NetBird vs Pomerium
NetBird
netbird.io
Pomerium
pomerium.comSide by side
| Figure | NetBird | Pomerium |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €6/mo | $7/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 9 |
| Spec score · Business VPN Software | 9.5 (#3) | 9.0 (#11) |
| Spec score · Zero Trust Network Access Software | 8.9 (#3) | 8.8 (#7) |
| Access model | hybrid | It provides clientless access to internal applications, servers, services, and workloads without requiring VPN client software. |
| Activity Logging | NetBird logs network configuration changes and connection traffic events, with SIEM streaming. | The product emits verbose authorization and access logs for auditing, administration and troubleshooting. |
| Founded | 2022 | Pomerium's company history records its founding in 2019 by Bobby, who wrote the original code. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Platform Integrations | Integrations include Okta, Microsoft, Google, MDM, EDR, and SIEM platforms. | 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. |
| Open Source License | NetBird is distributed under a permissive BSD-3 license and can be self-hosted. | The public Pomerium repository is marked Apache-2.0 licensed. |
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
NetBird
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.
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.