Alternatives to NetGuard
No-root Android firewall
NetGuard ranks #2 of 7 in Firewall software, with an Alt Score of 70. It is licensed under GPL-3.0-only, freemium from Free and available on Android. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Android users who want fine-grained control over which apps can reach the internet, without rooting their device.
A firewall that lets you allow or block internet access per app, separately for Wi-Fi and mobile data. It can also block known ad and tracker domains, notify you when an app tries to go online, and log network usage by app and address. It's free, open-source, and contains no ads or trackers of its own.
NetGuard uses Android's built-in VPN API to route device traffic through a local, on-device VPN it controls, without sending data to any external server. This lets it inspect and filter connections per app and block unwanted domains, all without root access.
Where NetGuard stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave NetGuard
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Firewall software checklist (13 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Firewall software checklist | NetGuard | pfSense | LuLu | Little Snitch | GlassWire | OPNsense |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Outbound connection alerts | ||||||
| Per-app rules | ||||||
| Network-wide (router / gateway) | ||||||
| Profiles (home, public) | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| One-time purchase option | ||||||
| Traffic monitoring UI | ||||||
| IDS/IPS | ||||||
| Low overhead |
Every fact and feature listed for NetGuard is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-09
NetGuard is the first free and open source no-root firewall for Android. ... PRO features: Log all outgoing traffic; search and filter access attempts; export PCAP files to analyze traffic
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Platforms Android verified 2026-07-09
Android 5.1 and later supported
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
License GPL-3.0-only verified 2026-07-09
License: GNU General Public License v3.0 only
https://f-droid.org/packages/eu.faircode.netguard -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-09
NetGuard is basically free to use and that you don't need to pay anything to reduce your data usage, increase battery life, and increase your privacy.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/FAQ.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-09
Actively developed and supported
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Outbound connection alerts Yes verified 2026-07-09
Optionally notify when an application accesses the internet
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Per-app rules Yes verified 2026-07-09
Applications and addresses can individually be allowed or denied access to your Wi-Fi and/or mobile connection.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Network-wide (router / gateway) No verified 2026-07-09
Per-device Android app using a local VPN sinkhole; not router/gateway-level.
The only way to build a no-root firewall on Android is to use the Android VPN service.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Profiles (home, public) No verified 2026-07-09
Profiles are inconvenient because they need to be operated manually. ... Therefore profiles will not be added
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/FAQ.md -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-09
100% open source
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
One-time purchase option Yes verified 2026-07-09
Pro features unlocked via one-time in-app purchase on Play; F-Droid build is fully FOSS.
You can only purchase pro features when you have installed NetGuard from the Google Play store.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/FAQ.md -
Traffic monitoring UI Yes verified 2026-07-09
Optionally record network usage per application per address ... Log all outgoing traffic; search and filter access attempts; export PCAP files
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
IDS/IPS No verified 2026-07-09
Firewall only; no IDS/IPS.
NetGuard provides simple and advanced ways to block access to the internet
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/README.md -
Low overhead Yes verified 2026-07-09
By default NetGuard will hardly use any battery power. All settings resulting in extra battery usage, like IP filtering and logging, have a warning.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/M66B/NetGuard/master/FAQ.md
FAQ
Yes. GlassWire and Portmaster have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
pfSense, LuLu and OPNsense — every license claim links its source.