# NetBird review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Open-source zero trust networking built on WireGuard Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. NetBird is an open-source secure access platform that links remote users, servers, clouds and sites into one private network using WireGuard-based peer-to-peer connections. Access is set by groups and policies tied to a company identity provider. It runs as a cloud service or on your own infrastructure. - **Category:** Remote Desktop - **Made by:** NetBird - **Website:** https://netbird.io - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you pass 5 users, as the free plan stops there. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, NetBird has a free plan, and paid plans start at €6 per user / month (cloud, billing period not shown). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Cloud Free plan: up to 5 users and 100 machines, with SSO, MFA, access controls and private DNS. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | €0 per user / month, up to 5 users | 100 machines, peer-to-peer connections, social SSO and MFA, access controls, private DNS and community support. | | Team | €6 per user / month (billing period not shown) | Unlimited users, 100 machines plus 10 per user, enterprise IdP SSO, SCIM provisioning and audit logs. | | Business | €12 per user / month (billing period not shown) | Adds device approvals, MDM and EDR controls, posture checks and traffic event logging and streaming. | | Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited machines, custom invoicing, priority support, solutions engineer help and custom MSAs and SLAs. | Read from https://netbird.io/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with NetBird before buying. ## Key features - **Peer-to-peer WireGuard network:** Devices connect directly over a WireGuard-based network, with no open ports or firewall changes needed, per the vendor. - **Identity-based access policies:** Resources are grouped and access is limited by policy; users and groups can be provisioned from an identity provider. - **SSO and MFA:** Sign-in works with Okta, Microsoft, Google and others, and the identity provider's MFA settings apply. - **Posture checks:** Business plan policies can require a firewall or antivirus, check geo and network location, and use MDM and EDR data. - **Activity logging:** Network configuration changes are logged, and the Business plan adds connection traffic events streamed to SIEM tools. - **Cloud or self-hosted:** The pricing page has Cloud and Self-Hosted tabs, and the homepage offers to run NetBird open source. ## Good for - Teams replacing a VPN with identity-based access - Engineers who want an open-source option they can self-host - Small teams: the cloud plan is free for 5 users ## Worth knowing - Prices are in euros, and the page does not say whether they assume monthly or yearly billing. - Machines beyond the included amount cost €0.50 each per month on Team and Business. - Billing counts only users and machines that connected at least once in the period. - The pricing for the Self-Hosted tab could not be read from the page text. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. NetBird builds a private network between your machines using WireGuard, and its cloud plan is free for up to 5 users and 100 machines. Prices are in euros with no billing period stated, and extra machines cost €0.50 each on paid plans. - **Value for money: C.** Team is €6 per user a month and Business €12, in the middle of the category's range. The page doesn't say whether that is monthly or yearly billing. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The cloud Free plan covers up to 5 users and 100 machines with SSO, MFA, access controls and private DNS. - **Features: B.** A peer-to-peer WireGuard network, identity-based policies, SSO, MFA, posture checks, activity logs and a choice of cloud or self-hosting. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You install clients, connect a sign-in provider and write access policies. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android, with Okta, Entra ID, Google and Synology. No web client is listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from NetBird's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among remote desktop apps - NetBird's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 49 of the 85 other remote desktop apps we grade, and level with 19. - It stands best on features (B, above 55 of 85) and worst on value for money (C, above 7). - Its paid plans start at about $6.70 a month for each person, against a middle price of $8.33 for the category: 17 of the 44 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/remote-access ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace NetBird you would be making servers in dozens of countries, kept fast and private. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $80.44 a year. NetBird is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself. - You could not: Servers in dozens of countries, kept fast and private. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Okta, Microsoft Entra ID and Google among them, and has an API. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Google, Synology **Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Public API, VPN ## Alternatives - [Tailscale](https://toolgpa.com/tools/tailscale): Private network that links your devices, servers and teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netbird-vs-tailscale) - [ZeroTier](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zerotier): Peer-to-peer virtual networks for devices, servers and sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netbird-vs-zerotier) - [Twingate](https://toolgpa.com/tools/twingate): Zero trust network access to replace a company VPN. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netbird-vs-twingate) - [Pritunl](https://toolgpa.com/tools/pritunl): Self-hosted open-source VPN server for OpenVPN and WireGuard. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netbird-vs-pritunl) - [Teleport](https://toolgpa.com/tools/teleport): Identity-based access to servers, databases and Kubernetes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/netbird-vs-teleport) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://netbird.io/pricing - https://netbird.io - https://docs.netbird.io/get-started/install - https://netbird.io/about Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/netbird Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).