Teleport vs ZeroTier
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Teleport
Identity-aware access for infrastructure
VS
ZeroTier
Global virtual network for connecting devices anywhere
| Feature | Teleport | ZeroTier |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | binary, docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 20,780 | ★ 16,988 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Cisco AnyConnect, AWS Systems Manager | Tailscale |
Why pick each one
Choose Teleport if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 20.8k GitHub stars
Choose ZeroTier if…
- Released under the BSL-1.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 17k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Teleport or ZeroTier better?
Neither is universally better. Teleport has the larger community, while ZeroTier is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Teleport and ZeroTier free and open-source?
Yes. Teleport is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ZeroTier under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Teleport and ZeroTier with Docker?
Teleport: yes. ZeroTier: yes.