Open Source VPN
A VPN sees every packet that passes through it, which puts it in a position of total trust, so being able to verify how that traffic is actually handled is not a bonus feature - it is the whole reason to run your own. The open source tools here let you read the tunneling and key-exchange code and host the server yourself, so the network carrying all your traffic answers to you rather than to a provider whose no-logging promise you can only take on faith. That control also means the choice is no longer a single product but a design decision about topology, protocols, and who holds the keys.
Headscale
Self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server for a single WireGuard-based tailnet
Algo VPN
Ansible-based personal VPN setup for WireGuard and IPsec in the cloud
WG-Easy
WireGuard VPN with a web-based admin UI for managing clients and monitoring traffic
NetBird
WireGuard-based zero trust networking with SSO, MFA, and granular access control
Nebula
Scalable overlay networking tool for connecting computers anywhere with encryption, certificates, and security groups
OpenVPN
Open source VPN daemon for secure tunneling and encrypted remote network access
SoftEther VPN
Cross-platform multi-protocol VPN software with SSL-VPN, WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPsec, and L2TP support
Firezone
Zero-trust remote access platform built on WireGuard with peer-to-peer encrypted tunnels
Outline Server
Shadowsocks proxy server with a REST API for access key management
Our picks
Match the tool to your network shape: a managed mesh, a classic daemon, a simple WireGuard box, or a full gateway.
Best zero-trust mesh for teams: NetBird NetBird connects your devices into a WireGuard-based overlay with centralized access control, so remote access no longer means opening ports or writing firewall rules. It handles NAT traversal with ICE and STUN, falls back to a relay when needed, and adds SSO, MFA, and group sync. Use the cloud or self-host with Docker Compose.
The battle-tested classic: OpenVPN OpenVPN is the long-standing default for encrypted remote access and site-to-site tunnels, securing traffic with TLS and X.509 certificates. It runs almost everywhere and interoperates with a huge client ecosystem, exactly what you want on restrictive networks. Reach for it when broad compatibility matters more than the newest protocol.
Easiest self-hosted WireGuard: WG-Easy WG-Easy bundles WireGuard with a web admin UI, so you create, edit, and disable clients, show QR codes, and download configs from one page, then watch live traffic stats. It adds 2FA, client expiration, per-client firewall rules, and Prometheus metrics, and runs as a single Docker container. Ideal for a small team that wants WireGuard without the command line.
Firewall and VPN gateway in one: OPNsense OPNsense is a FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform that also terminates IPsec, OpenVPN, and WireGuard, all managed from a web GUI. It adds Suricata intrusion detection, multi-WAN failover, and CARP high availability, so the VPN lives on the box that guards the network edge. A solid fit for site-to-site links.
Choosing a VPN by the shape of your network
Topology is the first decision, because these tools solve network shapes that barely resemble one another. A remote-access VPN gives laptops and phones a controlled path into a private network, and OpenVPN, SoftEther, wg-easy, and Algo VPN are built for that. A mesh or overlay VPN treats every enrolled device as a node that connects peer-to-peer, which is where NetBird, Nebula, and Headscale fit teams without a single central gateway. Firewall and router distributions like pfSense CE, OPNsense, and VyOS put the VPN on the box that already handles your network, which suits site-to-site links. And Pomerium skips the tunnel entirely, putting an identity-aware proxy in front of internal apps.
Protocol and key management matter more than the length of a feature list. WireGuard is modern, fast, and small, and most of the newer tools here build on it; OpenVPN and IPsec trade some speed for broad compatibility and better odds on restrictive networks, and SoftEther can speak several protocols from one server, including tunneling over HTTPS to slip past firewalls. Decide how keys and identity are handled too: static keys and config files are simple but painful at scale, while NetBird and Firezone tie access to users and groups with SSO and MFA, so a departing employee loses routes as well as a login.
Once people depend on it for work, a VPN is production infrastructure, so weigh the operational surface and the exit. Check for reliable clients on your operating systems, a plan for the control plane, and clean integration with your directory and firewall. Then confirm you can export peers, keys, routes, and access rules into plain files or documented APIs rather than leaving them trapped in one admin database.
Related categories
Frequently asked questions
Do I want a remote-access VPN, a mesh overlay, or a firewall-based gateway?+
That single choice shapes everything else. A remote-access VPN like OpenVPN or wg-easy gives individual devices a path into a private network. A mesh overlay such as NetBird, Nebula, or Headscale connects devices to each other peer-to-peer, with no central gateway to bottleneck. Firewall distributions like OPNsense, pfSense CE, and VyOS put the VPN on the router itself, which fits site-to-site links. Do not expect a road-warrior tool to behave like a WAN link.
WireGuard or OpenVPN and IPsec - which protocol should I choose?+
WireGuard is the modern default: fast, small, and easy to reason about, and it underpins NetBird, Nebula, Firezone, wg-easy, and Headscale. OpenVPN and IPsec are older but survive restrictive networks better and interoperate widely, which still matters in locked-down environments. SoftEther VPN hedges by serving several protocols from one server, including SSL-VPN over HTTPS. Test from the actual networks your users sit on, not just the office.
What is a mesh overlay VPN, and when is it better than a gateway?+
A mesh overlay enrolls each device as a node and connects nodes directly through encrypted tunnels, using NAT traversal so you rarely open firewall ports. NetBird and Nebula work this way, and Headscale runs a self-hosted control server for standard Tailscale clients. It shines when people and servers are scattered across clouds and homes, since traffic takes the shortest path instead of backhauling through one gateway that becomes a single point of failure.
Can any of these help on networks that block VPNs?+
Some are designed for it. Outline Server runs Shadowsocks with mandatory AEAD ciphers, probing resistance, and variable packet sizes that make the traffic hard to identify and block. SoftEther can tunnel over HTTPS, and even over ICMP or DNS, to reach heavily restricted networks. These focus on reachability rather than corporate access control, so match the tool to whether your problem is censorship or private connectivity.
How do I add SSO and MFA and remove users cleanly?+
For more than a handful of devices, prefer a tool that ties access to identity. NetBird supports SSO and MFA with identity-provider group sync, and Firezone authenticates through Google Workspace, Okta, Entra ID, or any OIDC provider with automatic directory sync. The payoff is revocation that actually works: removing someone from a group pulls their routes and credentials, not just their ability to log in.
Could a clientless proxy replace the VPN entirely?+
Sometimes. Pomerium is an identity-aware reverse proxy that puts access control in front of internal web apps, so users reach them through the browser with no VPN client and continuous per-request verification. It fits web applications well but does not cover arbitrary TCP services the way a tunnel does. Many teams run a proxy for web apps and keep a mesh or gateway VPN for everything else.
How do I migrate off an existing VPN without cutting people off?+
Run both in parallel during a transition window. Start with a pilot group, duplicate the essential routes and DNS behavior, then verify access to file shares, admin panels, databases, and any SaaS allowlists tied to your egress IPs. Move users in batches with a rollback path. The usual cleanup is route conflicts, stale client profiles, and firewall rules pinned to the old address pool.