A business VPN used to mean one thing: a client on every laptop tunnelling into the office network so a remote employee could reach the file server. That job still exists, but the more common one now is narrower and safer, letting one contractor reach one internal app without ever putting them on the same network as payroll. This ranking covers both generations side by side: traditional site-to-site and remote-access VPNs, and the zero trust network access (ZTNA) products that have replaced them at companies that made the switch. We judged how much of a rollout is a client install versus a five-minute browser-based connection, what a real per-user bill looks like once gateways and add-ons are counted, how cleanly access logs and device inventories come back out if a company switches vendors, and which products are actually built for a team of ten to a few hundred people rather than a global enterprise with a dedicated network security function.
Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in business VPN software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
How we ranked these
Setup: a client install versus a browser tab
The fastest products here take a genuinely different architectural approach from the slowest, and it shows immediately during setup. Tailscale and Twingate both build a private mesh network from an installed client and a lightweight connector on the resource being protected, and a working connection between two machines is realistically a same-afternoon task for someone without a networking background. GoodAccess and NordLayer add a managed gateway layer in between, more configuration, more control, still deployable in days. OpenVPN Access Server sits at the other extreme: it is self-hosted software, so setup means standing up and patching a server before a single employee connects, a real infrastructure project rather than a subscription signup. Cloudflare Zero Trust, Zscaler and the other enterprise SASE platforms fall in between, fast to pilot, slower to roll out fully once existing firewall and identity integrations are involved.
The real price: per user, per gateway, per add-on
Per-user pricing looks simple until the extras are added. GoodAccess charges for gateways and connectors on top of its per-user rate, so a company with several office locations or cloud environments pays more than the headline number suggests. Twingate and Tailscale both publish real free tiers, Tailscale's capped at six users for non-commercial use, Twingate's at five users, which cover a genuinely small team before any paid tier is needed. Zscaler, Netskope and Cisco price entirely by quote, with no published number to compare at all, a pattern typical of products built for a formal enterprise procurement process rather than a self-serve monthly card charge. Corporate-family relationships also matter here: NordLayer, Surfshark for Teams and ExpressVPN for Teams all trace back to larger consumer VPN groups, and none of the three currently publishes a fully transparent self-serve rate for a prospective business buyer to compare without contacting sales.
Getting your access logs out: connection history and device inventory
What a VPN or ZTNA tool accumulates that is actually worth keeping is the access log: who connected, from what device, to which resource, and when a connection was revoked. Cloudflare Zero Trust and Zscaler, both built as logging-heavy security platforms, export this cleanly to a SIEM via API, which regulated buyers increasingly require before signing. Tailscale and Twingate keep a browsable admin log of device and access changes that exports reasonably well, though neither promises long retention on lower tiers. OpenVPN Access Server, being self-hosted, keeps everything on infrastructure the buyer already controls, so nothing is ever locked inside a vendor's export tooling to begin with. Products built on a consumer VPN codebase, ScribeForce, ExpressVPN for Teams and Surfshark for Teams, are the least transparent here about what connection history is retained and for how long, since that detail is not their historical focus.
Independence from the vendor: who actually owns the tunnel
Corporate ownership in this category runs in two directions. Established cybersecurity incumbents have been buying their way into ZTNA: Check Point bought the startup Perimeter 81 in 2023 and has since renamed the product twice, first to Harmony SASE, now to Check Point SASE Platform, and Netskope completed an $908 million IPO on Nasdaq in August 2025 after years as a private company. On the consumer side, NordLayer, Surfshark for Teams and ExpressVPN for Teams are all business products bolted onto much larger consumer VPN brands, Nord Security, and Kape Technologies (owned by Unikmind Holdings since 2023) respectively, which means a buyer is trusting a company whose core business and public reputation was built serving individual subscribers, not enterprise IT departments. Tailscale, Twingate and GoodAccess remain independent, venture-backed companies built specifically for the business buyer from day one.
Who it's for: replacing a VPN versus replacing a network
A company with ten to a few hundred employees that mainly needs contractors and remote staff to reach a handful of specific internal apps, a shared drive, an admin panel, a database, is best served by a ZTNA-first product: Tailscale, Twingate or GoodAccess all deploy in days and price sensibly at that scale. A company that still runs a traditional flat internal network and wants a straightforward remote-access replacement, without redesigning how access is granted, fits OpenVPN Access Server or NordLayer better. A large enterprise replacing its entire network security stack, firewalls, web filtering, data-loss prevention and remote access together, is the actual buyer for Cloudflare Zero Trust, Zscaler, Check Point, Cisco and Netskope, and a smaller company shopping there will pay for a platform built around problems it does not have yet.
The 13 tools, reviewed
#1 Tailscale
WireGuard-based mesh VPN, working in minutes · Canada · tailscale.com
WireGuard mesh network Fastest setup in category Free for small teams
Tailscale builds a mesh network on top of the WireGuard protocol, and its reputation for near-zero-config setup is deserved: two machines can be securely connected in minutes rather than the hours a traditional VPN gateway typically takes to configure correctly. It was founded in 2019 by a team of ex-Google engineers, raised a $160 million Series C in April 2025, and has become a default recommendation among engineering and DevOps teams specifically for how little friction stands between installing it and having a working connection.
Where it falls short
The free Personal plan is explicitly non-commercial, so a real business deployment starts on a paid tier immediately rather than growing out of the free one. It has no traditional office gateway or site-to-site hardware story the way NordLayer or GoodAccess do, and a company wanting a full SASE-style bundle, firewall and web filtering alongside access, will need a different platform entirely.
Wrong for
A company wanting a bundled SASE platform with firewall and web filtering included, or one without any engineering capacity to manage access-control policy, may prefer a more guided product like GoodAccess.
Pricing: Personal plan free forever for up to 6 users (non-commercial); Standard $8/user/month, Premium $18/user/month, Enterprise custom. (free plan)
Visit Tailscale →
#2 Twingate
Zero trust network access, admin-console first · United States · twingate.com
ZTNA-first architecture Free for up to 5 users Granular resource policy
Twingate was built from the start around granting access to one specific resource at a time rather than the wider network, and its admin console makes that policy genuinely easy to define and audit, which is where it separates from older VPN products retrofitted with ZTNA branding. A permanent free tier for up to five users is an unusually generous way to evaluate the product with a real small team, not just a sandbox account.
Where it falls short
Per-seat pricing on the Teams and Business tiers runs higher than some flatter-rate competitors once a company grows past its free tier, and it has less of a traditional site-to-site VPN story than NordLayer or OpenVPN Access Server for a company that still wants full network-level access for some use cases.
Wrong for
A company that specifically wants full network-level access rather than per-resource grants, or one already committed to a broader SASE platform for other reasons, gets less differentiated value from Twingate's narrower focus.
Pricing: Starter free for up to 5 users; Teams $5/user/month (up to 100 users), Business $10/user/month (up to 500 users), Enterprise custom; 14-day free trial on paid tiers. (free plan)
Visit Twingate →
#3 GoodAccess
Gateway-based zero trust, built for SMBs · Czech Republic · goodaccess.com
EU-incorporated, