GlassWire vs Oh Dear
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
GlassWire is a network monitoring and personal firewall application for Windows and Android that visualizes current and past network activity to help users spot malware, bandwidth hogs, and unfamiliar devices on their network. Its firewall includes an ask-to-connect mode that lets users approve or deny individual apps' network access, alongside a network time machine for reviewing historical connections. GlassWire also tracks data usage across devices and can alert users before they exceed set data limits, while its network scanner flags new or unknown devices joining a WiFi network. Over 53 million downloads have been recorded for the Windows and Android apps combined.
Oh Dear is a website health monitoring service popular with agencies and developers, especially in the Laravel and PHP community. It checks sites from a real visitor's perspective every minute from multiple worldwide locations, watching uptime, SSL certificate expiration, broken links and mixed content, DNS record changes, domain expiration, cron job execution, and page performance including Lighthouse scores. Rather than gating features behind pricing tiers, Oh Dear includes its full feature set on every plan and simply scales price with the number of monitored sites and servers, from a Solo plan covering 2 sites up to Enterprise levels above 200. It also produces branded, automated monthly client reports and public status pages, making it a natural fit for agencies that need to demonstrate uptime and performance to their own clients.
- Combines network monitoring and firewall in one lightweight app
- Very affordable premium pricing at $2.99/month
- Visual, easy-to-understand traffic graphs
- Available on both Windows and Android
- Every plan includes the full feature set; pricing only scales with number of sites, not functionality
- Strong reputation in the Laravel/PHP community with deep framework-adjacent use cases like queue and cron monitoring
- 1-minute check intervals on all tiers, faster than many competitors' free or entry tiers
- Automated client-facing monthly reports save agencies manual reporting work
- Free tier limits network history to just 24 hours
- Windows and Android only, no Mac or Linux support
- Advanced threat detection features require Premium
- No free tier, only a 10-day trial, so smaller hobby projects must pay from day one
- Entry plan only covers 2 sites, so agencies with many small client sites can hit tier limits quickly
- Focused on website/HTTP-level health rather than deep infrastructure or application observability
More alternatives & similar tools
Alternatives to GlassWire
View all →Windows tool for controlling, monitoring and limiting per-application internet bandwidth.
Next-generation firewall appliances with AI-powered threat protection and zero trust access.
Alternatives to Oh Dear
View all →No alternatives listed yet. Browse similar tools →
The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataOh Dear is a website‑level health monitoring SaaS for agencies; GlassWire is a desktop network‑traffic monitor/firewall for end‑users. Choose based on whether you need site uptime/SSL checks or local device network visibility.
Key differences
- •Scope: Oh Dear monitors websites (uptime, SSL, broken links, DNS, performance) while GlassWire monitors local network traffic and firewall on Windows/Android.
- •Deployment: Oh Dear is cloud SaaS with API access; GlassWire is a desktop app with no API.
- •Pricing model: Oh Dear requires paid subscription (no free tier); GlassWire offers a freemium tier with limited history.
- •Target audience: Oh Dear targets web agencies and developers; GlassWire targets home users and small businesses needing visual network monitoring.
- •Platform support: Oh Dear works via any browser; GlassWire runs only on Windows and Android.
Pricing & value
GlassWire provides a free tier; Oh Dear has only a 10‑day trial and requires paid subscription.
Ease of use / learning curve
GlassWire offers visual, real‑time graphs on the desktop; Oh Dear is a SaaS with multiple monitoring configs.
Features & depth
Oh Dear includes uptime, SSL, broken‑link, DNS, cron, performance, reports, and API; GlassWire focuses on network traffic and firewall.
Integrations & ecosystem
Oh Dear provides Slack and API integrations; GlassWire has no API and limited third‑party integration.
Collaboration
Oh Dear offers branded client reports and public status pages for teams; GlassWire is a single‑user desktop tool.
Scalability
Oh Dear scales by number of monitored sites in the cloud; GlassWire is limited to the host device.
Support
Both provide email/community support; premium GlassWire adds dedicated support, Oh Dear only lists email.
Choose GlassWire if…
Home users or small businesses wanting visual network monitoring and a built‑in firewall on Windows/Android.
Choose Oh Dear if…
Web agencies or developers needing automated website uptime, SSL, performance, and client reporting.
Common questions
Can I try Oh Dear for free?
Only a 10‑day trial is offered; there is no ongoing free tier.
Does GlassWire work on macOS or Linux?
No, it is available only for Windows and Android.
Which tool provides API access for automation?
Oh Dear includes API access on all plans; GlassWire does not offer an API.