NetFoundry vs ZeroTier
NetFoundry
netfoundry.io
ZeroTier
zerotier.comSide by side
| Figure | NetFoundry | ZeroTier |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $18/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 5 |
| Spec score · Business VPN Software | 8.8 (#16) | 9.2 (#8) |
| Company legal name | The Google Play listing identifies the developer as NetFoundry Inc. | Crunchbase lists the legal name as ZeroTier, Inc. |
| Compliance | The documentation page lists SOC 2 Type II reports and describes HIPAA eligibility, GDPR and CCPA data processing agreements, and framework guidance. | ZeroTier states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and directs customers to its Trust Center for compliance reports. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation includes API guides and references, integration instructions, identity and policy guides, deployment planning, upgrades and troubleshooting. | The documentation includes getting-started guides, platform notes, API references, troubleshooting, security, SLA, glossary and developer-tool tutorials. |
| Founded | G2 lists NetFoundry's founding year as 2019. | LinkedIn lists 2013 as the founding year, matching the maker’s history of its open-source release in 2013. |
| Integrations | The platform supports connections to external identity providers and documents SCIM for automated identity management. | The maker’s documentation includes API guides and tutorials for Docker, code-server, Terraform, webhooks, and Prometheus/Grafana monitoring. |
| Platforms | Tunnelers are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. | Downloads are listed for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Docker, FreeBSD, OpenWRT, and NAS. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.0 out of 5 from 8 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 from 5 reviews |
| Rating on Google Play | 5.0 out of 5 from 23 reviews | 3.8 out of 5 from 5.91K reviews |
| Self-hosting | NetFoundry Self-Hosted can run on infrastructure the customer owns, including on-premises and air-gapped environments. | Enterprise pricing includes self-hosted and air-gapped deployment, while the security documentation also lists self-hosted deployment as an available option. |
| Support | The commercial self-hosted offer includes 24×7 enterprise support, while OpenZiti lists community support through Discourse, GitHub and documentation. | Personal and Essential include community support, Scale includes ticketed support with SLA, and Enterprise includes priority support with enhanced SLA. |
| What it does | NetFoundry provides identity-based zero-trust connectivity for workloads, APIs, applications, devices and sites, designed to work without VPNs or open inbound ports. | ZeroTier provides software-defined networking that connects devices, applications, clouds and sites through encrypted virtual networks over existing infrastructure. |
Plans
NetFoundry
- OpenZitiFree
- NetFoundry CloudPriced on request
- NetFoundry-HostedPriced on request
- NetFoundry Self-HostedPriced on request
- NetFoundry Self-HostedPriced on request
ZeroTier
- Essential$18 a month
- Scale$179 a month
- QuantumPriced on request
- PersonalFree
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
NetFoundry
NetFoundry provides identity-first zero-trust connectivity for AI, API, and machine-to-machine workloads. Workloads connect outbound without open or listening ports, with access governed by identity and least-privilege policy. Before a connection is established, both endpoints authenticate using mutual X.509 identity. The platform records authentication, authorization, and policy changes, can stream audit events, and exports connection, throughput, and health metrics. It supports external identity providers and documents SCIM for automated identity management; listed SDKs cover Go, C, .NET, Java, Node, and Swift. NetFoundry Cloud offers dedicated controllers and routers deployable on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. Self-Hosted can run on customer-owned infrastructure, including on-premises and air-gapped environments. The company describes use cases including governing AI agent, model, and tool access, microsegmenting workloads, and connecting IT, OT, IoT, and APIs. Both listed deployment plans include 24×7 support. Select and Premium support list platform availability SLAs of 99.5% and 99.95%, respectively. Pricing is on request. The documentation lists SOC 2 Type II reports and describes HIPAA eligibility, GDPR and CCPA data processing agreements, and framework guidance.
ZeroTier
ZeroTier is a software-defined networking platform for connecting people, devices and cloud environments through secure virtual networks. Its overlays can span public clouds, private data centers, on-premises environments, remote devices and edge systems. Security measures include cryptographic device identity, end-to-end traffic encryption, peer-to-peer connections when possible, and centrally defined policies enforced globally. Capabilities include cloud-to-cloud networking, global device fleets, identity-based access control, Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, and programmable management. The platform supports hybrid deployment and lists coverage for DigitalOcean, Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud, Vultr and Equinix Metal. Documentation includes API guides and tutorials for Docker, code-server, Terraform, webhooks, and Prometheus/Grafana monitoring. The free Personal plan is limited to non-commercial use and includes 10 devices, one network and one admin. Essential costs $18 a month; Scale costs $179 a month. Platforms include Android, API, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows.