NetLimiter is the tool most Windows administrators reach for when one application is eating the connection: it shows traffic per program and lets you cap it, per application or per connection. It is also shareware, so sooner or later the question comes up — is there a free alternative that does the same job? The honest answer is that free tools cover parts of what NetLimiter does, and you need to know which part you actually need before you pick one.
This guide uses the vendors’ own sites and documentation as checked on 2 October 2026: NetLimiter 5.3.27.0 (9 September 2026), GlassWire 3.10.1138, SimpleWall 3.8.7 (with 3.9.1 as a pre-release) and Sniffnet 1.5.1 (22 July 2026).
The short answer
If you only need to see which program uses the bandwidth, free tools do it well: the free tier of GlassWire on Windows, or the open-source Sniffnet on Windows, macOS and Linux. If you need to block a program from the internet, use SimpleWall, which is free and open source. If you need to throttle a program to a set speed, the free option is built into Windows — Policy-based QoS can cap outbound traffic per executable. A free tool that limits both upload and download per application with a live interface is the gap that NetLimiter fills, and nothing free replaces it one-for-one.
Is NetLimiter free?
No. NetLimiter offers a 28-day trial, and a licence is needed per computer after that. When the trial or licence runs out, the vendor’s documentation says NetLimiter switches to restricted mode: you can still monitor traffic in real time and all existing rules and filters keep working, but you cannot create new rules or filters, and statistics stop working. So it is shareware (conditionally free) — useful for monitoring after the trial, but not a free limiter.
Free NetLimiter alternatives compared
| Feature | NetLimiter | GlassWire (free tier) | SimpleWall | Sniffnet | Windows QoS policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | Shareware (conditionally free) | Free tier; Premium is shareware | Free, open source (GPL v3) | Free, open source (MIT or Apache-2.0) | Part of Windows |
| Platforms | Windows 7 and later | Windows 10/11, 64-bit and ARM64 | Windows 7 SP1 to 11, 64-bit and ARM64 | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows (Group Policy) |
| Traffic per application | Yes, live | Yes, live graph | Logs of blocked and allowed packets | Connections and hosts, live | No monitoring |
| Speed limit per application | Upload and download | No | No | No | Outbound only, per .exe |
| Block an application | Yes (Connection Blocker) | No — firewall features are Premium | Yes, outbound blocked by default | No | No |
| History | Long-term statistics | 24 hours | Packet logs | Current session | — |
| Best for | Shaping a single PC | Finding who uses the line | Stopping programs going online | Cross-platform monitoring | Capping uploads on managed PCs |
GlassWire: the monitor, not the limiter
GlassWire’s free tier gives a live network graph broken down by application, host and traffic type, alerts the first time a program connects, a network scanner for unknown devices and per-application resource monitors. It is a good replacement for the “who is using the connection right now” half of NetLimiter. Two limits matter: history is kept for 24 hours only, and every firewall feature — click-to-block, Ask-to-Connect, lockdown mode — belongs to the paid Premium tier. GlassWire has no speed-limiting feature in either tier. The “GlassWire Lite” name refers to a separate build whose last release came out in September 2022; today there is one installer with a free tier.
SimpleWall: free blocking
If the reason you wanted NetLimiter was its Connection Blocker, SimpleWall is the free answer. It manages the Windows Filtering Platform directly and blocks outbound traffic by default once filtering is enabled, so every program must be allowed explicitly. It covers desktop programs, services, Microsoft Store apps and WSL, supports timed rules (allow a program for an hour, then block again) and ships blocklists for Windows telemetry. It does not throttle — a program is either allowed or blocked. Allow DNS client, time sync and your update services before switching filtering on, or name resolution and updates will fail.
Sniffnet: open source and cross-platform
Sniffnet is the usual answer to “NetLimiter alternative open source” and “for Mac or Linux”. It is a network monitoring application, dual-licensed under MIT and Apache-2.0, available for all major desktop systems. It shows real-time charts and statistics and lets you search and inspect each connection. Like GlassWire’s free tier, it only observes traffic: there is no limiting or blocking.
Windows Policy-based QoS: free throttling
The one free way to cap a program’s speed on Windows without third-party software is a QoS policy. In the Local Group Policy Editor (or a domain GPO) under Computer Configuration → Windows Settings, in the QoS policy node (shown as “Policy-based QoS” in the editor), the wizard lets you set a throttle rate in KBps or MBps and apply it to all applications or to a single executable, optionally filtered by IP address, protocol and port. Microsoft’s documentation is clear about the limit: QoS policies affect outbound TCP and UDP traffic. Inbound traffic can only be influenced indirectly, computer-wide, through the TCP receive window setting in Advanced QoS Settings — not per application. In practice this solves “stop the backup client from saturating our upload” very well and does nothing for “slow down this game launcher’s download”.
Paid alternatives, briefly
NetBalancer (current version 12.6.1) is the closest like-for-like competitor: it sets priorities, limits or blocks traffic per application and by time of day or protocol. It is shareware (conditionally free), so it does not solve the “free” requirement any better than NetLimiter does.
How to choose
- You only want to know which program is using the bandwidth. GlassWire free on Windows, Sniffnet anywhere, or NetLimiter in restricted mode if it is already installed.
- You want to stop a program from reaching the internet. SimpleWall.
- You want to cap uploads — backups, sync clients, cameras — on PCs you manage. A QoS policy with a throttle rate, deployed through Group Policy.
- You want to cap downloads per application, with a live interface. NetLimiter or NetBalancer; both are shareware.
- You want to shape the whole office line. None of these: per-PC tools only control the machine they run on. Do it on the router or gateway.
For a wider list of tools that watch traffic, see our guide to free bandwidth monitoring tools; if blocking is your main goal, compare options in free firewall software for Windows.
FAQ
Is NetLimiter free to use?
No. It has a 28-day trial and then needs a licence per computer. Without one it switches to restricted mode: monitoring and existing rules keep working, but you cannot create new rules and statistics stop.
Is there an open-source NetLimiter alternative?
For monitoring, Sniffnet (MIT or Apache-2.0). For blocking on Windows, SimpleWall (GPL v3). There is no widely used open-source Windows tool that limits per-application download speed the way NetLimiter does.
GlassWire vs NetLimiter — what is the difference?
GlassWire is a monitor with alerts; its free tier cannot block or limit anything. NetLimiter is built around speed limits, priorities and blocking rules per application. They solve different problems.
Is there a NetLimiter alternative for Mac or Linux?
NetLimiter is Windows only. Sniffnet runs on macOS and Linux for monitoring. On Linux, traffic shaping is done with the kernel’s own traffic control tooling rather than a desktop application.
Can Windows limit bandwidth per application without extra software?
Yes, for outbound traffic. A Policy-based QoS rule with a throttle rate can target a single .exe. It does not limit downloads per application.
