Most people do not monitor their Internet use on a desktop or laptop. While most home Internet connections don’t have limits, there are many reasons an individual would want to track their Internet use. You can monitor your Internet usage in Windows with one of the methods in this guide.
1. Task Manager
Perhaps you’re curious about how much data your favorite online game consumes. Alternatively, while traveling abroad, you could be using your phone’s roaming data on a tethered Windows PC. All of this requires monitoring Internet use.
For a very general overview of which Windows apps use the most data in a 7-day period, you can use the trusty Windows Task Manager. Press Ctrl + Alt + Escape to open the utility, then go to App History -> Network.
Look to see how much data each app uses for downloading and uploading. If any of them is using too much data, stop it by turning off automatic syncing. Click the down arrow icon to see the data usage from highest to lowest.
Tip: check out our guide on how to improve your network speed in Windows via Regedit and other methods.
2. Data Usage Overview
The Task Manager offers a brief overview of UWP apps and their data usage. It can only provide information for up to seven days. For more detailed statistics that cover all apps over a 30-day period, do a Windows search for Data Usage Overview, and select Data Usage.
Alternatively in Windows 11, go to Settings -> Network & Internet -> Advanced Network Settings -> More Settings -> Data Usage. In Windows 10, go to Start -> Settings -> Network & Internet -> Data Usage.
In Windows 11 on the right side of the screen, click the network name. It gives a list of apps in order of how much data they’ve used over the last 30 days, 7 days, or 24 hours. For similar information in Windows 10, click on View usage per app.
In the Data usage window, set a data limit by selecting the active network from the drop-down menu, and clicking Enter Limit. Choose the Limit type based on monthly, weekly, daily, one-time, and unlimited values. Set the Data Limit based on GB or MB units, and Save the setting.
FYI: view network adapter details in Windows for information on how much data you’re consuming on a network.
3. Command Prompt
You can also monitor aggregate Internet usage through the Command Prompt in Windows. This is a great way to view the network data information without using third-party tools. Open the utility in administrator mode, and enter the following:
netstat -e -s
The command line screen will quickly give an overview of the data packets Received and Sent in Bytes. It also bifurcates the data usage information according to the Unicast and Non-Unicast packets. This gives you an idea of whether the data was sent to single or multiple interfaces.
Scroll down further to view the data usage according to TCP, UDP, and IPv4/IPv6 statistics.
The Command Prompt also has a handy instruction that lets you view the various network-related information for active connections. To view those, type:
netstat -anbView all the local and foreign IP addresses, either in Listening or Established stage. Dig further by checking the processes (a browser such as msedge.exe or service host such as svchost.exe) that generated those IP addresses.
FYI: Netstat is a universal command that also works in Linux systems to help you view all active SSH connections.
4. Resource Monitor (Resmon)
Windows has Resource Monitor (or “Resmon”), a useful Run command that gives Live network activity for free. Open it from Windows search or a Run command, Win + R, then typing “resmon.”
Go to the Network tab to view the Processes with Network Activity, individual Network Activity, TCP Connections, and Listening Ports. For each process, view the Total, Send and Receive data in B/sec. If any process is consuming too much data, close it via Task Manager.
Note: you can also check the ports in use on your Windows device.
5. NetworkUsageView
Probably the most popular network monitoring tool around, NirSoft’s NetworkUsageView, gives you a super-detailed breakdown of how much up-and-down data every process on your PC uses – from games to system processes, and everything in between.
The app doesn’t require any installation. Just download and extract the .exe application from the official page. When you click it, you can see all network usage records based on App Name and Timestamp. Double-clicking on any Record ID will give the Bytes Sent and Bytes Received.
It can be a little overwhelming at first, but there are all kinds of filters that let you whittle down what you’re seeing. If you’re looking to dig a little deeper into your Internet traffic in Windows, this is the way to do it.
Good to know: what is “ping,” and how does it affect your Internet usage? Find out more in our quick guide.
6. BitMeter 2
If you want a more detailed look at how much data your Windows PC is using at any given moment, or over specific periods, then BitMeter 2, which installs an actual app, is a good choice. It’s freeware with no time-limited features, ads, or other problems. Installing it will only consume 3 MB of space.
As soon as you launch BitMeter 2, it hovers over your screen, which is annoying. To avoid this, right-click on the app window and click Send to Tray, then right-click to select Statistics or Statistics Grid to get a Summary of Network Activity for Days, Hours, or Months.
Apart from giving you a detailed breakdown of your Internet usage, BitMeter 2 also helps set alerts for high data usage over a given period. Use its Calculator, ISP Restrictions, and Alerts feature for such settings. It’s one of the best apps for viewing your Internet use during international roaming or other data restrictions.
Now that you know how to monitor Internet usage on your Windows laptop or PC, if you want to keep fiddling around with your Windows network settings, learn how to optimize the network connection for speed and stability.
Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.
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