Modern Replacements for ping
gping graphs ping latency in the terminal; Trippy combines ping and traceroute with per-hop stats. Compare both as ping replacements.
Updated
short verdict
Pick gping if you want ping with a live graph, several hosts on one screen, or timing of arbitrary commands via --cmd. Pick Trippy when you need to know which hop on the path is losing packets or adding latency, not only whether the destination answers.
ping sends ICMP echo requests and prints one line of latency per reply. Both tools below are written in Rust, run in the terminal, and replace that scrolling text with a live display. gping keeps the ping model and plots it. Trippy changes the model by combining traceroute and ping into a per-hop view of the network path.
this page is for
- Developers who want to see latency trends instead of a scrolling list
- Engineers comparing latency to several hosts at once
- Network and DevOps staff diagnosing where on a path packets are lost
Closest to ping in purpose: it pings a target and graphs response times in real time, with multiple hosts on one graph.
best for
- Watching latency to one or more hosts over time
- Timing a command repeatedly with --cmd
strengths
- Each target is drawn as its own graph line, so you can compare several hosts at once
- --cmd graphs the execution time of an arbitrary command
- Shortcuts such as aws:eu-west-1 ping specific AWS regions
- Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD; supports IPv4, IPv6 and choosing a network interface
weaknesses
- Shows response times only, with no per-hop path or routing data
- Default time buffer is 30 seconds, so longer history needs a configured buffer
Use it when reachability is not enough: it merges traceroute and ping into an interactive TUI with per-hop latency and packet loss.
best for
- Finding which hop adds latency or drops packets
- Inspecting routing paths and AS data for each hop
strengths
- Shows packet loss, latency statistics and routing information for every hop to the destination
- Retrieves Autonomous System (AS) data for each hop
- Supports multiple tracing protocols and customizable themes
- Runs on Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows; can run without elevated privileges on some systems
weaknesses
- Output is a path table, not a single-target ping line, so it differs more from ping's output
- Extensive configuration options mean more to learn than a plain ping
- Unprivileged operation is limited to some systems, so you may still need elevated privileges elsewhere
What changes compared to ping
Both tools replace scrolling text output with a terminal interface, but they differ in what they measure.
- gping plots response times as a continuously updating graph instead of one text line per reply
- gping draws each host as a separate line when you give it several targets
- gping's --cmd flag graphs how long any command takes, which ping cannot do
- Trippy reports latency and packet loss per hop along the route, not only for the final destination
- Trippy adds AS data per hop and supports multiple tracing protocols
When not to use these
- You need a tool with ping-compatible flags and output for existing scripts, since neither project documents that
- You only need a one-off reachability check on a minimal host where installing a package is not worth it
FAQ
- Can gping or Trippy be used as a drop-in replacement for ping in scripts?
- Neither project documents ping-compatible flags, output or aliases. Both are interactive terminal displays, so check their behavior before replacing ping in a script.
- Which one should I use to find where packets are being lost?
- Trippy. It combines traceroute and ping and shows packet loss and latency for each hop along the path. gping only graphs response times for the target.
- Can I ping several hosts at once?
- Yes, with gping. It pings multiple hosts simultaneously and renders each one as a separate graph line.
- Which platforms do they support?
- gping runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD. Trippy runs on Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows. Both install via Cargo, Homebrew and APT.