OpenConnect Server vs SoftEther VPN
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OpenConnect Server | SoftEther VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 600 | ★ 13,582 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect | Cisco AnyConnect |
What are OpenConnect Server and SoftEther VPN?
OpenConnect Server
ocserv is an open-source SSL VPN server that implements the OpenConnect protocol and is compatible with Cisco AnyConnect clients. It supports multiple authentication backends.
- AnyConnect-compatible
- Multiple auth backends
- Low resource use
- Per-user configuration
SoftEther VPN
SoftEther VPN is a powerful open-source multi-protocol VPN server supporting its own protocol plus OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and SSTP. It is known for high performance and firewall traversal.
- Multiple VPN protocols
- Excellent firewall traversal
- Cross-platform server
- High throughput
OpenConnect Server vs SoftEther VPN: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for OpenConnect Server versus Apache-2.0 for SoftEther VPN. OpenConnect Server is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SoftEther VPN. SoftEther VPN has the considerably larger community, at 13,582 GitHub stars versus 600. OpenConnect Server lists first-class Docker deployment; SoftEther VPN does not.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenConnect Server if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose SoftEther VPN if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 13.6k GitHub stars
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenConnect Server or SoftEther VPN better?
Neither is universally better. SoftEther VPN has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenConnect Server and SoftEther VPN free and open-source?
Yes. OpenConnect Server is licensed under GPL-2.0 and SoftEther VPN under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenConnect Server and SoftEther VPN with Docker?
OpenConnect Server: yes. SoftEther VPN: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenConnect Server or SoftEther VPN?
OpenConnect Server has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SoftEther VPN. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.