Cloudflare Access vs OpenVPN Access Server

Cloudflare Access controls access to self-hosted apps, SaaS applications, and infrastructure by checking identity, device posture, and other context on each request. Policies can grant access at the individual resource level, and applications deny access unless a user matches an Allow policy. It supports SAML- and OIDC-compliant identity providers, including enterprise and social providers, as well as Cloudflare as an identity provider. Contractors, partners, and people using unmanaged devices can connect through a browser with social sign-in or a one-time PIN. Access can replace or supplement a legacy VPN by limiting access to specific applications, and its controls also cover infrastructure such as SSH and RDP. Administrators can manage policies centrally and scale them through APIs and Terraform. Publishing a self-hosted public application requires an active Cloudflare domain with full or partial CNAME setup. The free plan is for fewer than 50 users; paid service starts at $7/user/mo (annual).

OpenVPN Access Server is a business VPN hosted in a customer's environment, including Linux systems, virtual appliances, containers and public clouds. Its free plan lasts indefinitely, includes all features, requires no credit card and permits up to two simultaneous connections. Growth costs $7 a month per connection and supports up to 2,000 connections; Enterprise & IoT has custom pricing and unlimited connections. A 14-day trial is available for five or more connections. Administrators have a Web UI, self-service client UI, CLI, REST API and automation templates. Authentication options include PAM, RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, local and custom methods. User- and group-level access controls are available, as are protocol and port restrictions. Identity, device and location context can be used to control application access. OpenVPN Connect supports Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and ChromeOS. Deployment options include Docker, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, Kubernetes Helm and public cloud marketplaces. The listed security and compliance items include SOC 2 Type 2, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, HIPAA and GDPR.