Looking for the best bandwidth manager to limit WiFi speed and control bandwidth usage? Here are top 8 best bandwidth control software for Windows 10 PC.
Mega Bandwidth Limit
It happens with almost all of us that certain applications on our computer sometimes use more bandwidth than other applications. Similarly, some Internet users use substantially more bandwidth than other users on the same network. This situation has defined in a slang term called Bandwidth hog.
Jul 18, 2019 Downloading CleanMyMac X is not a cure-all for everything that can go wrong with a Mac, but it can solve a lot of problems. Including getting your Mac to run faster, monitoring network bandwidth, and improving your online and in-app user experience. The feature I’m constantly using is the CleanMyMac X Menu monitor. It sits in status bar of my.
Bandwidth hogging applications can cripple even the most blazing fast internet connections and sometimes you need to control the bandwidth for background applications to ensure that your important work doesn’t get interrupted due to slow internet connectivity.
Only very few routers allow you to prioritize bandwidth usage if they have a QoS feature built in, but not all routers can do that. In that case, using bandwidth control software is the best option for you to shape or limit bandwidth usage.
In this guide, we will help you decide the best bandwidth monitoring tools and the best bandwidth management software you can use on your Windows 10 computer.
Contents
Top 8 Best Bandwidth Control Software for Windows 10
Very often it happens that you, as a working professional or a passionate gamer, want to set bandwidth limits for the programs or tasks you consider less important. And when you control your bandwidth usage properly, you get more bandwidth and faster internet speeds for the tasks you consider more important.
There are multiple bandwidth manager and bandwidth limiter software available on the web which you can use to control bandwidth usage and limit WiFi speed for others, but here are some of the best bandwidth control software for windows 10 which we recommend:
NetLimiter 4
NetLimiter is a well-known internet traffic control and monitoring tool designed for all versions of Windows which lets you clearly see what application is hogging, what amount of data is being used for downloads and uploads. You can easily limit your bandwidth usage with just a few clicks because this traffic shaping software provides its users the full control over their network connection.
NetLimiter bandwidth monitoring tool offers many unique and needed features such as:
- Real-time traffic monitoring of apps and connections.
- Block selected applications from connecting to the internet.
- Prioritize traffic of selected application over others.
- Block or limit application if specified data transfer quota was reached.
- Set maximum transfer speed for any application running on PC.
- Create custom filters to filter traffic by direction, protocol, IPs, application, etc.
- Specify times when the particular rule will be automatically enabled or disabled.
- Remotely control other machine’s bandwidth
- Specify which user can control or just monitor internet traffic.
- Displays download/upload data transfers speed for selected app or connection.
- Displays various information about the selected connection, application or filter.
NetLimiter comes as a paid offering and offers a free trial. There are two versions available of this bandwidth management software named as NetLimiter 4 Pro and NetLimiter 4 Lite and both of which offer different functionalities for limiting bandwidth on router per user.
In the pro version, you can limit the app from going over a certain bandwidth limit whereas, in the lite version, you can only see the amount of bandwidth being used.
NetBalancer
An easy to use bandwidth control software with a simple to use interface as well as a graphical representation, NetBalancer provides you with a list of all the installed applications and their respective network usage. It allows you to control bandwidth speed by setting the upload and download limit for individual applications from the list.
You can also create custom filters if you are decently well versed with networking gear and software. This Internet traffic control software also allows for custom scheduling and prioritization of traffic. With the help of NetBalancer application you can:
- Set a download and upload network priority or limit for any process
- Manage priorities and limits for each network adapter separately
- Define detailed network traffic rules
- Group local network computers and balance their traffic synchronized
- Set global traffic limits
- Get detailed statistics and totals about your data usage
- Show network traffic in the system tray and much more
A free 15-day trial is offered for NetBalancer and after the initial trial, you can continue to use it to monitor but not to control. NetBalancer costs $49.99 to buy outright.
Mac Limit Bandwidth Per App Free
This powerful internet traffic control and bandwidth monitoring tool is designed for Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7 operating systems.
SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager
SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is a feature-loaded bandwidth control software with a clunky and complicated user interface for beginners. This bandwidth limiter and traffic shaper for Windows comes with great features like scheduling, customer user group management, quota management and much more.
With the help of SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager, you easily can add custom rules and modify the network usage as per your requirements. You will have to enter the IP address and MAC address before you can start modifying network bandwidth which makes it a bit cumbersome for beginners.
Some of the most key features of SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager are:
- Centralized configuration from a single network location.
