noVNC vs ZeroTier
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
ZeroTier
Global virtual network for connecting devices anywhere
| Feature | noVNC | ZeroTier |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | JavaScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | binary, docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,911 | ★ 16,988 |
| First released | 2010 | 2014 |
| Replaces | RealVNC | Tailscale |
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 ZeroTier if…
- Released under the BSL-1.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 17k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is noVNC or ZeroTier better?
Neither is universally better. ZeroTier 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 ZeroTier free and open-source?
Yes. noVNC is licensed under MPL-2.0 and ZeroTier under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run noVNC and ZeroTier with Docker?
noVNC: yes. ZeroTier: yes.