EasyTier vs NetBird
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
NetBird
Connect devices into a secure WireGuard-based overlay network
| Feature | EasyTier | NetBird |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,772 | ★ 29,443 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Tailscale, ZeroTier | Tailscale, ZeroTier |
What are EasyTier and NetBird?
EasyTier
EasyTier is an open-source, decentralized mesh VPN that connects devices across NATs without a central server. It supports multiple protocols and is fully self-hosted for private networking.
- Decentralized mesh
- NAT traversal
- Multi-protocol transport
- No central server
NetBird
NetBird is an open-source platform that creates secure private networks over WireGuard with peer-to-peer connectivity and centralized access control. The full stack can be self-hosted.
- WireGuard mesh overlay
- Self-hostable management
- SSO and access policies
- NAT traversal
EasyTier vs NetBird: key differences
EasyTier is written in Rust, while NetBird is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for EasyTier versus BSD-3-Clause for NetBird. EasyTier is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for NetBird. NetBird is the more established project (first released 2021), while EasyTier arrived in 2024. NetBird has the considerably larger community, at 29,443 GitHub stars versus 13,772.
Why pick each one
Choose EasyTier if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 13.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Choose NetBird if…
- WireGuard performance
- SSO integration
- Full stack self-hostable
Watch out for
- Involved self-host setup
- Younger than Tailscale
Frequently asked questions
Is EasyTier or NetBird better?
Neither is universally better. NetBird has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are EasyTier and NetBird free and open-source?
Yes. EasyTier is licensed under Apache-2.0 and NetBird under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EasyTier and NetBird with Docker?
EasyTier: yes. NetBird: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, EasyTier or NetBird?
EasyTier has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for NetBird. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.