COMPARISON
An open-source alternative to GlassWire
GlassWire is a popular Windows network monitor. WinSight overlaps on connection visibility and outbound control, and differs on openness, scope and approach.
What GlassWire is designed to do
GlassWire describes itself as a network monitor and personal firewall for Windows, reporting over 53 million downloads on its website as of July 2026. Its signature strength is visual: bandwidth graphs over time, per-app data usage, and alerts on new connections, with free and paid tiers.
Why people look for an alternative
Common reasons, reflected in the 50+ alternatives listed on AlternativeTo (Portmaster, simplewall, TrafficMonitor, Fort Firewall among them): wanting a fully free tool, wanting source code that can be audited, or wanting deeper security context, not just how much data an app used, but whether its binary is signed, what starts with Windows, and what else that process is doing.
| Feature | WinSight | GlassWire |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10/11 (x64, Arm64) | Windows (plus Android app) |
| Price | Free (GPL-3.0) | Free and paid tiers |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Bandwidth/traffic graphs over time | No | Yes |
| Per-application outbound blocking | Yes, kernel-layer WFP, audit-first | Yes (firewall management) |
| Live connections attributed to processes | Yes | Yes |
| Startup/persistence scanning | Yes, 22 autostart families | No |
| Application telemetry | None | — |
Where GlassWire is stronger
- Bandwidth and traffic-volume graphs over time. WinSight does not record traffic volumes at all.
- A polished, consumer-friendly visual interface and an Android companion app.
Where WinSight is different
- Entirely free and GPL-3.0 open source: every detection is auditable.
- Connections come with security context: owning process, image path and Authenticode verdict, with unsigned external connections flagged. See the network monitor.
- Outbound blocking happens in an opt-in LocalSystem service at the Windows Filtering Platform, audit-first, with honestly reported enforcement state. See the outbound firewall.
- The same install also covers startup persistence, camera/mic use, ransomware decoys and hijack surfaces.
- The application has no telemetry and no account.
Evaluating the switch
- Both tools can coexist. WinSight’s visibility tools are read-only, so you can run it alongside GlassWire while you compare.
- If you rely on data-usage graphs, keep GlassWire for that; WinSight does not replace it.
- If your goal is security triage and outbound control, install WinSight and run an Overview scan.
Honest limitations
- No bandwidth accounting, traffic graphs or usage alerts.
- No packet inspection.
- GlassWire’s telemetry practices are not characterized here either way. We did not verify them from an official source.
Sources: www.glasswire.com/ · www.glasswire.com/ · alternativeto.net/software/glasswire/?platform=windows · docs/DETECTIONS.md#what-is-detected-today, checked 2026-07-24