NetBird vs websockify
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?
NetBird
Connect devices into a secure WireGuard-based overlay network
VS
websockify
WebSocket-to-TCP bridge for browser remote access
| Feature | NetBird | websockify |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | bare-metal, source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,139 | ★ 4,427 |
| First released | 2021 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Tailscale, ZeroTier | proprietary remote gateways |
Why pick each one
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
Frequently asked questions
Is NetBird or websockify better?
Neither is universally better. NetBird has the larger community, while websockify is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are NetBird and websockify free and open-source?
Yes. NetBird is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and websockify under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NetBird and websockify with Docker?
NetBird: yes. websockify: check the project docs for container support.