OpenVPN vs ZeroTier: Which Business VPN is Better?
OpenVPN delivers secure remote access built for your business.
The #1 Business VPN
Trusted by 20,000+ organizations for over two decades.
The #1 Business VPNWhat is the difference between OpenVPN and ZeroTier?
ZeroTier focuses on virtual networking and peer-to-peer connectivity. OpenVPN delivers all of that and more, with scalable secure remote access built for your growing business.
 | ZeroTier | |
|---|---|---|
| Easy deployment |  Yes | Yes |
| Easy centralized management | Yes |  No |
| Designed for remote & hybrid teams | Yes | No |
| Scalable for growing SMBs & MSPs | Yes | No |
| Combines VPN + ZTNA + security controls | Yes | No |
| Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android) | Yes | Yes |
| Based on open source | Yes | Yes |
| Relies on provider infrastructure | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial or tier | Yes | Yes |
| No minimum number of users | Yes | Yes |
| Performance consistency across regions | Yes | No |
| Connect networks with IP overlap | Yes | No |
| Built-in IDS/IPS & content filtering | Yes | No |
Why companies choose OpenVPN?
ZeroTier is a software-defined networking (SDN) platform that creates virtual Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks over the internet. While it provides encrypted connectivity and network-level access controls, ZeroTier focuses primarily on virtual networking and often requires additional tools to fill the gaps.
OpenVPN delivers a complete secure access solution — combining VPN, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), identity integration, and built-in security controls — with simpler deployment, centralized management, and scalability designed for SMBs and MSPs.
Complete Secure Access — Not Just Network Overlay
OpenVPN CloudConnexa provides secure access capabilities aligned with modern SASE architectures, including encrypted tunnels, identity-based access controls, device posture checks, and built-in content filtering.ZeroTier focuses on virtual networking and peer-to-peer connectivity. Organizations often need to layer on additional security tools for Zero Trust enforcement, advanced access controls, or traffic inspection.
Identity-Driven Zero Trust Access
OpenVPN integrates with SAML, LDAP, Active Directory, and other identity providers to enforce role-based access to applications and networks.ZeroTier assigns devices to virtual networks but does not provide the same depth of identity-based policy enforcement or application-level segmentation out of the box.
Built-In Security at No Extra Cost
With CloudConnexa, OpenVPN includes Cyber Shield (IDS/IPS and DNS-based content filtering) directly within the platform — helping block malicious traffic before it reaches users or networks.ZeroTier encrypts traffic but does not include integrated threat detection, intrusion prevention, or content filtering capabilities.
Simplicity Without Sacrificing Security
OpenVPN balances ease of deployment (often under one hour) with enterprise-grade encryption and Zero Trust architecture.ZeroTier is powerful for network virtualization but can require deeper networking expertise to properly segment and secure environments at scale.
Backed by enterprise-grade security
SOC 2 Type 2
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
HIPAA Compliant
GDPR CompliantTwo solutions — one goal
Self-hosted or cloud-delivered: We've got your network security covered.
Self-hosted
Access Server
Access Server gives you complete control over your security architecture with customizable access policies and private tunneling.
Deploy on IaaS providers, Docker, Linux, Hyper-V, and VMware ESXi- Get started fast with a ready-to-use templates
- Protect your data by routing internet traffic through the Access Server
- Enforce access policies with identity, device, and IP verification
Cloud-delivered
CloudConnexa®
Connect your applications, private networks, workforce, and IoT devices — without complex, hard-to-scale hardware or self-managed server software.
- Enforce security with a full suite of Zero Trust controls
- Connect networks seamlessly using OpenVPN or IPsec
- Enhance protection with content filtering and IDS/IPS
- Simplify routing with domain-based traffic rules
Try the world's most-used VPN for secure access
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What our customers say about us
Jason K.REPAYEasy to configure options, add users, and that it has two factor authentication built in. You can configure the system to allow connections on common ports so that you're able to connect from pretty much anywhere in the world.
Johnathan B.Surry TelephoneConfiguring and updating my own server is super simple. In my experience, I've always had some difficulty setting up hardware VPN appliances, but OpenVPN was no-nonsense.
Alex H.DGDeanThe OpenVPN Access Server AMI is a great out of the box VPN solution for your AWS VPC...
John G.Anovys, LLCOpenVPN offers users a very simple and secure VPN option that is both economical and quick to install. Users are able to easily install it on their client devices.
Jeremy F.Intelligent PathwaysThe availability of client software for all operating systems and mobile devices means my customers can connect regardless of their setup.
Josh Wc.nexgen|packaging, LLCExcellent, flexible solution for our Azure environment.