Best Mac firewalls in 2026, picked by the job

People searching for a best mac firewall, or for a little snitch alternative, are usually trying to solve one job: stop an app from calling out, see where traffic goes, or keep a laptop quiet on a metered connection. Those jobs do not have one winner. This page sorts the current Mac tools by the job, with prices and versions taken from each seller’s own page on 2026-10-14.

Disclosure: Bundl is run by the team that makes Outbound, one of the firewalls on this list. We hold it to the same criteria as the others, and we say where other apps are the better pick.

How we compiled this

The facts below come from vendor pages and release notes checked on 2026-10-14. This is not a hands-on test. Our review policy describes what a hands-on review on Bundl means: install the app, use it, and write from that. This roundup does not meet that bar. Where a seller’s pages disagree with each other, the cell says so and does not pick a number. Install commands appear only for apps that already have a Homebrew cask in the Bundl catalog.

The queries this page is written for, verbatim, are best mac firewall and little snitch alternative. Nothing here is a search-volume or ranking figure.

Best free

For outbound prompts at no charge, LuLu is the pick. Objective-See’s product page calls it a free, open-source firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections. The download line on that page is v4.5.1 for macOS 10.15 or later. The GitHub releases page lists Version 4.5.1 as Latest, with a release timestamp of 2026-08-05. Alerts fire when a new unauthorized outgoing connection is created. A decision can become a general rule for that process. The same page also lets you add a rule with a remote address or domain and a remote port. Profiles arrived in the 4.x line (the page says profiles from v4.0). Passive mode applies existing rules without the prompts. The Network Monitor menu opens Netiquette, which the page says is packaged into LuLu. There is a VirusTotal button on the alert.

LuLu is the stronger free pick when you want the source, the prompts, and a rule you can aim at a host. It is not Little Snitch’s monitor. The product page we checked does not describe a world map or a twelve-month history.

Murus Lite is a different free tool. The Murus site says Lite is free for non-commercial use, and that it is not a tryout or demo. Lite has inbound filtering and logging. It is the free pick when the job is the packet filter’s inbound side, not “which app just called out.”

Netiquette is a monitor, not a firewall. The product page lists current version 2.3.0, macOS 10.15 or later, an interactive UI or the command line, and a link to the source code. The GitHub releases timestamp for v2.3.0 is 2024-10-05. No purchase price is printed on that product page. Use it when you want the connection list and you will block traffic somewhere else.

The firewall built into macOS is the free incoming control. Apple’s guide says a firewall can protect your Mac from unwanted contact initiated by other computers. The settings path on that page is Apple menu, System Settings, Network, Firewall. The settings article lists incoming options, including “Block all incoming connections,” “Automatically allow built-in software to receive incoming connections,” and “Enable stealth mode.” Those two Apple Support pages (fetched 2026-10-14, HTTP 200) describe incoming connections. They are the right control for inbound access, and they are the wrong tool if the job is an outbound prompt.

brew install --cask lulu
brew install --cask murus
brew install --cask netiquette

Quiet whole-app blocking

Radio Silence is the quiet pick. The homepage says there are no annoying pop-ups, and the buy button says “Buy now for only $9.” The same page offers a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. It requires macOS 10.15 or newer and says it works with Apple Silicon and Intel, and with macOS Golden Gate. The download page lists Version 3.4 for macOS 10.15 or later. The 3.4 release notes on that page mention installation guidance for macOS Tahoe. A calendar date for the 3.4 build is not printed on the download page.

You block an app, and that app loses the network. Child processes of blocked apps are automatically blocked too. The network monitor shows connections in real time and exposes helpers, daemons and XPC services. Its controls are a list of blocked apps. You do not get a prompt on every new host. If you want to allow a browser but deny one analytics domain, Radio Silence is the weaker pick. LuLu and Little Snitch document host or domain rules. Radio Silence’s homepage and download page, checked the same day, describe whole-app blocking.

brew install --cask radio-silence

The side-by-side pages are LuLu vs Radio Silence and Little Snitch vs Radio Silence.

Deepest monitoring

Little Snitch is the most established commercial monitor here. The product page says it has been doing this job for more than 20 years. That sentence is the vendor’s, and the release notes still show a current build. Release notes dated 8 September 2026 publish Little Snitch 6.5 (build 7303). The download page says 6.5 runs on macOS 27 Golden Gate and is also compatible with macOS Tahoe, Sequoia and Sonoma. The same notes say to upgrade to 6.5 before a macOS 27 Golden Gate upgrade, because previous versions are not compatible and would break the internet connection after that upgrade. Version 6.4.1 (build 7212, 22 June 2026) is an earlier release on the same notes, not the current one.

