Top 18 Linux Command‑Line Tools to Monitor Network Bandwidth

This article introduces several Linux command‑line tools for monitoring network usage, showing inbound and outbound traffic, per‑process bandwidth, and various reporting mechanisms.

1. nload

nload displays inbound and outbound traffic separately and can draw adjustable charts; it has few options and is ideal for a quick overview of total bandwidth. $ nload Installation:

# fedora or centos

$ yum install nload -y

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install nload

2. iftop

iftop measures data transferred per socket connection using the pcap library, allowing filtering and reporting of selected host connections, though it cannot show process IDs. $ sudo iftop -n Installation:

# fedora or centos

$ yum install iftop -y

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install iftop

3. iptraf

iptraf is an interactive, colorful IP LAN monitoring tool that shows data volume for each connection and host. $ sudo iptraf Installation:

# centos

$ yum install iptraf

# fedora or centos (epel)

$ yum install iptraf-ng -y

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install iptraf iptraf-ng

4. nethogs

nethogs is a small "net top" tool that lists processes by bandwidth usage, showing PID, user, and command path. $ sudo nethogs Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install nethogs

# fedora/centos (epel)

$ sudo yum install nethogs -y

5. bmon

bmon (bandwidth monitor) shows traffic load for all network interfaces with charts and packet‑level details. $ sudo apt-get install bmon Installation on CentOS requires Repoforge.

6. slurm

slurm is a simple network load monitor that displays device statistics with three ASCII graph modes, activated by the c, s, and l keys. $ slurm -s -i eth0 Installation:

# debian/ubuntu

$ sudo apt-get install slurm

# fedora/centos

$ sudo yum install slurm -y

7. tcptrack

tcptrack, like iftop, uses pcap to capture packets and compute per‑connection bandwidth, supporting standard pcap filters. $ sudo apt-get install tcptrack Installation on CentOS requires RepoForge.

8. vnstat

vnstat runs a daemon that continuously records transferred data and can generate historical usage reports. Use -l for real‑time monitoring.

$ vnstat

$ vnstat -l -i eth0

Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install vnstat

# fedora/centos (epel)

$ sudo yum install vnstat

9. bwm-ng

bwm-ng (bandwidth monitor next‑gen) provides a simple real‑time console view of interface speeds, with optional curses2 bar graphs.

$ bwm-ng

$ bwm-ng -o curses2

Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install bwm-ng

# fedora/centos (epel)

$ sudo yum install bwm-ng

10. cbm (Color Bandwidth Meter)

cbm is a tiny tool that continuously displays traffic size per interface without extra options.

$ sudo apt-get install cbm

11. speedometer

speedometer draws attractive graphs of inbound and outbound traffic for a chosen interface. $ speedometer -r eth0 -t eth0 Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install speedometer

12. pktstat

pktstat shows all active connections, their traffic speed, connection type (TCP/UDP), and HTTP request details if applicable. $ sudo pktstat -i eth0 -nt Installation:

# sudo apt-get install pktstat

13. netwatch

netwatch (part of netdiag) displays local and remote connections with per‑connection traffic speed. $ sudo netwatch -e eth0 -nt Installation:

# sudo apt-get install netdiag

14. trafshow

trafshow reports active connections, protocols, and data transfer rates, supporting pcap‑style filters (e.g., TCP only). $ sudo trafshow -i eth0 tcp Installation:

# sudo apt-get install netdiag

15. netload

netload provides a short report of current traffic load and total bytes transferred since start. $ netload eth0 Installation:

# sudo apt-get install netdiag

16. ifstat

ifstat displays network bandwidth in batch mode, suitable for logging and analysis. $ ifstat -t -i eth0 0.5 Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install ifstat

# fedora/centos (repoforge)

$ sudo yum install ifstat

17. dstat

dstat is a versatile Python‑based tool that reports various system statistics, including network bandwidth, in batch mode or CSV output. $ dstat -nt Installation:

# sudo apt-get install dstat

18. collectl

collectl reports system statistics in a dstat‑like format, covering CPU, memory, and network usage. $ collectl -sn -oT -i0.5 Installation:

# ubuntu/debian

$ sudo apt-get install collectl

# fedora

$ sudo yum install collectl

These command‑line tools allow quick inspection of network bandwidth on Linux servers via SSH. Web‑based monitoring solutions such as ntop, darkstat, or enterprise tools like Nagios can also be used for broader infrastructure monitoring.