- Flexible, prioritized, bidirectional rules to specify maximum data rates and usage allowances.
- Rules for IP and MAC addresses, protocols, ports (for TCP/IP) and network interfaces.
- Transparency for end users with no client software installation required in most cases.
- Quotas, scheduler, email notifications and comprehensive usage reports.
It is available with a 30-day free trial and later you will have to pay on average a minimum of $49. We only recommend this bandwidth management software to advanced networking professionals or power users.
Net-Peeker
Whether it is the case of monitoring web traffic, blocking firewall, bandwidth controlling or blocking malware, Net-Peeker is one of the most advanced and functional bandwidth monitoring tools for all cases. In short, Net-Peeker provides a complete solution for bandwidth management.
The UI is a bit old and feels dated but the features of this bandwidth limiter software for Windows 10 is more than enough. Some of the main features of Net-Peeker bandwidth monitoring tool include:
- Distributed network traffic monitor
- Desktop-based firewall on all computers
- Network speed limitation and Priority based traffic shaping
- Protect the system against “Malware”
- Log and analyze network traffic
- Capture network traffic live
You can easily stop, block and abort any application that’s not authorized to run in the background. The software allows you to set rules based on IP, application type, DNS names, and port numbers and also limit the download and upload speed as you see fit. Even, you can monitor individual apps and restrict them too. There are a built-in firewall and system guard which safeguards your system.
Limit Other Bandwidth Heavy Applications
Net-Peeker bandwidth control software offers a 30-day free trial with full functionalities and after the trial period, all features will be disabled automatically except network application monitor. To re-activate all functions, you will need to purchase its license which costs a minimum of $25.
NetWorx
A fully-featured bandwidth monitoring tool, NetWorx helps you in knowing your total internet speed and bandwidth as well as what application is using what amount of bandwidth. This simple, yet versatile and powerful bandwidth management software also notifies you if it observes any unusual spikes or extended period of unauthorized activity.
With the help of NetWorx bandwidth manager, you can monitor all your network connections at once or just a specific network connection (such as wireless or mobile broadband), it’s up to you. The software also comes with an arrangement of highly customizable visual and sound alerts which helps in getting the warning clearly when the network connection is down or when any suspicious activity occurs. With NetWorx you can easily:
- Find out and monitor how fast your Internet connection is and how much Internet traffic you consume.
- Verify whether your ISP charges your Internet usage fairly.
- Detect a suspicious network activity on your computer.
- Perform simple network tests such as ping and trace route.
- Be notified about excessive Internet usage.
Once the NetWorx bandwidth monitor tool is downloaded and installed on your computer, an icon will be present in the system notification tray for you to quickly access the software. You can also get daily or weekly reports in graphical format for review in MS office documents.
NetWorx bandwidth monitoring software is available for almost all platforms (Windows, macOS, and Linux). It offers a fully-featured 30-day trial for free and when the trial period ends, you need to purchase its license which costs $25.
GlassWire
A modern and robust bandwidth control software, GlassWire allows you to keep an eye on your network activity by your geographical location, applications using bandwidth, and web traffic with the help of easy to interpret and understand graphs. This bandwidth management software keeps a log for about 30 days and you can go back and check any unusual spikes and its reason and then customize the bandwidth to your liking.
GlassWire can inform you about any applications that are well known and documented threats, any unexpected and unauthorized network system file changes, DNS changes and many more to help you take immediate action. It also has remote monitoring tools built in.
With this modern personal firewall and network monitoring software, you will be able to:
- See who or what your PC is talking to and also see what your PC may have connected to in the past.
- Detect spyware, malware, badly behaving apps, and bandwidth hogs, then block their connections.
- Get warnings about the network related changes to your PC or unusual changes to your apps.
- Monitor other PCs on your network and get alerted when new unknown devices join your WiFi.
In short, when it comes to monitoring network data usage with a clear view and easy to understand UI then GlassWire is a great option for all. This network monitoring software is available for almost all versions of Windows (Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 10).
Although, the free version of GlassWire network monitor software has all the features you need in order to limit wifi speed and control bandwidth on router per users but if you want the extra layer of protection then you can upgrade for its Pro version which costs $29.
cFosSpeed
cFosSpeed is a dynamic bandwidth management tool which doesn’t statically limit bandwidth but changes the bandwidth usage dynamically by prioritizing certain web traffic over others. With the cFosSpeed prioritization scheme, you can allow all your programs full bandwidth and let cFosSpeed decide which streams must be prioritized. If you are satisfied with the automatic prioritization then that’s great, otherwise, you can change the prioritization according to your wish.
