Subspace 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 | Subspace | WG-Easy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 16 · At risk | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,804 | ★ 26,989 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | OpenVPN Access Server, Twingate | OpenVPN Access Server |
What are Subspace and WG-Easy?
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
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
Subspace vs WG-Easy: key differences
Subspace is written in HTML, while WG-Easy is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Subspace versus AGPL-3.0 for WG-Easy. Subspace is the more established project (first released 2019), while WG-Easy arrived in 2021. WG-Easy has the considerably larger community, at 26,989 GitHub stars versus 1,804.
Why pick each one
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)
Choose WG-Easy if…
- Extremely easy setup
- Friendly UI
Watch out for
- Single WireGuard interface only
Frequently asked questions
Is Subspace or WG-Easy better?
Neither is universally better. WG-Easy has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Subspace and WG-Easy free and open-source?
Yes. Subspace is licensed under MIT and WG-Easy under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Subspace and WG-Easy with Docker?
Subspace: yes. WG-Easy: yes.