A connection alert asks you to allow or deny. Silent Mode allows new connections first so you can decide later. Network Monitor includes a map and an interactive chart for a period of up to twelve months. The product page also describes curated blocklists with daily updates, rules that limit access to specific servers, domains, ports, or protocols, profiles that can switch automatically, a command line utility, and DNS encryption using DoH, DoT, or DoQ. That combination is why Little Snitch is the pick when the job is “show me the host, keep a history, and let me write a narrow rule.”

The order page, in euros, lists these buy buttons: single licence 59 € (product LS6-1, marked valid for Little Snitch 6 and 5), family 115 € (LS6-HF), multi 5× 239 € (LS6-5), multi 10× 419 € (LS6-10). The family text says one household, up to 5 computers, non-commercial use. The single-licence text says one user on multiple computers, or multiple users on one computer, not both. Those pack prices are the listed buttons. They are not 5 × 59 € or 10 × 59 €. The Snitch Bundle single buy button is 61.25 € (LS6-BDL1). The same block shows 63.49 € as the original price. Without a licence, demo mode runs for three hours and can be restarted. The Network Monitor expires after 30 days.

Little Snitch Mini is the smaller app from the same company. The Mini product page says the network view can be used for free, and that connection blocking, extended traffic history, and advanced display and filtering are an in-app purchase. The US App Store page lists Version 1.9 with a date of 2026-01-19, requires macOS 12.0 or later, and lists a Monthly Subscription at $1.49 and a Yearly Subscription at $13.49. Those are two separate in-app products on that US storefront. Mini is not a Homebrew cask in this catalog, so there is no brew line for it. It is the pick when you want Objective Development’s map in a smaller app and you may never pay for blocking. It is the wrong pick when you need the full Little Snitch rule editor.

Outbound  also has a network monitor. The changelog for 1.0.19 (public release 12 October 2026, build 68) says the map can show a 3D globe. The monitor records bytes when a connection closes. That is a real monitor. It is not a reason to rank Outbound above Little Snitch for history depth. Little Snitch’s page states a chart of up to twelve months. Outbound’s FAQ does not state an equivalent history length. Outbound is also new in 2026, closed source, and sold without a trial.

brew install --cask little-snitch

The existing comparison is Little Snitch vs LuLu.

Metered networks

TripMode is the hotspot tool. The homepage says it lists apps that are requesting internet access and blocks them by default, you choose which apps get access, and it turns itself on automatically when you connect to a hotspot. It has a live monitor, data-usage reports, and a view of the domains apps have contacted. The homepage says it is compatible with macOS 27 Golden Gate and offers “Download for Free.”

The US App Store page (fetched 2026-10-14, HTTP 200) lists version 3.2.6 with the date text 10/06/2025, and it requires macOS 11.0 or later. The description says a feature-limited free mode remains, and that full use needs a subscription or a Lifetime in-app purchase. It also says a 7-day trial, after which you are billed $14.99/year or the equivalent in your country. The same page’s in-app purchase list includes Yearly $17.99 and Yearly $14.99, Monthly $5.99 and Monthly $4.99, and Lifetime $49.99 and Lifetime $39.99. Those figures disagree, so this page does not quote one TripMode price. TripMode is still the pick for a metered link because the homepage documents default-deny per app and automatic activation on a hotspot. It is a weak little snitch alternative if you wanted a prompt that names the host: the domain text on the homepage is about visibility, not a documented per-host block rule.

brew install --cask tripmode

Managed Macs and MDM

Two firewalls on this list document management for fleets. Little Snitch’s help has an Enterprise Deployment page: it says Little Snitch can be mass-deployed via Jamf, Hexnode or similar MDM solutions, that its rules and settings can be managed centrally, and that permissions of non-admin users can be restricted. Mass deployment works only on the very first installation and is driven by a JSON configuration file that carries the licence key. See the Little Snitch Enterprise Deployment help .

Outbound’s FAQ documents its own management features. A personal licence is $39 USD one time, covers 2 Macs, and includes all 1.x and 2.x updates. The first 50 licences are $29. A family licence is $59 USD for 5 Macs. Those are separate listings, not a per-Mac multiple of $39. There is no trial. The FAQ says you get a full refund within 14 days of purchase. Teams licensing is per seat, billed yearly, and the FAQ says to contact them for that price. No teams figure is printed there, so none is printed here.

