Radio Silence review (2026): is it worth $9?
Mac firewall and network monitor that blocks apps from going online
Black Friday: is there a Radio Silence sale?
Radio Silence report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for blocking Mac apps from the internet
Radio Silence is a Mac firewall and network monitor that blocks any app from going online. But the trial is only 24 hours, blocking is per app with no port or address rules on record, and it runs on macOS only.
Who Radio Silence is for
- Fits if you want to stop specific Mac apps from phoning home
- Works for people who want a one-time purchase instead of a subscription
Who Radio Silence is not for
- Skip it if you use Windows or Linux, as only macOS is covered
- Tight if you want to evaluate it properly: the trial lasts 24 hours
- Too light for you if you want rules by port or address, as only per-app blocking is described
- Watch out: it isn't sold on the Mac App Store, since the vendor says firewalls can't be
Why Radio Silence gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for money$9 one-time for personal use, far below a year of this category's typical subscription. The Team licence is $49.
- DFree plan and trialThe downloadable installer has a 24-hour trial with no feature limits. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee on purchases, which isn't a trial.
- CFeaturesOutbound blocking, a live connection monitor and background-process control. The vendor's pages describe no rules by port or address.
- BEase of useInstall it and block an app with nothing to configure. No store rating is on record.
- CPlatforms and integrationsMac only, with version 3.4 needing macOS 10.15 or newer. No other platform.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Radio Silence's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Radio Silence? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/radio-silence#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/radio-silence.svg" alt="Radio Silence: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Radio Silence stands among desktop utilities
Radio Silence's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 35 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 33.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 55 of 186) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 3).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 187 desktop utilities we grade, cut by the letter each got. Radio Silence’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 55 of 186, level with 131
- DFree plan and trialAbove 3 of 186, level with 4
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 186, level with 110
- BEase of useAbove 78 of 186, level with 108
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 111 of 186, level with 60
Keep Radio Silence, or make your own?
Your call
It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon.
Radio Silence sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $9, paid once, it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it.
What you could not
- Readings from inside the operating system.
- A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
What this rests on. Radio Silence’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Radio Silence?
Radio Silence is a macOS firewall and network monitor. It lists the connections that apps and background processes make in real time and lets you block any app from reaching the internet. The firewall runs in the background after you set it up, so the window does not need to stay open.
Worth knowing
- macOS only: version 3.4 needs macOS 10.15 or newer, and older systems use legacy versions.
- Not sold through the Mac App Store; the vendor says firewalls cannot be, because of the system access they need.
- The trial lasts 24 hours, though the vendor adds a 30-day money-back guarantee on purchases.
- Blocking is per app; the vendor's pages describe no rules by port or address.
Key features
- Outbound app blocking
- Build a list of apps that may not reach the internet. The FAQ says the built-in macOS firewall does not stop outbound traffic, while this one does.
- Live network monitor
- Shows every network connection made by apps and processes as it happens, so a misbehaving app can be found and blocked from the list.
- Helpers and background processes
- Finds helper apps, invisible background processes, daemons and XPC services that make connections, and blocks child processes of a blocked app.
- Runs without the window open
- The firewall starts with the Mac and stays active after the window is closed; the interface is only used to change the block list.
- Local traffic still allowed
- A blocked app cannot reach the network but can still talk to local processes on the same Mac.
Radio Silence pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Radio Silence is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $9 one-time, for personal use.
- Starts at
- $9 one-time, for personal use
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 24-hour trial in the downloadable installer, with no feature limits
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | $9one-time, for a single user | One license for one person; the FAQ says it can be installed on all of that person's Macs. |
| Team | $49one-time, for a whole team | Covers an entire team with no seat limit. Not a subscription. |
Read from radiosilenceapp.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Radio Silence before you buy.
Radio Silence alternatives
- Radio Silence vs NetLimiter
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- Radio Silence vs GlassWire
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- Radio Silence vs TripMode
Free plan · from $14.99/yr
Common questions
Does Radio Silence have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Radio Silence is listed for macOS.
Does Radio Silence have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Radio Silence is listed for macOS.
Is Radio Silence open source?
Radio Silence is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.