EasyTier vs SoftEther VPN
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
SoftEther VPN
Multi-protocol VPN server from the University of Tsukuba
| Feature | EasyTier | SoftEther VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,019 | ★ 13,447 |
| First released | 2024 | 2014 |
| 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 SoftEther VPN if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 13.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is EasyTier or SoftEther VPN better?
Neither is universally better. SoftEther VPN 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 SoftEther VPN free and open-source?
Yes. EasyTier is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SoftEther VPN under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EasyTier and SoftEther VPN with Docker?
EasyTier: yes. SoftEther VPN: check the project docs for container support.