Free Ping Tools for Network Troubleshooting

Run the ping command from your phone, tablet, and computer

Colored Computer Cables
GK Hart/Vikki Hart / Stone / Getty Images
by Bradley Mitchell
Updated February 04, 2018

Ping tools also called ping commands and ping utilities, are programs that use the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) to determine the availability and responsiveness of network nodes.

The ping command is built-in to Windows, Linux, and macOS, and is really easy to use, but it's also available in the form of third-party tools.

More Ping Tools

Various free third-party ping tools are available for download. Compared to the standard operating system ping commands, these tools typically provide a graphical interface and sometimes include charts to track statistics of ping tests over time. 

Desktop Ping Tools

  • ManageEngine Tools: This download includes a polished, free ping tool as part of a larger suite of network tools. You can not only ping a single host but also add multiples to the queue and run them all at once, as well as change the ping and web response times. There's also a trace route tool and an option to check the responsiveness of a website in semi-real-time.
  • PingInfoView: This is a simple, non-bloated ping tool that lets you ping via hostname or IP address for as long as you like, and see every success and failure message or save the results to a text file.
  • PingPlotter Free: This is the free version of a paid program that lets you "visualize the source of problems" and see a history graph of network performance. It works on Windows, macOS, and iOS.
  • GPING (Graphical Ping): Ping multiple hosts at the same time with this free ping tool. You can import and export hosts from a text file, save the session, see ping results over time represented in a graph, and use the integrated DNS to resolve hostnames to IP addresses.
  • Colasoft Ping Tool: This free ping utility shows you ping results in three ways: on a timeline graph, in text format, and in a tree-like, directory listing. Included in the results are the IP address, location of the server, packets sent/received/lost, and the minimum/maximum/average response time.

Mobile Ping Test Apps

  • Ping: This aptly named iOS app lets you scan a network to run the ping command against all the hosts it finds. It includes TTL, time-out, send interval, and packet size options.
  • PingTools Network Utilities: Android devices can run this app to perform all sorts of network tasks like ping, port scanner, Whois, subnet scanner, Wake-on-LAN, etc.
  • iNetTools: This iOS app doesn't just run ping tests but also DNS lookups, trace route, port scans, Whois lookup, and more.
  • Network Tools: Discover all the devices on your network and run a ping test against them with this iOS tool. Some other options included in this app is a DNS resolver, TCP client, and trace route tool.
  • Ping Test: This is a simple Android ping tool where you enter a hostname or IP address and start a ping test against it.