OpenVPN Community Edition and WireGuard are both free and open source for self-hosted VPN. Tailscale offers a free tier for up to 100 devices. Proton VPN has a limited free personal plan. For business use, self-hosted WireGuard is the most performant free option, while OpenVPN has broader client compatibility.
10 tools with free access highlighted below, plus 5 more in this category.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
AWS Client VPN provides managed OpenVPN-based remote access to AWS VPCs — the natural choice for AWS-native architectures — but per-connection hourly pricing makes it expensive at scale.
Best for: AWS-native organizations that need remote developer and employee access to VPC resources without managing VPN infrastructure, especially for temporary or project-based access.
Custom quote · Cloud · Free trial
Cisco Meraki is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
Cloudflare One is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
NordLayer is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
OpenVPN Access Server is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
OpenVPN CloudConnexa is the managed cloud service built on the OpenVPN protocol — simplifies deployment for teams that want OpenVPN reliability without self-hosting — but pricing per connection can exceed alternatives.
Best for: Organizations that trust the OpenVPN protocol and want managed cloud deployment without the infrastructure overhead of self-hosted OpenVPN Access Server.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Perimeter 81 is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Proton VPN Business is the privacy-first business VPN — Swiss jurisdiction, no-logs policy verified by audit, and open-source clients — strongest for organizations where privacy is a non-negotiable requirement.
Best for: Privacy-conscious organizations, journalism teams, and businesses operating in jurisdictions with surveillance concerns that need a verified no-logs VPN with Swiss legal protections.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Tailscale is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
WireGuard is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
These tools are part of the vpn tools category but may not match the free tools filter above. Worth reviewing if the primary options don't fit.
Custom quote · Cloud
Cato Networks is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
Cisco AnyConnect is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud
Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud
Zscaler Private Access is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
WireGuard (self-hosted) for the best performance — kernel-level implementation, minimal overhead, and modern cryptography. OpenVPN Community for the broadest client compatibility and most documentation. Tailscale Free for up to 100 devices with zero server management.
WireGuard is faster (kernel-level vs userspace), has a smaller attack surface (~4,000 lines vs ~100,000 lines of code), and uses modern cryptography. OpenVPN has more configuration options, broader legacy client support, and more documentation. New deployments should default to WireGuard.
For site-to-site connectivity and remote access, self-hosted WireGuard or OpenVPN is technically equivalent to commercial alternatives. The gap is in centralized management, user provisioning, usage analytics, and support SLAs that commercial tools provide.
