Bowtie Private Access vs NetBird

Bowtie Private Access creates encrypted connections from devices to private resources without routing traffic through intermediary networks. Its Zero Trust policies grant authenticated access according to user or device characteristics. Bowtie Internet Access adds web filtering enforced on the device rather than through a centralized gateway, while its policy engine can unify overlapping networks and segment access. The product uses WireGuard encryption; Bowtie says keys are generated and stored in the customer's environment and traffic does not pass through its cloud. Basic is free for up to 3 users, 2 devices per user, and 2 controllers. Essentials costs $11 a month per user and supports up to 1000 users, 3 devices per user, and 4 controllers. Enterprise pricing is custom. SSO options include Okta and Entra ID, with configurations also described for GitHub, GitLab, SAML, AWS Identity Center, and Google IDP. Essentials includes API access and a Terraform provider; Enterprise adds MDM deployment and SIEM integration. Bowtie supports iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows, with client downloads for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

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.