Firezone vs NordLayer (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Firezone if

• Fits if you are a team of 6 or fewer that wants access tied to a sign-in
• Works for teams that already use Okta, Entra ID or Google Workspace

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you grow past 6 users, 10 service accounts or, on Team, 500 users
• Pricey if you need directory sync or device posture checks, which are on Business at $80 a seat a year
• Skip it if you want to self-host for production, because the GitHub page says that is not officially supported
• Watch out: the Enterprise trial is 30 days and only on request through sales
• Watch out: prices are for Firezone Cloud US, in dollars, with an EU region announced

Pick NordLayer if

• Fits if you run a team of five or more and want admin control over a VPN
• Works for companies that use Okta, Entra ID or Google Workspace sign-in

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you are one person, as every plan has a 5-user minimum
• Pricey if you need Core or Premium, as each needs a $40 a month dedicated-IP server
• Skip it if you want to try before paying, as no free plan or trial is listed
• Watch out: each account allows only 6 simultaneous connections, and provisioning and device posture monitoring are add-ons

Firezone

• Starter is capped at 6 users and 10 service accounts; Team at 500 users.
• Directory sync and device posture checks need Business at $80 per seat / year.
• The GitHub page says production self-hosting is not officially supported; Firezone Cloud is the supported way to run it.
• Prices are for Firezone Cloud US, in US dollars; a Cloud EU region was announced on the pricing page.

NordLayer

• Every self-serve plan has a 5-user minimum; the Enterprise offer starts at 200 users.
• Core and Premium require a dedicated-IP server, listed at $40 a month on yearly billing ($50 monthly).
• Split tunneling, custom DNS and the browser extension are not part of Lite.
• Each account allows up to 6 simultaneous connections; user provisioning and device posture monitoring are add-ons.

Firezone

WireGuard with a Rust data plane

The site says it combines WireGuard with a Rust data plane tuned per operating system, and lists throughput figures from 2 Gbps on mobile to 7 Gbps and up on Linux, as tested.

Outbound-only gateways

Gateways only make outbound connections and never listen for traffic from the internet, so no firewall ports are opened.

Identity-provider sync

Syncs users and groups from Okta, Entra ID and Google Workspace on Business, so deactivating a person there signs them out of every device.

Device trust and posture checks

Checks a device certificate from an MDM and can use checks such as disk encryption and OS version, drawn from over 380 parameters from supported MDM and EDR tools.

Conditional policies

Policies can require a sign-in provider, location or time of day before a group reaches a resource.

NordLayer

Shared and private gateways

Lite connects through shared gateways in 40+ countries; Core and above add private gateways with a dedicated IP address that only your team uses.

Network access control

Higher plans add IP allowlisting, a cloud firewall and device posture checks to limit who and what can reach company resources.

Threat prevention

Web protection blocks malicious domains and download protection scans new files for malware; DNS filtering by category starts on Core.

Protocols and always-on mode

NordLynx, which is WireGuard-based, plus OpenVPN over UDP or TCP. Always On VPN and auto-connect are included on every plan.

Single sign-on and provisioning

Sign in with Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, Google or JumpCloud. Automatic user provisioning with Entra ID and Okta is an add-on.

Site-to-site connections

Premium can link office networks and devices to a private gateway through encrypted tunnels.

Firezone

• Starter$0

  Up to 6 users and 10 service accounts, native clients, email and OpenID Connect sign-in, resource-level policies, audit logs, a REST API and community support.

• Team$50

  per seat / year ($5 per seat / month billed monthly)

  Up to 500 users, full-tunnel routing, conditional access policies, a custom account slug and priority email support. Self-serve, no contract.

• Business$80

  per seat / year ($8 per seat / month billed monthly)

  Directory sync for Google, Entra ID and Okta, device posture checks, log sinks and SIEM integrations; up to 1,000 users, 200 service accounts, 200 sites. Per active seat.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited users, service accounts and sites, SOC 2 and pentest reports, a 99.9% uptime SLA, dedicated Slack or Teams support and white-glove onboarding.

NordLayer

• Lite$8

  per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)

  Shared gateways in 40+ countries, web protection and download protection. 5 users minimum.

• Core$11

  per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly)

  Adds private gateways and network access control. Needs a dedicated-IP server at $40 a month on yearly billing. 5 users minimum.

• Premium$14

  per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)

  Adds more granular network segmentation and site-to-site connections. Dedicated-IP server at $40 a month on yearly billing. 5 users minimum.

• Enterprise offer$6

  per user / month and up, billed yearly

  For teams of 200 or more seats, starting from Lite capabilities; price varies with plan and features. Sold through sales.

Firezone

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with annual billing

  The pricing page shows $50 per seat a year for Team against $5 a month, and $80 against $8 for Business.

NordLayer

• Annual discount

  Save up to 22% with yearly billing

  The pricing page shows yearly billing at a lower per-user rate than monthly, labelled as saving up to 22%.