SHSelfHostIndex

Kasm Workspaces 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.

Not the right match-up?
KA Kasm Workspaces Containerized desktop and browser streaming platform VS NE NetBird Connect devices into a secure WireGuard-based overlay network
FeatureKasm WorkspacesNetBird
CategoryRemote Access & VPNRemote Access & VPN
LicenseProprietaryBSD-3-Clause
LanguageShellGo
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB256 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 1,210★ 28,139
First released20202021
ReplacesCitrix, Amazon WorkSpacesTailscale, ZeroTier

Why pick each one

Choose Kasm Workspaces if…

  • Released under the Proprietary license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Shell
Kasm Workspaces details

Choose NetBird if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 28.1k GitHub stars
NetBird details

Frequently asked questions

Is Kasm Workspaces 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 Kasm Workspaces and NetBird free and open-source?

Yes. Kasm Workspaces is licensed under Proprietary and NetBird under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kasm Workspaces and NetBird with Docker?

Kasm Workspaces: yes. NetBird: yes.

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