OpenVPN vs WireGuard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, OpenVPN grades higher than WireGuard: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
OpenVPN grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. WireGuard grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OpenVPN
Open-source VPN protocol plus business VPN products built on it
Which one is for you
Pick OpenVPN if
- Fits if you need a few people to reach company apps and networks
- Works for teams who want to host the VPN themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a consumer VPN with a server list, as these are business products
- Tight if you outgrow 2 connections on Access Server Free or 5 seats on Starter
- Pricey if you need SAML, SIEM log streaming and a public API, which start on Essential at $7 a seat
- Watch out: SCIM, longer log retention and the 99.9% uptime SLA are Premium or Enterprise only
- Watch out: Access Server refunds go through sales, and unused funds are credited when you cancel
Pick WireGuard if
- Fits if you are happy to run your own server and exchange keys by hand
- Works for people building a VPN or a provider's app on top of a small protocol
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a hosted VPN, as there are no provider servers
- Not for you if you want sign-in, users and policy, because those need other tools
- Too light for a team: pushing configuration to many people is outside its scope
- Watch out: the site says the project is under heavy development
- Watch out: the Mac and iPhone apps come from the App Store, and Android from Google Play or an APK
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAOpenVPNGood | 2.4GPAWireGuardFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$7 a seat a month yearly on Essential and $9.50 on Premium. Those sit between the middle and the dearer quarter of a category that runs $3.99 to $8, and the 10-seat example costs $70 a month. | CFree to download, but there are no provider servers, so you pay for a server of your own. Software that is only free if you host it yourself is a C. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe community edition is free, Access Server is free for 2 connections and CloudConnexa Starter is free for 5 seats. One person or a very small team could live on that. | AFree outright, with donations asked for. The software has no plan or cap. |
| Features | BSelf-hosted or cloud, identity and device policies, content filtering, IDS/IPS and an open-source edition. It covers the whole job of remote access, with some parts on dearer plans. | CKey-based tunnels with a small codebase. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job: key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Setup means connecting a server or a cloud account to your identity provider and apps. | DNo rating on record, and setup is on you: keys, a server and config files, usually from a command line. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and ChromeOS, plus a public API on Essential and hooks into Azure, Docker, VMware and Hyper-V. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, though the listing names no API or integrations. |
| Best for | remote access for staff, hosted by you or by them | a fast tunnel you host yourself |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: OpenVPN and WireGuard. How we grade
Price against what you get
OpenVPN starts at $7 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WireGuard has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
OpenVPN scores higher, and starts $7 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other VPNs on the chart, 2 score higher than OpenVPN for less, and none scores higher than WireGuard for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- OpenVPN is self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| OpenVPN | WireGuard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $7 per connection or seat / month, billed annually | Free |
| Free plan | Open-source community edition; Access Server free for 2 connections; CloudConnexa Starter free for 5 seats. | Free open-source software; the project accepts voluntary donations. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of paid plans; Access Server's trial needs a credit card, and the free plans do not. | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OpenVPN Inc. | Jason A. Donenfeld (ZX2C4) and Edge Security |
| Price read from | openvpn.net | wireguard.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
OpenVPN
- The pages read show the yearly-billed price only; a monthly price for Access Server was not displayed, and CloudConnexa advertises up to 20% off for annual billing.
- Access Server Free stops at 2 simultaneous connections, and Growth at 2,000; larger deployments are Enterprise with custom pricing.
- CloudConnexa's SCIM, longer log retention and 99.9% uptime SLA are on Premium or Enterprise only.
- Refunds on Access Server subscriptions go through sales; unused funds are credited to the account when you cancel.
WireGuard
- It is software, not a hosted VPN: there are no provider servers, and you supply the server and keys.
- Key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope, so users, sign-in and policy need other tools.
- The site says the project is under heavy development.
- The macOS and iOS apps are installed from the App Store, and the Android app from Google Play or as an APK.
Key features
OpenVPN
- Self-hosted Access Server
- Runs on cloud IaaS, Docker, Linux, Hyper-V or VMware ESXi, with per-user and per-group access and SSO plus MFA.
- Cloud-delivered CloudConnexa
- Connects users to apps across offices and clouds from one console with no VPN servers to run, using OpenVPN or IPsec.
- Identity and device policies
- CloudConnexa sets access policies based on identity, device posture and location, with logs for audits.
- Content filtering
- CloudConnexa includes DNS filtering and IDS/IPS on every plan, and blocks known malicious sites.
- Open-source community edition
- The free OpenVPN community edition has Windows installers and source archives.
WireGuard
- Key-based tunnels
- A connection is made by exchanging public keys between peers, and each peer lists the tunnel IP addresses it is allowed to send from.
- Modern cryptography
- Uses the Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24 and HKDF.
- Small codebase
- Designed to be short enough for one person to review, in contrast to the larger IPsec and OpenVPN codebases, the project says.
- Roaming
- A connection can keep working as a peer's IP address changes.
- Wide platform support
- The install page lists Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and many Linux and BSD distributions, plus OpenWRT.
Plans
OpenVPN
Community edition$0
Open-source OpenVPN that you download and host yourself, with Windows installers and source archives.
Access Server Free$0
Self-hosted, up to 2 simultaneous connections, all features. New sign-ups start with a 14-day trial of up to 100 connections.
Access Server Growth$7
per connection / month, billed annually
Self-hosted, up to 2,000 simultaneous connections, priced per connection with volume discounts; the page's example is 10 connections at $70 a month.
CloudConnexa Starter$0
Cloud-delivered, 5 seats included, with access policies, DNS filtering and IDS/IPS.
CloudConnexa Essential$7
per seat / month, billed annually
Adds LDAP and SAML, IPsec support, log streaming to a SIEM, a public API and 24-7 priority support. The page's example is 10 seats at $70 a month.
CloudConnexa Premium$9.50
per seat / month, billed annually
Adds SCIM, multiple authentication methods, longer log retention, a dedicated account manager and a 99.9% uptime SLA. The page's example is 10 seats at $95 a month.
WireGuard
WireGuard$0
Free software you set up and host yourself. The kernel components are GPLv2; other projects use MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0 or GPL licenses.
Ways to pay less
OpenVPN
- Annual discount
Up to 20% off CloudConnexa with annual billing
The CloudConnexa pricing page offers an annual discount of up to 20%; the prices shown there are the annual ones.
WireGuard
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, OpenVPN or WireGuard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, WireGuard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7 a month for each person for OpenVPN. OpenVPN starts at $7 per connection or seat / month, billed annually, and WireGuard is free.
Which has a free plan, OpenVPN or WireGuard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both OpenVPN and WireGuard have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.