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tcpdump vs Wireshark: catalog facts
tcpdump	Wireshark
Free Free and open source under the BSD licence.	Free Free and open source. The foundation is funded by sponsors, training and certification.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
Available on practically every Unix system, including embedded ones Writes standard pcap files that every other tool can read	Dissectors for hundreds of protocols, so the packet contents are readable rather than hex Display filters that cut a huge capture down to one conversation
Needs elevated privileges to capture Output is dense and takes practice to read	Capturing on most systems needs elevated privileges or a driver such as Npcap The interface assumes you already know roughly what you are looking for
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: GPL-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.