EasyTier vs OpenVPN
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
EasyTier
Decentralized peer-to-peer mesh VPN
VS
OpenVPN
Robust and flexible open-source VPN solution
| Feature | EasyTier | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal, docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,019 | ★ 14,345 |
| First released | 2024 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Tailscale, ZeroTier | Cisco AnyConnect |
Why pick each one
Choose EasyTier if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 13k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Choose OpenVPN if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.3k GitHub stars
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is EasyTier or OpenVPN better?
Neither is universally better. OpenVPN has the larger community, while EasyTier is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are EasyTier and OpenVPN free and open-source?
Yes. EasyTier is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenVPN under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EasyTier and OpenVPN with Docker?
EasyTier: yes. OpenVPN: yes.