SoftEther VPN vs Teleport
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Teleport
Identity-aware access for infrastructure
| Feature | SoftEther VPN | Teleport |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,582 | ★ 20,936 |
| First released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect | Cisco AnyConnect, AWS Systems Manager |
What are SoftEther VPN and Teleport?
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
Teleport
Teleport is an open-source access platform that provides secure, identity-aware connectivity to SSH servers, Kubernetes clusters, databases, and web apps. It records sessions and enforces RBAC.
- SSH, Kubernetes, and DB access
- Session recording
- Identity-based RBAC
- Certificate-based auth
SoftEther VPN vs Teleport: key differences
SoftEther VPN is written in C, while Teleport is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for SoftEther VPN versus AGPL-3.0 for Teleport. SoftEther VPN is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Teleport. SoftEther VPN is the more established project (first released 2014), while Teleport arrived in 2016. Teleport lists first-class Docker deployment; SoftEther VPN does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Teleport if…
- Session recording and audit
- Covers SSH to databases
- Strong RBAC controls
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Some features enterprise
Frequently asked questions
Is SoftEther VPN or Teleport better?
Neither is universally better. Teleport has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SoftEther VPN and Teleport free and open-source?
Yes. SoftEther VPN is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Teleport under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SoftEther VPN and Teleport with Docker?
SoftEther VPN: check the project docs for container support. Teleport: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SoftEther VPN or Teleport?
SoftEther VPN has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Teleport. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.