Amnezia VPN vs NetBird

Amnezia VPN is an open-source client for using a VPN service or setting up a VPN server on a server you control. Its self-hosted setup connects to a VPS over SSH, installs Docker, and runs separate containers for protocol connections. The app supports OpenVPN, OpenVPN over Cloak, WireGuard, AmneziaWG, IKEV2, XRay Reality, and ShadowSocks. AmneziaWG adds protection against detection and blocking. Split tunneling varies by platform: Android supports IP and app controls, Windows supports IP and limited app controls, and iOS, macOS, and Linux support IP-only controls. Amnezia Free provides access to Instagram, Facebook, X, and other blocked resources, but not YouTube; speeds are limited to 8 Mbps and location selection is unavailable. Premium offers 20 connection locations, streaming support, P2P on its Switzerland location, and up to seven simultaneous devices. Premium says it does not store visited sites, IP addresses, or session data, and uses RAM-only servers. The client and server are open source. Amnezia says its products passed independent security audits in 2022, 2024, and 2025.

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.