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Cybersecurity · head to head

VMware Carbon Black vs Wireshark

V

VMware Carbon Black

Cybersecurity

Cloud-delivered endpoint protection and EDR, now owned by Broadcom and positioned alongside Symantec.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wireshark logo

Wireshark

Cybersecurity

The world's foremost network protocol analyzer

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Wireshark has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: VMware Carbon Black broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.; Wireshark free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard, Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which VMware Carbon Black and Wireshark actually diverge.

Attributes where VMware Carbon Black and Wireshark differ
AttributeVMware Carbon BlackWireshark
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsDesktop, ApiDesktop, Cli
Founded20021998

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in VMware Carbon Black

  • Endpoint Standard
  • Enterprise EDR
  • Audit and Remediation
  • Single sensor
  • Live Response
  • Workload protection
  • Container security
  • Watchlists and feeds

Only in Wireshark

  • Deep packet inspection
  • Live capture
  • Offline analysis
  • 3000+ protocol support
  • Rich display filters
  • VoIP analysis
  • Decryption support
  • Scripting with Lua

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

VMware Carbon Black

  • A SOC that wants unfiltered endpoint telemetry to hunt over rather than only vendor-generated alertsnot Wireshark
  • A vSphere estate that wants workload protection deployed through the hypervisor instead of installing an agent in every guestnot Wireshark
  • Replacing signature antivirus after an incident where the incumbent product had no record of what the attacker didnot Wireshark
  • An organisation already inside a Broadcom or Symantec enterprise agreement that can consolidate endpoint onto an existing contractnot Wireshark

Wireshark

  • Network Securitynot VMware Carbon Black
  • Packet Analysisnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Open Sourcenot VMware Carbon Black

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

VMware Carbon Black

  • Broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.
  • Continuous EDR recording is retained for a defined window and longer retention is a paid tier, so the investigation you most need is often the one whose telemetry has already aged out, and that is discovered during the incident rather than before it.
  • The product assumes an operator: watchlists, policy tuning and alert triage are ongoing work, and organisations without a dedicated analyst or an MDR contract typically leave policies in monitor mode and pay for telemetry that is never reviewed.
  • The sensor operates in the same kernel and file-filter territory as other endpoint agents, so running it alongside an incumbent antivirus, DLP or backup agent commonly produces performance complaints and requires maintained exclusion lists on both sides.
  • Linux sensor support is tied to specific distribution and kernel versions, so a routine operating system upgrade can leave hosts without a supported sensor until a matching build ships, and anything outside the supported list gets no coverage at all.

Wireshark

  • Free and open source under the GNU GPL; downloadable without paying any license fee, no commercial tier

Pricing, plan by plan

VMware Carbon Black

On request
  • CB Endpoint StandardFree
    • NGAV
    • Behavioral EDR
    • Device control
  • CB Endpoint AdvancedFree
    • All Standard features
    • Threat hunting
    • Audit and remediation
  • CB Endpoint EnterpriseFree
    • All Advanced features
    • Advanced threat hunting
    • Live response

Wireshark

Free
  • Free & Open SourceFree
    • Full functionality
    • Deep inspection
    • Live capture

Which should you pick?

Choose VMware Carbon Black if

  • You need endpoint standard.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want enterprise edr.
VMware Carbon Black review

Choose Wireshark if

  • You need deep packet inspection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Desktop, Cli.
  • You also want live capture.
Wireshark review

Questions people ask

Is VMware Carbon Black or Wireshark better?
Neither clearly leads. VMware Carbon Black starts at On request and Wireshark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, VMware Carbon Black or Wireshark?
Wireshark has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for VMware Carbon Black and Free for Wireshark.
Does VMware Carbon Black or Wireshark run on more platforms?
VMware Carbon Black runs on Desktop, Api. Wireshark runs on Desktop, Cli.
Can I use Wireshark for free?
Yes. Wireshark has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. VMware Carbon Black starts at On request.
What is VMware Carbon Black best used for?
VMware Carbon Black is most often used for a soc that wants unfiltered endpoint telemetry to hunt over rather than only vendor-generated alerts, a vsphere estate that wants workload protection deployed through the hypervisor instead of installing an agent in every guest, replacing signature antivirus after an incident where the incumbent product had no record of what the attacker did, an organisation already inside a broadcom or symantec enterprise agreement that can consolidate endpoint onto an existing contract. Of those, a soc that wants unfiltered endpoint telemetry to hunt over rather than only vendor-generated alerts and a vsphere estate that wants workload protection deployed through the hypervisor instead of installing an agent in every guest are not what Wireshark is typically brought in for.
What can VMware Carbon Black do that Wireshark cannot?
VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard, Enterprise EDR, Audit and Remediation, Single sensor. Wireshark covers Deep packet inspection, Live capture, Offline analysis, 3000+ protocol support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

VMware Carbon Black: Who owns Carbon Black now?

Broadcom. It acquired VMware in November 2023, and Carbon Black now sits in Broadcom's enterprise security business alongside Symantec. VMware branding is being phased out.

Wireshark: Is there a cost to download and use Wireshark?

No, Wireshark is completely free. It's distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2, making it "free software" with no demo limitations. The full version is available at no cost.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Why do the docs use names I do not recognise?

The product has been renamed repeatedly. CB Defense is now Endpoint Standard, CB ThreatHunter is Enterprise EDR and CB LiveOps is Audit and Remediation. Older community answers and runbooks still use the previous names.

Wireshark: What support options are available for Wireshark users?

Wireshark offers multiple support channels including mailing lists, an active Discord community, the Ask Wireshark Q&A platform, comprehensive documentation, a user guide, and developer resources for those needing technical assistance.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Does it replace my existing antivirus?

Yes on supported Windows, macOS and Linux versions, and running it alongside another antivirus is not recommended because the two agents contend for the same hooks. Check your compliance requirements, as some auditors still ask for a named antivirus product.

Wireshark: Are there different pricing tiers or subscription levels?

Wireshark does not offer pricing tiers or subscriptions. There is one free version available to all users regardless of use case, personal, professional, or organizational.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Do I need a full-time analyst to run it?

To get value from Enterprise EDR, effectively yes. The prevention tier can run with part-time attention, but the hunting and recording capability is only worth its cost if somebody is querying it, which is why many customers buy it through an MDR provider.

VMware Carbon Black: How is it licensed?

Per endpoint, per year, with the capability tier determining the rate and workload and container protection priced separately. Extended EDR data retention is an additional line item.

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