All comparisonsGlassWire Data Usage Monitor and NetCageA data usage monitor for Android with graphs, data-limit alerts and a VpnService-based firewall for blocking apps.Last checked 7 November 2026Check GlassWire Data Usage Monitor’s own pageYou can’t install NetCage todayIt has no store listing and no public download, so there’s no install link on this page and no price to quote. If you need something on your phone now, GlassWire Data Usage Monitor is there to install and NetCage isn’t.Better served by GlassWire Data Usage MonitorChoose GlassWire if your first question is which app is eating your data plan, and blocking is the second step.Better served by NetCageChoose NetCage if you already know which app should be offline and want it caged in one switch, without a usage dashboard in the way.Row by rowNetCage’s column comes from its code. GlassWire Data Usage Monitor’s comes from the linked pages. “Not stated” means we didn’t find it there, not that it’s missing.

Feature

GlassWire Data Usage Monitor

NetCage

Blocks one chosen app’s internet

Yes play.google.com

Yes

Keeps blocking while the app is in the background

Not stated on the pages we checked

Yes

Needs no root

Not stated on the pages we checked

Yes

Open source

Not stated on the pages we checked

Shows ads

No play.google.com

Partly. Promotions for the developer’s own apps only. No ad network.

In-app purchases

No play.google.com

What it costs

App: Free. Free install on Google Play with no ads or in-app purchase label; the listing says the company earns from its Windows software play.google.com

NetCage publishes no price.Where NetCage falls short

It takes Android’s one VPN slot. While NetCage is up you can’t run another VPN, and connecting one stops NetCage.

Apps that share an Android user ID are caged together, and there’s no way to separate them.

A caged app can still hand a link to a browser you haven’t caged, and that browser connects as normal.

It doesn’t work inside an app: no domain rules, no block lists, no traffic log. An app is caged or it isn’t.

NetCage isn’t open source, so you can’t read its code.

Every limit, in the documentationComing from GlassWire Data Usage Monitor?The documentation has a page on how the two differ and which of its guides to read first. Read it on the documentation siteIf a row here is wrong, tell us and we’ll open the page again. Contact