OpenVPN

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

As of 1 September 2026, OpenVPN is free to use. OpenVPN the protocol and core software is GPL-licensed open source; OpenVPN Inc, the company, separately sells Access Server, a commercial VPN server product licensed by the number of simultaneous connected devices rather than by named user or total device count. Softwr lists it under Networking. OpenVPN is made by OpenVPN Inc, available on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS.

Visit siteVisit OpenVPN

Overview

What OpenVPN does

OpenVPN refers both to an open source VPN protocol and software implementation, which is GPL-licensed and free to use, and to Access Server, a commercial product from OpenVPN Inc that packages the protocol into a managed server with a web-based admin UI, client software and simplified deployment. Many organisations run open source OpenVPN configured by hand at no licence cost; Access Server is for those wanting the packaged, supported product instead. Access Server's billing mechanism is specifically per simultaneous active connection, not per registered user or per device: a free tier allows up to 2 simultaneous connections at no cost, and the Growth plan bills $7 per connection per month (annual billing) for usage beyond that. Because unlimited devices and accounts can be created, but only the licensed number can be connected at the same time, an organisation with more employees than licensed connections works fine as long as not everyone connects concurrently, which is a materially different cost model than a per-seat SaaS product. Buyers choosing free open source OpenVPN are typically technical teams comfortable configuring and running their own VPN server without a vendor relationship; buyers choosing Access Server want a supported, easier-to-administer commercial product and are willing to pay per concurrent connection for that convenience. The trade-off against a newer mesh VPN like Tailscale or NetBird is that OpenVPN, in either form, uses a more traditional hub-and-spoke VPN model rather than direct peer-to-peer mesh connectivity.

What people use it for

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

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of OpenVPN

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

OpenVPNvs
Tailscale
Tailscale: For a mesh VPN with a more modern peer-to-peer architecture and simpler zero-config onboarding
OpenVPNvs
ZeroTier
ZeroTier: For an alternative software-defined networking tool priced by total device count rather than simultaneous connections
OpenVPNvs
pfSense
pfSense: For VPN functionality bundled into a full firewall platform rather than a dedicated VPN server product

Pricing

What OpenVPN costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Access Server Free

Free

Up to 2 simultaneous connections
All features included

Access Server Growth

$7 /mo

Per simultaneous connection beyond the free tier
Annual billing

Access Server Enterprise/IoT

On request

Custom pricing for 2,000+ connections

Capabilities

Features

Open source core
GPL-licensed protocol and software, free to configure and run without OpenVPN Inc involvement
Access Server admin UI
Commercial product adding a web-based management interface, client software and simplified deployment
Per-connection licensing
Access Server bills by simultaneous active connections rather than total registered users or devices
Free tier
Up to 2 simultaneous connections at no cost on Access Server
Cross-platform clients
Client software for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

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.

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.

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.

Keep looking

Where to go from OpenVPN

Best Networking software for

Compare OpenVPN with

Other Networking software

pfSense
Open source firewall software with a free Community Edition and a separate commercial Plus edition sold by Netgate
Open source12 researched notes
ZeroTier
Software-defined mesh networking, free up to 10 devices and one network, then billed per device
Free plan12 researched notes
MikroTik RouterOS
Router and network operating system with a one-time perpetual licence rather than a recurring subscription
12 researched notes
Tailscale
Zero-trust mesh VPN built on WireGuard with identity-based access
Free plan12 researched notes
Icinga
Open source infrastructure monitoring, free at its core, with paid support and modules sold separately by Icinga GmbH
Open source11 researched notes
Zabbix
Open source infrastructure and network monitoring with distributed proxies and templating
Open source10 researched notes
Domotz
Network monitoring for MSPs and IT teams priced per managed device or per collector, with published rates
12 researched notes
LibreNMS
Free, community-driven network monitoring with commercial support sold by a third-party partner, not the project itself
Open source11 researched notes
Eclipse Mosquitto
Small, EPL-licensed MQTT broker that runs on hardware other brokers cannot
Open source12 researched notes
Twingate
Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network
Free plan12 researched notes
Consul
Service discovery, networking, and security
Free plan12 researched notes
OPNsense
FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform with weekly updates and a full configuration API
Open source10 researched notes
Nebula
Certificate based overlay network from Slack, with identity and firewall rules carried in the certificate
Open source12 researched notes
ngrok
Reverse tunnel service that gives a local or private service a public URL without opening a firewall
Free plan12 researched notes
Palo Alto Networks
Enterprise cybersecurity platform
7 researched notes
Splunk
Turn Data Into Doing
Pricing on request11 researched notes
Eclipse Mosquitto
Small, EPL-licensed MQTT broker that runs on hardware other brokers cannot
Open source12 researched notes
Twingate
Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network
Free plan12 researched notes

Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for OpenVPN, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

Best Networking software alternatives

View all Networking software