IBM Cloud VPN for VPC vs Pomerium
IBM Cloud VPN for VPC
ibm.com
Pomerium
pomerium.comSide by side
| Figure | IBM Cloud VPN for VPC | Pomerium |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $7/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 9 |
| Spec score · Business VPN Software | 7.9 (#47) | 9.0 (#11) |
| Access model | hybrid | It provides clientless access to internal applications, servers, services, and workloads without requiring VPN client software. |
| Founded | 1911 | Pomerium's company history records its founding in 2019 by Bobby, who wrote the original code. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | The product page describes compatibility with IBM Cloud IAM and Secrets Manager; dynamic route-based connections require Transit Gateway. | Listed integrations include Grafana, Kubernetes, Okta, Cloud Run, Docker, Google Kubernetes Engine, FleetDM, BambooHR, Auth0, Azure Active Directory, GitHub, GitLab, Google Workspace, OneLogin, OpenID Connect, and Ping Identity. |
| What it does | Provides encrypted IPsec tunnels between IBM Cloud VPC and private networks such as on-premises environments. | Pomerium is an identity-aware reverse proxy that provides application and service access without a traditional VPN or client software. |
Plans
Pomerium
- Personal FreeFree
- Business$7 a month
- Zero PersonalFree
- Zero PersonalFree
- Zero Business$7 a month
- Zero Business (annual)$7 a month
- Zero Business (monthly)$9 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
IBM Cloud VPN for VPC
IBM Cloud VPN for VPC has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Pomerium
Pomerium is an open-source identity-aware proxy for controlling access to internal applications, servers, services, and workloads without requiring VPN client software. It checks identity, device state, and request context before granting access, and authenticates through identity providers that support OpenID Connect. Listed access scenarios include HTTP, MCP, SSH, gRPC, TCP, and UDP; supported app protocols also include HTTPS, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and WebSocket. Pomerium removes its authentication cookies before forwarding requests upstream, and sensitive databroker data is encrypted at rest. Downstream TLS has a minimum of TLS 1.2. Deployment options include Linux and macOS binaries, packages, Docker images, source builds, and desktop clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The free Personal plan lists 10 users, 10 routes, five policies, and two service accounts. Business costs $7.00 per month, billed annually, and lists limits of 1,000 users, 100 routes, 100 policies, and 20 service accounts. A free trial is also listed.