Little Snitch vs Portmaster

Little Snitch is a network monitoring and application firewall for macOS made by Objective Development. It intercepts unwanted outgoing connections attempted by apps, installers, and background processes, and lets you decide - on a per-app, per-domain, or per-port basis - whether to allow or deny them. Beyond blocking, Little Snitch visualizes network traffic with interactive charts covering up to 12 months of history, organizes activity by app, domain, or country, and offers built-in DNS encryption (DoH/DoT/DoQ) plus daily-updated blocklists. Rules can be grouped, shared, and automatically switched based on the current Wi-Fi network.

Portmaster, made by the Austria-based company Safing, is a free and open-source application firewall for Windows and Linux that gives users visibility into every network connection made by every application on their computer. Rather than just blocking traffic at the network edge, it lets users set per-application rules to allow, block, or restrict specific programs, and can completely isolate an app from the internet if desired. Beyond application-level control, Portmaster blocks ads and trackers system-wide at the DNS level, meaning the protection applies across all applications rather than just a browser. It supports restricting connections by country and blocking specific domains directly. Safing also offers SPN, a separate paid privacy network product, and a Pro tier for Portmaster itself, alongside the free core firewall application.

• Gives granular, per-app control over outgoing network connections
• Detailed traffic visualization makes it easy to spot unexpected connections
• One-time purchase rather than a recurring subscription
• Built-in DNS encryption and blocklists add extra privacy protection

• Free and open source with a transparent, publicly reviewable codebase
• System-wide DNS-level ad and tracker blocking, not limited to a single browser
• Granular per-application network control not found in most consumer firewalls
• Active development with recent updates and an engaged community

• Mac-only, so it does not help users on Windows or Linux
• Constant connection alerts can be overwhelming for less technical users
• Full pricing isn't published up front and requires visiting the order page

• No macOS support currently, only Windows and Linux
• More technical than typical consumer security software, aimed at privacy-focused users
• Optional Pro/SPN pricing (80 EUR/year) is not prominently broken down on the main site