Pritunl vs WG-Easy
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 | WG-Easy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,025 | ★ 26,989 |
| First released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Replaces | OpenVPN Access Server | OpenVPN Access Server |
What are Pritunl and WG-Easy?
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
WG-Easy
WG-Easy bundles WireGuard with a simple web interface for managing clients, generating QR codes, and monitoring connections. It deploys as a single Docker container.
- One-container deployment
- Web UI for clients
- QR code generation
- Connection statistics
Pritunl vs WG-Easy: key differences
Pritunl is written in Python, while WG-Easy is built with TypeScript. WG-Easy 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 WG-Easy arrived in 2021. WG-Easy has the considerably larger community, at 26,989 GitHub stars versus 5,025.
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 WG-Easy if…
- Extremely easy setup
- Friendly UI
Watch out for
- Single WireGuard interface only
Frequently asked questions
Is Pritunl or WG-Easy better?
WG-Easy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pritunl if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Pritunl and WG-Easy free and open-source?
Yes. Pritunl is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and WG-Easy under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pritunl and WG-Easy with Docker?
Pritunl: yes. WG-Easy: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pritunl or WG-Easy?
WG-Easy 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.