Boundary vs Next Terminal
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Boundary
Identity-based secure access to systems and services
VS
Next Terminal
Self-hosted SSH bastion with web terminal and audit
| Feature | Boundary | Next Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Identity & SSO | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BUSL-1.1 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,055 | ★ 5,604 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Teleport, StrongDM | Apache Guacamole, Teleport |
Why pick each one
Choose Boundary if…
- Released under the BUSL-1.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Choose Next Terminal if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Boundary or Next Terminal better?
Neither is universally better. Next Terminal has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Boundary and Next Terminal free and open-source?
Yes. Boundary is licensed under BUSL-1.1 and Next Terminal under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Boundary and Next Terminal with Docker?
Boundary: yes. Next Terminal: yes.