OpenVPN vs strongSwan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
OpenVPN
Robust and flexible open-source VPN solution
VS
strongSwan
Modern IPsec-based VPN implementation
| Feature | OpenVPN | strongSwan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,600 | ★ 2,987 |
| First released | 2001 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect | Cisco AnyConnect |
What are OpenVPN and strongSwan?
OpenVPN
OpenVPN is a mature, widely deployed VPN protocol and software supporting site-to-site and remote access connections. It uses SSL/TLS for key exchange and is highly configurable.
- Mature and battle-tested
- Site-to-site and remote access
- Highly configurable
- Strong TLS security
strongSwan
strongSwan is a complete IPsec implementation for Linux and other platforms supporting IKEv1 and IKEv2 key exchange. It is widely used for site-to-site and remote access VPNs.
- Full IPsec implementation
- IKEv1 and IKEv2 support
- Certificate-based auth
- Cross-platform
OpenVPN vs strongSwan: key differences
Both projects are written in C. OpenVPN is the more established project (first released 2001), while strongSwan arrived in 2005. OpenVPN has the considerably larger community, at 14,600 GitHub stars versus 2,987. OpenVPN lists first-class Docker deployment; strongSwan does not.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenVPN if…
- Battle-tested maturity
- Highly configurable
- Works through strict firewalls
Watch out for
- Complex configuration
- Slower than WireGuard
Choose strongSwan if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenVPN or strongSwan better?
Neither is universally better. OpenVPN has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenVPN and strongSwan free and open-source?
Yes. OpenVPN is licensed under GPL-2.0 and strongSwan under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenVPN and strongSwan with Docker?
OpenVPN: yes. strongSwan: check the project docs for container support.