior, and network performance. Users can edit supported protocol headers, set frame sizes, and create custom headers with hexdumps or scripts. PCAP replay can preserve or alter packet timing, loop traffic, or reorder packets. Native protocols include Ethernet, VLAN, QinQ, IPv4/IPv6, UDP, stateless TCP, ICMP, ARP/NDP, IGMP/MLD, and GRE; other methods can support headers such as MPLS and VXLAN. Reports show transmit and receive statistics, per-stream packet loss, and latency and jitter measured with software timestamps. A Python API supports stream and scenario creation, run control, counter collection, and CI/CD integration. Ostinato lists GNS3, EVE-NG, Cisco CML, and Containerlab as supported lab environments, and says it works on AWS and Azure cloud VMs. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted or API setups. Plans start at $12 a month billed annually; an active subscription is required.
PingPlotter
PingPlotter monitors network performance and maps network paths to help locate connection problems. It tracks latency, jitter and packet loss, with desktop editions monitoring connections from one Windows or macOS computer. PingPlotter Cloud adds an online dashboard for remote connections, while Insights analyzes network data for incidents, possible causes and fixes. Cloud alert actions can make REST calls to services including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat and JIRA. Webhooks can report agent status or connection-quality changes and link to compatible apps through services such as Zapier and Power Automate. Desktop editions have a 14-day trial; afterward, the free version allows one connection, no remote collection and 10 minutes of monitoring history. Cloud trials last seven days. The free plan is free. Standard Edition starts at $6.99/mo.; Professional Edition is $29 a month, and PingPlotter Cloud is $90 a month. Platforms listed include Windows, macOS, Linux, web and iOS.