Kestrel LITE vs PacketTrends
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kestrel LITE
Analyze network packet capture files directly on your iPhone or iPad. Inspect packet details, reassemble TCP streams, and view host inventories and DNS queries. This app operates entirely offline and on-device, ensuring your data privacy.
- Packet list with hex+ASCII inspector
- TCP stream reassembly
- Flow records with bidirectional counts
- Host inventory with DNS resolution
- Protocol classification
- Timeline view of capture activity
- Chain-of-custody log
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Kestrel Lite is a network packet analyzer for iPhone and iPad — open a PCAP or PCAPNG file, see what's inside, and triage it from your phone or tablet. CORE FEATURES Dashboard with tappable widgets — jump from any metric to the relevant tab Packets list with hex+ASCII inspector and filter syntax (port, host, protocol, length) TCP stream reassembly with full payload view (captures under 1 GB) Flow records with bidirectional byte/packet counts Host inventory with hostname resolution from DNS observed in the capture DNS queries with full A/AAAA/CNAME/MX/TXT response data Protocol classification: TCP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, SSH, FTP, SMTP, TLS, ARP, SMB, mDNS, DHCP, NTP, SNMP, SSDP, QUIC Timeline view of capture activity Chain-of-custody log with SHA-256 file integrity hash PRIVACY GUARANTEE 100% offline — no network access 100% on-device — your captures never leave your device No account required, no sign-in Free with no ads IDEAL FOR Network engineers triaging captures on the go Security analysts doing first-pass review Students learning packet analysis and networking Anyone curious about what's actually in their PCAP files LIMITATIONS PCAP files are processed up to 50,000 packets per capture Raw payload search is not included TCP reassembly disables automatically above 1 GB to protect device memory Upgrade to Kestrel Sight to get: Unlimited packet capacity — no 50,000-packet cap Analyst Bookmarks — flag any packet, flow, host, DNS query, or stream with a note. Bookmarks are included in the PDF export Enhanced IPv6 support — addresses displayed in canonical RFC 5952 form, search matches any textual representation of the same address Refined PDF reports — human-readable durations, complete Top Talkers, paginated bookmarks Refined CSV exports SUPPORT Questions, issues, or feature requests? Email support@tracivex.com — we read every message and use your feedback to guide development.
PacketTrends
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PacketTrends keeps an eye on the hosts and services you care about and alerts you the moment something breaks. Connect the app to your PacketTrends workspace to see your whole fleet at a glance — every monitored host, colour-coded by health, with latency and packet loss right there. • ICMP ping checks — reachability, round-trip latency, jitter, and packet loss • TCP port checks — handshake success, time-to-connect, and timeout/refused rates for any port (443, 22, 8089, and more) • One host, many checks — track a server's ping plus several ports independently • Per-host history — latency and connect-time trends over minutes, hours, and days • Push alerts — get notified instantly when a host goes down, and again when it recovers • Manage on the go — add, edit, and remove hosts and toggle alerts from your phone No account? Tap "Explore the demo" on the first screen to browse a live sample workspace — no sign-up required. PacketTrends is a companion app for an existing PacketTrends monitoring account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: PacketTrends at every 8 days against Kestrel LITE's every 2 months. PacketTrends also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Kestrel LITE ships an update every 2 months, PacketTrends every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on June 30, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kestrel LITE | PacketTrends |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Althausen | Edwin R Matos |
In-app purchases
Kestrel LITE
No in-app purchases
PacketTrends
No in-app purchases





