Alternatives to RustNet
Terminal network monitor showing live connections per process with packet inspection. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
RustNet
Terminal network monitor showing live connections per process with packet inspection.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as RustNet.
bandwhich
Terminal tool that shows current network use broken down by process and connection.
bandwhich is an MIT terminal tool attributing bandwidth to processes and connections on the same platforms, but lacks packet inspection and is in passive maintenance.
Sniffnet
Shows what your machine is actually talking to, with charts instead of a wall of packets.
Sniffnet replaces the terminal with a graphical app showing charts and per-host statistics, exports PCAP files, and needs capture drivers such as Npcap on Windows.
TCPView
Sysinternals viewer for active TCP and UDP endpoints on Windows.
TCPView is closed-source Sysinternals freeware for Windows only, listing endpoints with owning processes and letting you close connections, without protocol detection or history.
TapMap
Shows the services your computer connects to on a world map.
TapMap shows your computer's connections on a real-time world map using approximate GeoIP locations, on macOS and Linux only, without per-process packet inspection.
NetHogs
Linux terminal tool that shows network bandwidth usage grouped by process, like top for traffic.
NetHogs is a lightweight Linux-only terminal tool grouping bandwidth by process, without per-connection protocol detection or packet inspection.
Also worth comparing
These listings name RustNet as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
IPTraf-ng
A console-based network monitor for Linux that shows live IP traffic statistics by connection and interface.
RustNet is an Apache-2.0 terminal monitor for several platforms that shows TCP, UDP and QUIC connections with owning process and detected protocol.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Wireshark
The network protocol analyser: capture traffic and read it packet by packet, with dissectors for hundreds of protocols.
tcpdump
The classic command-line packet capture and analysis tool.
Termshark
Terminal interface for tshark that feels like Wireshark.
NetBalancer
Per-process network monitoring and bandwidth limiting for Windows.
NetLimiter
Per-application bandwidth limiter that stops background traffic from spiking your ping.
EtherApe
A graphical network monitor that draws live network activity as a diagram of hosts and links.