Rules combine an app with a host, domain, IP, range, or local network, plus ports and protocol. Modes are Learn (allow when no rule matches, and record it in Review; a new install starts here), Ask (ask first), and Strict (block when no rule matches). In Ask mode, an unanswered connection is allowed after 8 seconds for UDP or 60 seconds for TCP by default. The app includes blocklists, a network monitor with a map, and the outboundctl command for export, import, status, profiles, blocklists, audit logs, and rule-feed checks. MDM support on the FAQ is sample profiles, managed preferences, an HTTPS rule feed with optional SHA-256 pinning, and JSON Lines audit export. Outbound requires macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon or Intel. The FAQ says that is a minimum, not a claim that every macOS build, VPN, or Private Relay setup has been tested, and that no compatibility result is published yet. The FAQ also says Outbound is closed source. Version 1 installs no DNS proxy.

Those management features come with real limits. Outbound’s first public release was 1.0 on 7 October 2026, and the current version is 1.0.19 (12 October 2026). The app is new and closed source. There is no trial, only the 14-day refund. No compatibility test results are published yet. Pick LuLu for a free open-source prompt firewall and Little Snitch for twelve months of traffic history. Pick Radio Silence for a $9 switch that blocks a whole app and stays quiet, and TripMode when the Mac is on a hotspot and you want default-deny per app.

For a fleet, Little Snitch is the established choice: it has the longer record, documented mass deployment, and central rule management. Outbound’s pinned rule feed and audit export are newer and unproven at scale. LuLu documents profiles, but the pages checked on 2026-10-14 do not describe MDM deployment. Radio Silence sells a $49 Team licence with no seat limit; its pages do not describe MDM deployment either. Outbound is not in the Bundl catalog and has no Homebrew cask here, so the link above is the vendor site only.

Developers

If you want domain, port and protocol rules plus a monitor you can search for a year, Little Snitch 6.5 is the mature commercial tool. The single licence is 59 € on the order page, with the demo limits above.

If you want the same general class of control in a free, open-source app, LuLu 4.5.1 is the one. You can write a remote address or domain and a remote port, keep profiles, and read the source. You give up the map and the long history.

Vallum sits in the developer column for a different reason. Release notes list Vallum 5.1 on 16 September 2025, with Tahoe compatibility. The download section also lists “Vallum 6.0 beta” and “Vallum 6.0 beta for macos 27.” The vendor’s own sources disagree on what is current. The GitHub releases list Vallum 6.0 (12 October 2026) and 6.0.1 (13 October 2026) as full releases, while the website still shows 5.1 notes, 5.1 prices, and the 6.0 beta download. Vallum 5 requires macOS 11.2 or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. The product page describes inbound and outbound rules, hostname or domain matching, port and protocol, popup notifications, a Flows Monitor, and rules matched by developer or signature. A single licence is $15. A five-licence family pack is $20. An upgrade to Vallum 5 is $7.50, and free if Vallum or a Murus Pro Bundle was purchased in 2024. Prices on that page do not include VAT. There is a 15-day trial. The family pack is listed at $20, not at 5 × $15.

Murus is the packet-filter front end, not the per-app prompt. Stable release notes list Murus 2.7 on 2 September 2025, with Tahoe compatibility. It requires macOS 10.14.4 or later for the current 2.x line and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. The product page also shows Murus 3.0 rc 2, which requires macOS 13.5 or later, including macOS 27. The GitHub releases list Murus 3.0 as a full release on 12 October 2026, but the website download buttons checked on 2026-10-14 still offer 2.7 and the release candidate. Basic is $10 for a single licence. The Basic five-licence family pack is $15 and is non-commercial: up to two computers per person, up to five people in the same household. Pro is $25 for a single licence. Prices do not include VAT. Educational licensing is 50% off, and the page says to ask for a coupon. That educational line is Murus, not Little Snitch. The Murus page says the Pro bundle includes Vallum as the application-layer firewall. Per-app blocking is documented there as Vallum’s job.

Outbound’s outboundctl command is the terminal option: rules, profiles, blocklists and audit export from the shell, plus the MDM feed above. Read the limits in the managed-Macs section before you treat a 1.0.19 closed-source app as the default developer firewall.

brew install --cask vallum

Comparison table

Checked 2026-10-14. “Not stated” means the vendor pages fetched that day did not document the cell. It is not a lab result.

Hands Off! is not a current listing

Metakine’s homepage, fetched 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200), says the company used to develop and sell Mac apps such as Hands Off!. The old product URL https://www.metakine.com/products/handsoff/ returned HTTP 404 on the same day. This roundup does not treat Hands Off! as a firewall you can buy from that page, and it does not invent a version or a price for it.

Where to go next

App pages in the catalog: Little Snitch, LuLu, Radio Silence, Vallum, Murus, TripMode, Netiquette.

Comparisons written from the same vendor pages: LuLu vs Radio Silence, Little Snitch vs Radio Silence, and Little Snitch vs LuLu.

Outbound stays off the cask list. The product site is outboundfirewall.com .