Netmeter

Netmeter is a tiny and portable networking utility designed as a simple means to keep track of your network bandwidth, in order to figure out the amount of sent and received packets, along with the maximum speed. It shows a small graph that lets you monitor usage in real time.

The whole application is packed in a single executable file that you can save anywhere on the disk and just double-click to launch Netmeter. It doesn't need any DLL libraries to run, doesn't change the Windows registry configuration by adding new entries, and doesn't create extra files on the disk. A simple file deletion is required for removing it from your computer.

There's also the possibility of keeping it stored online (e.g. email account, cloud) or on a removable storage unit, in order to launch the program on any computer effortlessly, in order to oversee network traffic.

As far as the interface is concerned, the app adopts a small frame that stays on top of other windows; this option cannot be changed. You can move its window anywhere on the screen to keep track of the bandwidth consumption while working with web-based applications, such as Internet browsers.

The ratio between the speed and downloaded / uploaded data amount is recorded, along with the maximum speed rate. Unfortunately, the tool doesn't integrate options for manually or automatically recording these statistics to file. On top of that, it can only be exited from the Task Manager, since it doesn't create an icon in the taskbar, systray or anywhere else at startup.

Unsurprisingly, it used low CPU and RAM in our tests. Netmeter is a straightforward tool for monitoring network bandwidth, as long as you keep in mind that it doesn't come with any other options.