noVNC 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?
noVNC
VNC client that runs entirely in the browser
VS
OpenVPN
Robust and flexible open-source VPN solution
| Feature | noVNC | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | bare-metal, docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,911 | ★ 14,345 |
| First released | 2010 | 2001 |
| Replaces | RealVNC | Cisco AnyConnect |
Why pick each one
Choose noVNC if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 13.9k GitHub stars
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 noVNC or OpenVPN better?
Neither is universally better. OpenVPN has the larger community, while noVNC is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are noVNC and OpenVPN free and open-source?
Yes. noVNC is licensed under MPL-2.0 and OpenVPN under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run noVNC and OpenVPN with Docker?
noVNC: yes. OpenVPN: yes.