Headscale vs OpenVPN Access Server
Headscale
headscale.netOpenVPN Access Server
openvpn.netSide by side
| Figure | Headscale | OpenVPN Access Server |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $7/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Virtual Private Network Software | 8.6 (#16) | 9.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Business VPN Software | 8.2 (#38) | 9.5 (#2) |
| Access model | vpn | hybrid |
| Admin control level | standard | enterprise |
| Client platforms | The documentation lists Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS as supported client operating systems. | OpenVPN Connect supports Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS. |
| Site-to-site networking | Yes | Yes |
| SSO / SCIM | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | Linux,OpenBSD,FreeBSD,Windows,Android,macOS,iOS,tvOS | Linux server; Windows,macOS,iOS,Android,and ChromeOS clients; Docker; VMware ESXi; Microsoft Hyper-V; AWS,Azure,Google Cloud,IBM Cloud,DigitalOcean,Oracle Cloud,and Vultr |
Plans
OpenVPN Access Server
- FreeFree
- Growth$7 a month
- Enterprise & IoTPriced on request
In their own words
OpenVPN Access Server
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.