Algo VPN vs NetBird

Algo VPN is a set of Ansible scripts for creating a personal WireGuard and IPsec VPN. It can be deployed to listed cloud providers, including DigitalOcean, Amazon Lightsail and EC2, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine, and others, or to an Ubuntu server managed by an advanced user. The listed server platform is Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Algo supports IKEv2 and WireGuard, and generates WireGuard configuration files and QR codes for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows clients, plus Apple profiles for IPsec. Helper scripts let administrators add or remove users after deployment. Optional features include ad blocking through a local DNS resolver and limited SSH users for tunneling. The project says it minimizes logging by default and automatically rotates and deletes logs after seven days. However, cloud providers may see network traffic metadata, and an ISP can see a connection to the VPN server. Algo does not claim to provide anonymity or censorship avoidance. It is free and distributed under the AGPLv3, but cloud infrastructure costs are separate. Its local installation guide warns that it overwrites firewall rules and has no uninstall option, so deployment is intended for a dedicated VPN server.

NetBird connects users and machines through encrypted peer-to-peer networking based on WireGuard. It is offered as NetBird Cloud or can be self-hosted on an organization’s infrastructure. Its hybrid access model includes centralized controls for grouping, DNS, private nameservers and API-based configuration. Identity features include SSO, MFA, periodic re-authentication and identity-provider MFA settings. Teams can provision users and groups through an identity provider and organize them around teams and infrastructure. Device posture policies can check firewall, antivirus, geography and network location. Integrations include Okta, Microsoft, Google, MDM, EDR and SIEM platforms; logging covers network configuration changes and connection events, with SIEM streaming. NetBird supports Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, tvOS, Docker and routers. Its BSD-3 license permits self-hosting. The free tier covers up to 5 users and 100 machines. Team costs €6/user/mo and Business costs €12/user/mo; billing counts users and machines that connect or log in at least once during the billing period. Team and Business plans offer a free trial.