Pritunl vs Subspace
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pritunl | Subspace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 16 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,025 | ★ 1,804 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | OpenVPN Access Server | OpenVPN Access Server, Twingate |
What are Pritunl and Subspace?
Pritunl
Pritunl is an open-source VPN server that provides an enterprise-grade web interface on top of OpenVPN and WireGuard. It supports clustered deployments and SSO.
- Web UI over OpenVPN
- Clustered high availability
- SSO and MFA support
- Site-to-site links
Subspace
Subspace is an open-source, self-hosted WireGuard VPN server with a clean web dashboard for managing devices. It is designed to make running a personal or team VPN simple.
- WireGuard-based VPN
- Web device management
- QR code provisioning
- SSO support
Pritunl vs Subspace: key differences
Pritunl is written in Python, while Subspace is built with HTML. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Pritunl versus MIT for Subspace. Subspace is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Pritunl. Pritunl is the more established project (first released 2013), while Subspace arrived in 2019. Pritunl has the considerably larger community, at 5,025 GitHub stars versus 1,804.
Why pick each one
Choose Pritunl if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Subspace if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Pritunl or Subspace better?
Neither is universally better. Pritunl has the larger community, while Subspace is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pritunl and Subspace free and open-source?
Yes. Pritunl is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Subspace under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pritunl and Subspace with Docker?
Pritunl: yes. Subspace: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pritunl or Subspace?
Subspace has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Pritunl. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.