SniporaPortlivo vs PortKiller
PortKiller is a free, open-source app for Mac and Windows that lists listening ports by category and kills them, and also manages Kubernetes port-forwards. Here’s how it compares.
By Anmol Sethi · Checked
Quick answer
Pick PortKiller if you want free and open source, need Windows too, or manage Kubernetes port-forwards. Pick Portlivo if you want each port tied to its project, with restart, live logs, health and a fix when a port is already in use.
At a glance
| Portlivo | PortKiller | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Menu bar app and window, macOS 14+ | Menu bar app on macOS 15+, tray app on Windows 10+ |
| Price | $8.99 once for one Mac (early-bird, normally $19.99), 7-day free trial | Free, open source (MIT) |
| Shows the project | Folder, command, git branch, PID and uptime | A category: web server, database, development or system |
| Stop | One click; services and containers the right way | Graceful or force kill |
| Restart | Yes, with the same arguments and environment | Not listed |
| Logs | Live, in the inspector or a window of its own | For Kubernetes port-forwards |
| Watched ports | Yes, with Start Again | Yes, with notifications |
| Tunnels | Shares a server through cloudflared or ngrok | Shows Cloudflare Tunnels; manages kubectl port-forwards |
Where Portlivo pulls ahead
- Knows the project: folder, command and the app it came from, not a category.
- Restart, live logs and health for each dev server.
- Docker and Homebrew aware: container names instead of docker-proxy, and services stopped so they don’t respawn.
- Runs on macOS 14 Sonoma as well as 15 and later.
Where PortKiller is the better pick
- You want free and open source.
- You also work on Windows.
- You manage Kubernetes port-forwards day to day.
Portlivo is free for 7 days with every feature. Then it’s $8.99 once for one Mac (early-bird, normally $19.99), or $39.99 for 3 Macs or $59.99 for 5 Macs, with free updates and no subscription.
Try Portlivo free for 7 days. Every feature, no account.
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