Smallstep ZTNA vs Twingate

Smallstep ZTNA

Figure	Smallstep ZTNA	Twingate
Price from	—	$5/mo
Free plan	—	Yes
Free trial	—	Yes
Open source	—	—
Web	—	Yes
Windows	Yes	Yes
macOS	Yes	Yes
Linux	Yes	Yes
iOS	Yes	Yes
Android	—	Yes
API	—	Yes
Self-hosted	Yes	Yes
Plans published	1	5
Spec score · Business VPN Software	7.8 (#58)	9.3 (#7)
Company	Smallstep’s about page describes a globally distributed team; its 2024 company blog says its founder started Smallstep about six years earlier.	Twingate says it began building the product in 2019 and is remote-first, with a core team in Redwood City, California.
Deployment	Smallstep says its device identity based ZTNA can be deployed in the cloud or on-premises.	The product can be deployed using Docker scripts, Terraform, Helm Charts, and other methods.
Free plan	No	Yes
What it does	Smallstep Enterprise Relay is a transparent VPN that uses standards-based private MASQUE relays, mutual TLS, and hardware-bound device certificates to control access to SaaS apps, internal networks, and AI initiated workflows.	Twingate provides identity-based zero-trust access to private cloud and on-premises applications, networks and infrastructure without exposing inbound public ports.

Smallstep ZTNA has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Twingate has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.