The UI is very simple and even a bit confusing for an average joe but the inclusion of visual graphs helps with the user interface somewhat. You can easily monitor traffic status and change things very easily via the taskbar. Some of the most noticeable features of cFosSpeed are:
- Free configurable prioritization of programs
- Self-calibrating
- Layer-7 protocol analysis
- Firewall function to protect from threads
- Automatic router detection
- Optimal Dial-Up connections
- VPN – WLAN – WiFi – MTU-Optimization
- Traffic shaping mode (Multi-user feature)
- Broadband limits (Cable and DSL)
- Routing multiple connections simultaneously
cFosSpeed is a lightweight program which supports more than 32 languages and it’s utterly compatible with versions of windows (Windows 10/8.1/8/7). This traffic shaping software offers a 30-day free trial and later on, you need to pay $17.90 to use it.
TMeter
TMeter is also a very powerful network traffic accounting software for Microsoft Windows operating systems that allows you to control the speed of any process that has access to the network. It allows you to make a very flexible and precision measurement of the traffic by any condition (using the IP address of source or destination, protocol, and port) in real-time with an immediate output of the collected statistic to graph or any other reports.
It has a huge feature list which includes the ability to capture packets, filter URLs, ability to manage user accounts, monitor hosts, filter packets through a firewall, traffic recording and reporting and much more. Even, you can assign certain filters to individual programs as well.
You can use free TMeter version for an unlimited time period but only 4 traffic filters can be created and if you need more you can opt for the paid version of this bandwidth management software which comes in at 89 EUR.
Conclusion
We hope you found the ideal bandwidth control software for your Windows 10 system. If you have any trouble selecting the perfect bandwidth management software for your system, we are certain that almost all of the bandwidth limiter programs on our list will help you achieve what you set out to accomplish.
Feel free to ask us any questions regarding bandwidth manager software or tell us what you think about these above-explained free bandwidth monitoring tools for Windows 10 in the comments below.
You may also be interested in checking out:
Maintaining fast upload and download speed keeps work, emails, games and videos playing smoothly. So keeping an eye on that is pretty important, which you can do with a Mac network monitor.
There aren't a huge number of tools that can help you do this. Buried deep within Terminal is the command net stat; although this isn’t ideal as it can overload you with data. If you want something easier to use, to manage and monitor network speed and bandwidth, there are a couple options available which we outline below.
How to monitor network bandwidth?
#1: Use Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor, built into macOS will give you a rough overview of which apps are using your network connection, along with upload and download speed.
- Go to Applications > Utilities
- Or type Activity Monitor into Spotlight Search, or ask Siri.
- Activity Monitor is within Utilities and shows CPU, battery and network usage, amongst other useful monitoring processes.
- Now go to the Network tab.
- This shows various apps and processes and the impact they have on network bandwidth.
- Click on Sent Bytes and rank from highest to lowest to see which apps are using more bandwidth than others.
- There are also other columns which show the amount of data apps are receiving.
- To reduce the amount of bandwidth currently in use, go to the apps absorbing most of the network data available and close them if they're not in use (you may have left apps open that are taking up more data than you realize).
Another way, especially if you would prefer more proactive monitoring, is with CleanMyMac X.
#2: Check your real internet speed with CleanMyMac
Downloading CleanMyMac X is not a cure-all for everything that can go wrong with a Mac, but it can solve a lot of problems. Including getting your Mac to run faster, monitoring network bandwidth, and improving your online and in-app user experience.
The feature I’m constantly using is the CleanMyMac X Menu monitor. It sits in status bar of my Mac.
There’s a section called “Network” and this is where you can test your internet speed. Now you’ll find out if your internet provider is telling you the truth.
Download CleanMyMac X Free Edition here.
After you install the app, click on the iMac icon in the status bar to launch the Menu. This feature, internet speed test, is absolutely free.
Now, this is how CleanMyMac X can improve internet speed:
- Start with using the Privacy feature: Use this to clear caches, delete old internet data, and clear out unused Wi-Fi connections and other settings that are slowing your Mac down;
- Next, run Maintenance scripts with this app (another handy feature), to get your systems and browsers to operate more quickly.
- Another feature worth using if internet speed still needs speeding up is to check what system junk and other clutter is slowing your Mac down.
- Run a Smart Scan to clear anything out that is taking up processing power. You might find your Mac’s network connection is a lot better after that.
CleanMyMac X is worth downloading. It’s a powerful Mac support and improvement app, getting your Mac running as good as new, hopefully with a faster, smoother internet connection.
Comments are closed.