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Cybersecurity · head to head

Authelia vs WireGuard

Authelia logo

Authelia

Cybersecurity

Open-source authentication and two-factor portal for reverse proxies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WireGuard logo

WireGuard

Cybersecurity

Modern, minimal-complexity VPN protocol with state-of-the-art cryptography

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Authelia depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider; WireGuard manual key management required; WireGuard does not provide automated peer discovery or key distribution mechanisms
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Authelia and WireGuard actually diverge.

Attributes where Authelia and WireGuard differ
AttributeAutheliaWireGuard
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsDocker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hostedLinux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD

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

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 Authelia

  • Reverse proxy integration
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Access control rules
  • Lightweight backends

Only in WireGuard

Nothing recorded that Authelia does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Authelia

  • Putting a login and 2FA in front of self-hosted services that have nonenot WireGuard
  • Adding SSO across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platformnot WireGuard
  • Home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxynot WireGuard

WireGuard

  • Site-to-site VPN connectivity for datacentres and branch officesnot Authelia
  • High-performance VPN applications requiring minimal latency and CPU overheadnot Authelia
  • Embedded systems and IoT devices with strict memory and storage constraintsnot Authelia
  • WireGuard-based managed services (Tailscale, Mullvad VPN) providing abstraction over raw protocolnot Authelia
  • Kernel module for Linux-based VPN appliances and firewallsnot Authelia
  • Research and development in cryptographic protocol designnot Authelia

Where each one falls short

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

Authelia

  • Depends on a reverse proxy: it is not a standalone identity provider
  • Configuration is YAML-first with no administrative interface, so changes mean editing files
  • Not a full IAM: user management, provisioning and federation are limited compared with Keycloak
  • Scales poorly as an organisation-wide identity solution, which is not its target

WireGuard

  • Manual key management required; WireGuard does not provide automated peer discovery or key distribution mechanisms
  • No built-in support for address allocation or DHCP; all IP assignments must be manually configured
  • Limited to UDP; TCP encapsulation requires wrapper tools, making it unsuitable for environments blocking UDP
  • Stateless protocol design means lost packets trigger peer disconnection rather than transparent reconnection
  • Requires operational expertise to securely configure and deploy; not suitable for non-technical users without wrapper tools (Tailscale, Mullvad)

Pricing, plan by plan

Authelia

Free
  • AutheliaFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

WireGuard

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the WireGuard review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Authelia if

  • You need reverse proxy integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want two-factor authentication.
Authelia review

Choose WireGuard if

  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD.
WireGuard review

Questions people ask

Is Authelia or WireGuard better?
Neither clearly leads. Authelia starts at Free and WireGuard at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Authelia or WireGuard?
Authelia starts at Free and WireGuard at Free.
Does Authelia or WireGuard run on more platforms?
Authelia runs on Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, Self-hosted. WireGuard runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD.
Can I use Authelia for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Authelia best used for?
Authelia is most often used for putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none, adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform, home and small-team infrastructure behind a single reverse proxy. Of those, putting a login and 2fa in front of self-hosted services that have none and adding sso across a small set of internal tools without a full identity platform are not what WireGuard is typically brought in for.
What can Authelia do that WireGuard cannot?
Authelia covers Reverse proxy integration, Two-factor authentication, Access control rules, Lightweight backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Authelia: Is Authelia free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

WireGuard: Is WireGuard free?

Yes, WireGuard is free and open-source software. The Linux kernel module is licensed under GPLv2; implementations for other platforms use MIT or Apache 2.0 licences. There are no licensing fees.

Source
Authelia: Does Authelia need a reverse proxy?

Yes. It integrates through forward authentication with Nginx, Traefik, Caddy or HAProxy rather than sitting in front of traffic itself.

WireGuard: How does WireGuard differ from IPsec and OpenVPN?

WireGuard replaces complex negotiation protocols and state machines with simple public-key cryptography. Its code is roughly 100 times smaller than IPsec, making it faster to audit, deploy, and maintain. It uses modern cryptographic primitives rather than legacy algorithms.

Source
Authelia: Authelia or Keycloak?

Authelia is far lighter and aimed at protecting self-hosted services behind a proxy. Keycloak is a full identity and access management platform, and much more to run.

WireGuard: Can I use WireGuard for a commercial VPN service?

Yes. Several commercial VPN services (Mullvad, IVPN, ProtonVPN) use WireGuard as their underlying protocol. You must implement peer management, key distribution, and endpoint selection on top of the WireGuard protocol.

Source
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