VoIPmonitor alternative

Why did this call fail?
Answered without a capture server.

VoIPmonitor is built to watch every call, all the time. Sometimes you do not need a monitoring platform — you have one broken call and need the cause now. Upload the PCAP, trace, or SBC log you already have and SIPSymposium returns severity-ranked findings in seconds. No server, no database, no install.

Analyze a call Create free account

Free tier · no credit card · no capture server to deploy

The honest version

Two different jobs — pick the one you have

We are not going to tell you SIPSymposium replaces VoIPmonitor for everything. It does not. They answer different questions, and the right choice depends entirely on which question is yours.

	VoIPmonitor	SIPSymposium
Primary job	Continuous monitoring & CDR	On-demand call analysis
Coverage	Every call, always on	The call you bring it
Setup	Server, DB, sniffer, config	None — runs in the browser
Output	Metrics, CDRs, MOS trends	Interpreted root-cause findings
Long-term storage	Yes	Your saved reports
Time to first answer	After deployment	Seconds

If you need 24/7 coverage and historical CDRs, run VoIPmonitor — that is what it is for. If you are here because one call broke and you want the cause without building infrastructure first, read on.

When this is the faster path

You already have the evidence

The moment you are debugging a specific incident, a monitoring platform is often more setup than the problem needs. If any of these is you, skip the deployment:

You have a PCAP

From tcpdump, tshark, a Wireshark export or an SBC. Upload it and get the analysis — no sniffer to configure.

You have an SBC log

A long, noisy AudioCodes Mediant or similar syslog. It is reduced in the browser to the sessions that matter, then analyzed for the internal decision that failed the call.

You have a raw SIP trace

Paste it. Log output from Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, Kamailio or an SBC is interpreted the same way.

You need it now

No time to deploy a capture stack for a one-off incident. Findings come back in seconds, with evidence and recommendations.

Someone who does not read SIP has to understand it

Findings are in plain language with severity and recommendation, so you can hand the report to a colleague or a customer.

You need a report to attach

Export findings to PDF for the ticket or the post-incident writeup, without screenshotting a monitoring UI.

Also worth knowing

Where the open-source monitors still win

If what you actually need is a monitoring platform, we would rather point you at the right one than oversell this. VoIPmonitor and the other open-source options are the correct tool when you need continuous capture, per-call CDRs, MOS trending across time, or alerting. SIPSymposium is the analysis layer you reach for once you have a capture in hand — the two work well together.

FAQ

VoIPmonitor vs. SIPSymposium

Straight answers on where each one fits.

Is SIPSymposium a replacement for VoIPmonitor?

Not for continuous monitoring. VoIPmonitor is an always-on capture and CDR platform that watches every call over time. SIPSymposium is on-demand analysis: you bring a capture, trace or SBC log from an incident and get the root cause in seconds. If your goal is 24/7 coverage and long-term CDR storage, keep VoIPmonitor. If your goal is to understand why one specific call failed without deploying a capture server, SIPSymposium is faster.

When should I use SIPSymposium instead?

When you already have the capture and need the answer now. Standing up VoIPmonitor means a server, a database, a sniffer and configuration before you can analyze anything. If you just need to diagnose a failed registration, a one-way-audio call or an SBC rejection from a PCAP or log you already hold, SIPSymposium gives you interpreted findings without any of that setup.

Do I need to install anything?

No. SIPSymposium runs in the browser — no capture server, database or agent to deploy. Upload a PCAP, paste a SIP trace, or drop in an SBC or device log and run the analysis.

What inputs does it accept?

PCAP and PCAPNG captures, raw SIP traces, SDP, RTP/RTCP stats, and SBC or device syslog such as AudioCodes Mediant. Logs are reduced in the browser to the sessions that matter before analysis. See the PCAP analyzer and SIP trace analyzer for those paths.

Is it free?

There is a free tier with 3 analyses per day and no credit card, including PCAP upload up to 10MB. Paid tiers raise the daily limit and file size — see pricing.

Have a call to diagnose?

Bring the PCAP, trace or SBC log you already have. Get the cause in seconds — no capture server required.

Open the analyzer