# Radio Silence review (2026): is it worth $9? > Mac firewall and network monitor that blocks apps from going online Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** Juuso Salonen - **Website:** https://radiosilenceapp.com/ - **Runs on:** macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you use Windows or Linux, as only macOS is covered. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Radio Silence is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $9 one-time, for personal use. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 24-hour trial in the downloadable installer, with no feature limits. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Personal | $9 one-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 | $49 one-time, for a whole team | Covers an entire team with no seat limit. Not a subscription. | Read from https://radiosilenceapp.com/buy on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Radio Silence before buying. ## 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. ## Good for - Mac users who want specific apps kept offline - People who prefer a one-time price over a subscription - Households or small teams covered by one license ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **Value for money: A.** $9 one-time for personal use, far below a year of this category's typical subscription. The Team licence is $49. - **Free plan and trial: D.** The 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. - **Features: C.** Outbound blocking, a live connection monitor and background-process control. The vendor's pages describe no rules by port or address. - **Ease of use: B.** Install it and block an app with nothing to configure. No store rating is on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Mac only, with version 3.4 needing macOS 10.15 or newer. No other platform. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, 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. - You could not: Readings from inside the operating system. - You could not: A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** One-time purchase, System monitor ## Alternatives - [LuLu](https://toolgpa.com/tools/lulu): Free open-source Mac firewall for outgoing connections. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lulu-vs-radio-silence) - [NetLimiter](https://toolgpa.com/tools/netlimiter): Per-app internet bandwidth limits and monitoring for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netlimiter-vs-radio-silence) - [GlassWire](https://toolgpa.com/tools/glasswire): Windows network monitor and firewall with a traffic time machine. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/glasswire-vs-radio-silence) - [TripMode](https://toolgpa.com/tools/tripmode): Mac app that blocks background data use on slow or metered networks. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/radio-silence-vs-tripmode) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://radiosilenceapp.com/ - https://radiosilenceapp.com/buy - https://radiosilenceapp.com/faq - https://radiosilenceapp.com/download Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/radio-silence Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).