Network Meter for Windows

Network Meter is a free portable software program for devices running Microsoft Windows that displays network statistics in its interface.

The program is designed as a basic tool to monitor network traffic. While it does offer a history function, it is not a full blown network monitor as it keeps to the basics.

The program opens with a near-blank screen which can be quite confusing on first start. You need to select one of the available network adapters under the Monitor menu to start monitoring traffic.

What you get afterwards is a representation of the network adapter's current, max and total download and upload traffic.

Additionally, session totals and a realtime graph are displayed on the screen as well.

Network Meter 2.0

The only other option provided on the screen is to switch from monitoring transfers to monitoring the adapter's speed.

The same current, max and total stats are provided when you switch the monitored metric.

One interesting feature of Network Meter is the ability to display information of multiple adapters at the same time in its interface. Simply select two or more network adapters to get information of each in the same program window. Each network adapter is listed in its own little box in the program window then.

The program offers a couple of basic options on top of that. You can display the adapter list at the top of the program window above the graphs, or set the window to be always on top.

That's about it though. There is no report function, no option to set off alarms when certain thresholds are reached, and no presentation of data in any meaningful way other than what is displayed right in the main program window.

Network Meter is compatible with all recent and even not so recent versions of Windows. It should run on all client operating systems from Windows 2000 onwards. The program is free for personal and commercial use.

Closing Words

Network Meter may not be the most sophisticated program out there, but what it does may be sufficient for certain tasks. Want to monitor the amount of traffic that flows through a network adapter? Network Meter can do that.

Want to find out if an Internet connection gets maxed out regularly? The program can do that as well. It is portable, very lightweight, and does not get in your way at all while it is running.

Now You: Do you use a network monitor?