Firezone 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?
Firezone
Open-source secure remote access platform
VS
OpenVPN
Robust and flexible open-source VPN solution
| Feature | Firezone | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Elixir | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,993 | ★ 14,345 |
| First released | 2021 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect, Tailscale | Cisco AnyConnect |
Why pick each one
Choose Firezone if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
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 Firezone or OpenVPN better?
Neither is universally better. OpenVPN has the larger community, while Firezone is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Firezone and OpenVPN free and open-source?
Yes. Firezone is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenVPN under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firezone and OpenVPN with Docker?
Firezone: yes. OpenVPN: yes.