See exactly which apps are using your internet — live and over the last hour — on Windows.
NetUsage Monitor is a lightweight, high-performance desktop app that shows the live network usage of every application (download/upload speed) plus a rolling history of how much each app has used. It groups multiple instances of the same program together (like Task Manager), shows each app's name and icon, and lets you keep, ignore, or focus on specific apps.
It records only the amount of data used (KB / MB / GB) — never the contents of your traffic.
Keywords: windows network usage monitor · per-app bandwidth · data usage · per-process network · background data tracker · which app is using my internet · bandwidth monitor · network meter
- 📊 Live per-app usage — download and upload speed for every process, updated every second.
- 🕑 History & averages — keeps the last hour by default (auto-pruned) and shows per-minute averages.
- ♾️ Keep forever — mark specific apps to record indefinitely (their history is never deleted).
- 🚫 Block internet per app — one-click cut an app's internet on/off (Windows Firewall).
- 📉 Data caps — set a limit (total/daily/monthly); when an app reaches it, it's auto-blocked and you're notified. Resettable.
- 🌐 Connection recording — optionally record the domains/IPs an app talks to (toggle per app, deletable, auto-pruned).
- ⏸️ Pause the view — freeze the list so you can read/click while recording keeps running.
- 🧩 Grouping — all instances of one program (e.g. every
chrome.exe) are combined into one row. - 🖼️ Names + icons — apps are shown by friendly name and their real icon, like Task Manager.
- 🔍 Search & sort — filter by name/path and sort by any column (optional live auto-sort).
- 🎯 Focus / ignore — Only track this app, or Ignore apps you don't care about.
- 🗂️ Choose where records live — pick any folder for the records database.
- 🔌 Runs in the background — closing the window minimizes to the tray and keeps recording.
- 🚀 Start with Windows — optional auto-start (minimized) at sign-in.
- 🗑️ Full control of data — delete one app's records, old records, or everything, anytime.
- 📤 Export — export the current view to CSV.
- 🔒 Private — stores byte counts (and, if you enable it, domains) only; no packet contents, nothing leaves your PC.
Honest limits (no kernel driver): full HTTPS URLs and raw packet payloads can't be captured without a packet driver and stay encrypted regardless — connection recording shows domains/IPs, not full URLs. Speed throttling isn't included; use block or data caps to control heavy apps.
- Go to the Releases page and download
NetUsageMonitor.exe. - Right-click → Run as administrator. (Required — see Why administrator?)
- The window opens with a live list of apps using the internet.
- (Optional) Pin to taskbar: right-click the taskbar icon → Pin to taskbar.
- (Optional) Open ⚙ Settings → enable Start with Windows and Keep recording in the background.
It's a single self-contained .exe — no installer and no need to install .NET.
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| See what's using the internet right now | Just open it — sort by ↓ Rate (default). |
| Keep a specific app's history forever | Right-click the app → Keep records indefinitely. |
| Stop recording an app entirely | Right-click → Ignore this app. |
| Record only one (or a few) apps | Right-click → Only track this app (switches to "only selected" mode). |
| Go back to recording everything | Right-click → Track all apps. |
| Cut an app's internet completely | Select it → Block internet in the right panel. |
| Auto-block an app at a data limit | Select it → Set / change limit → amount + total/daily/monthly. |
| See the domains/IPs an app uses | Select it → Record connections → list appears in the panel. |
| Freeze the list so I can click | Top bar ⏸ Pause view (recording keeps running). |
| Change how long history is kept | ⚙ Settings → Retention. |
| Choose where records are stored | ⚙ Settings → Records location → Browse. |
| Delete records | Right-click an app → Delete this app's records, or ⚙ Settings → Manage records. |
| Keep recording after closing the window | It minimizes to the tray automatically (toggle in Settings). To fully quit, use the tray icon → Exit. |
| Pause/resume all recording | Top bar Recording button, or tray menu. |
- Measurement: uses Windows ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) kernel TCP/UDP providers — the same data source Task Manager and Resource Monitor use — to count bytes sent/received per process. This is accurate and low-overhead (no packet capture, no network driver, no proxy).
- Live vs. history: byte counts are aggregated each second for the live view and written to a local SQLite database every few seconds for history.
- Retention: a background task deletes samples older than your retention window (default 60 minutes) — except for apps you marked Keep records indefinitely.
- Grouping: apps are grouped by their executable path, so multiple processes of the same program share one row and one total.
- Performance: the hot path only does interlocked counter increments; resolving names/icons is cached; database writes are batched. Typical CPU use is negligible.
NetUsage Monitor records how much data each app transfers — never what it transfers. There is no packet inspection, no hostnames, no payloads. All data stays in a local database in the folder you choose. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Reading per-application network byte counts on Windows requires an ETW kernel session, which needs administrator rights. There is no non-admin Windows API that attributes bandwidth to a specific process. The app requests elevation automatically (UAC prompt) on launch. To avoid the prompt at sign-in, enabling Start with Windows installs a scheduled task that launches it elevated without prompting.
By default in %LOCALAPPDATA%\NetUsageMonitor\netusage.db. Change it in ⚙ Settings.
Settings live in %APPDATA%\NetUsageMonitor\settings.json.
No. It only listens to lightweight kernel counters and batches small database writes. It does not sit in your network path, so it cannot slow your connection.
Yes, if Keep recording in the background is on (default) — closing the window minimizes it to the tray and recording continues. Use the tray icon's Exit to stop completely.
Requirements: .NET 8 SDK on Windows x64.
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/NetUsageMonitor.git
cd NetUsageMonitor
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File build.ps1
# -> dist\NetUsageMonitor.exeOr directly:
dotnet publish src/NetUsageMonitor/NetUsageMonitor.csproj -c Releasesrc/NetUsageMonitor/
Engine/ ETW capture, process identity, the per-second tracker
Storage/ SQLite database (samples, retention, history)
ViewModels/ MVVM view models and commands
Ui/ converters, icon provider, the history chart, auto-start
Configuration/ settings model + JSON persistence
*.xaml App, MainWindow, SettingsWindow
tools/ icon generator + headless test probes
.github/workflows/release.yml tag a vX.Y.Z to build + publish a release
C# · .NET 8 · WPF · ETW (Microsoft.Diagnostics.Tracing.TraceEvent) · SQLite (Microsoft.Data.Sqlite).
MIT.