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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs OpenVPN

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

Runs Terraform plan and apply from pull request comments, self-hosted and free

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenVPN logo

OpenVPN

Networking

Open source VPN protocol with a commercial Access Server product priced per simultaneous connection

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Atlantis there is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.; OpenVPN open source OpenVPN, while free, requires real technical skill to configure, secure and maintain without the Access Server admin layer
  • They diverge on capability: Atlantis covers Pull request plans, OpenVPN covers Open source core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and OpenVPN actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and OpenVPN differ
AttributeAtlantisOpenVPN
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeOpen source core is free; Access Server billed per simultaneous connection
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedLinux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsNetworking

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Atlantis

  • Pull request plans
  • Comment driven apply
  • Workspace locking
  • Policy checking
  • Multi-platform webhooks
  • Custom workflows

Only in OpenVPN

  • Open source core
  • Access Server admin UI
  • Per-connection licensing
  • Free tier
  • Cross-platform clients

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Atlantis

  • Making Terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approvernot OpenVPN
  • Removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keysnot OpenVPN
  • Getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platformnot OpenVPN
  • Enforcing Conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can runnot OpenVPN

OpenVPN

  • A technical team wanting a fully free, self-configured VPN server using the open source protocol without any vendor relationshipnot Atlantis
  • A small business wanting a supported, easier-to-administer VPN server, willing to pay per concurrent connection rather than per employeenot Atlantis
  • An organisation with more staff than typical concurrent VPN usage, since Access Server bills only active simultaneous connections, not total accountsnot Atlantis
  • An IoT or large-scale deployment needing custom Enterprise pricing above 2,000 connectionsnot Atlantis

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Atlantis

  • There is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.
  • The security surface is inherently sharp, because it is an internet-reachable webhook endpoint that executes applies with privileged credentials, gated by pull request comment authorisation that is coarse next to a real policy engine.
  • It is stateful, holding a working directory and lock database on local disk, so high availability and horizontal scaling are awkward and you own upgrades, webhook plumbing, secret rotation and the host itself.
  • It lacks the features that distinguish the commercial alternatives, with no native drift detection, no cost estimation, no managed state interface and no policy engine beyond the Conftest integration.
  • Terragrunt and monorepo layouts are not first-class, requiring hand-written custom workflows and repository configuration that becomes a growing maintenance burden as the number of repositories increases.

OpenVPN

  • Open source OpenVPN, while free, requires real technical skill to configure, secure and maintain without the Access Server admin layer
  • Per-connection billing on Access Server means usage spikes, such as an all-hands remote day, can push simultaneous connections over a licensed limit and block new connections until usage drops or the plan is upgraded
  • OpenVPN's traditional hub-and-spoke architecture routes traffic through a central server, unlike mesh VPN tools like Tailscale or NetBird that establish direct peer-to-peer connections where possible, which can add latency
  • Client configuration and certificate management for the open source version is more manual and error-prone than newer VPN tools with zero-config onboarding
  • Access Server pricing above the Growth tier reverts to custom Enterprise quoting, so very large deployments lose the pricing transparency of the lower tiers
  • The protocol's throughput is generally lower than newer kernel-integrated protocols like WireGuard under equivalent conditions, which matters for high-bandwidth use cases

Pricing, plan by plan

Atlantis

Free
  • AtlantisFree
    • Apache-2.0, no usage limits and no seat count
    • No commercial edition and no paid support tier
    • Community support through GitHub and the CNCF Slack channel

OpenVPN

Free
  • Access Server FreeFree
    • Up to 2 simultaneous connections
    • All features included
  • Access Server Growth$7/month
    • Per simultaneous connection beyond the free tier
    • Annual billing
  • Access Server Enterprise/IoT$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing for 2,000+ connections

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlantis if

  • You need pull request plans.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want comment driven apply.
Atlantis review

Choose OpenVPN if

  • You need open source core.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want access server admin ui.
OpenVPN review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or OpenVPN better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and OpenVPN at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or OpenVPN?
Atlantis starts at Free and OpenVPN at Free.
Does Atlantis or OpenVPN run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. OpenVPN runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Can I use Atlantis for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Atlantis best used for?
Atlantis is most often used for making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver, removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys, getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platform, enforcing conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can run. Of those, making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver and removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys are not what OpenVPN is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that OpenVPN cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. OpenVPN covers Open source core, Access Server admin UI, Per-connection licensing, Free tier.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Atlantis: Is there a company behind Atlantis?

No. It runs as a series of LF Projects under the Linux Foundation and is maintained by volunteers. There is no vendor to buy support from and no service level agreement.

OpenVPN: Is OpenVPN free?

The open source protocol and software are free under the GPL; Access Server, the commercial packaged product, charges per simultaneous connection beyond a free 2-connection tier.

Atlantis: Is it a CNCF project?

No. It uses a channel in the CNCF Slack, which is often misread as membership, but the project sits under LF Projects rather than the CNCF.

OpenVPN: What counts as a connection for billing purposes?

A simultaneously active connected device, not a registered user account or total device count; unlimited accounts and devices can be created but only the licensed number can be connected at once.

Atlantis: Does it work with OpenTofu?

Yes, there is a dedicated integration guide alongside Terraform, and it also has configuration for working with hosted Terraform backends.

OpenVPN: How does OpenVPN compare with WireGuard-based tools like Tailscale?

OpenVPN uses a traditional hub-and-spoke VPN architecture rather than the mesh, peer-to-peer approach used by newer tools like Tailscale or NetBird.

Atlantis: What does it not do that a paid platform does?

Drift detection, cost estimation, a managed state and run interface, and a real policy engine. Atlantis does pull request plan and apply well and stops there.

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