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Networking · head to head

NetBird vs Teleport

NetBird logo

NetBird

Networking

Open source WireGuard mesh VPN with identity based access policies and a hosted control plane

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only NetBird has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: NetBird self hosting requires an identity provider, and the bundled option adds a second unfamiliar service to operate, so the free path costs more administrative time than the docker compose file suggests.; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: NetBird covers WireGuard data plane, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which NetBird and Teleport actually diverge.

Attributes where NetBird and Teleport differ
AttributeNetBirdTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, DockerLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryNetworkingCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 NetBird

  • WireGuard data plane
  • NAT traversal with relay fallback
  • Identity based access control
  • Network routes
  • Posture checks
  • Full self hosting

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

What people use each for

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

NetBird

  • Replacing a VPN concentrator that backhauls all traffic through one officenot Teleport
  • Giving contractors access to two specific services rather than to a subnetnot Teleport
  • Connecting workloads across several clouds without peering VPCs or managing route tablesnot Teleport
  • Meeting a requirement that the network control plane must run inside your own infrastructurenot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot NetBird
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot NetBird
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot NetBird
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot NetBird

Where each one falls short

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

NetBird

  • Self hosting requires an identity provider, and the bundled option adds a second unfamiliar service to operate, so the free path costs more administrative time than the docker compose file suggests.
  • Peers that cannot connect directly fall back to relays, and on a self hosted deployment that relay bandwidth is your cost and your bottleneck rather than an included service.
  • If the self hosted management server is down, existing tunnels keep working but no new peer can join and no policy change takes effect, which makes it a component that needs its own availability plan.
  • Some capabilities aimed at larger organisations sit in the paid cloud tiers, so a self hosted deployment does not have exactly the same feature set as the hosted one.
  • The project moves quickly and configuration and deployment layouts have changed between versions, so self hosted upgrades need reading release notes rather than pulling a new image.

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

NetBird

Free
  • Self hostedFree
    • Full functionality under an open source licence
    • No peer or user limit
    • You operate management, signal and relay
  • Cloud FreeFree
    • Hosted management and relays
    • Small user and peer allowance
    • Identity provider integration
  • Cloud Team$undefined/month
    • Per user per month billing
    • Managed global relay footprint
    • Posture checks and activity events

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

Which should you pick?

Choose NetBird if

  • You need wireguard data plane.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Docker.
  • You also want nat traversal with relay fallback.
NetBird review

Choose Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is NetBird or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. NetBird starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, NetBird or Teleport?
NetBird has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for NetBird and On request for Teleport.
Does NetBird or Teleport run on more platforms?
NetBird runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Docker. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use NetBird for free?
Yes. NetBird has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport starts at On request.
What is NetBird best used for?
NetBird is most often used for replacing a vpn concentrator that backhauls all traffic through one office, giving contractors access to two specific services rather than to a subnet, connecting workloads across several clouds without peering vpcs or managing route tables, meeting a requirement that the network control plane must run inside your own infrastructure. Of those, replacing a vpn concentrator that backhauls all traffic through one office and giving contractors access to two specific services rather than to a subnet are not what Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can NetBird do that Teleport cannot?
NetBird covers WireGuard data plane, NAT traversal with relay fallback, Identity based access control, Network routes. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NetBird: Is the self hosted version crippled?

No. The management, signal and relay components are all open source and the network works without any NetBird operated service.

Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

NetBird: How does it differ from Tailscale?

Similar model and similar clients, but Tailscale keeps its coordination server proprietary. NetBird publishes its whole control plane, which is the reason most self hosters choose it.

Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

NetBird: Do I need to open firewall ports?

No inbound ports are required. Peers make outbound connections to the signal service and to each other.

Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

NetBird: What happens to traffic if NetBird the company disappears?

On a self hosted deployment, nothing, since you run every component. On the cloud service you would need to stand up your own control plane and re-enrol peers.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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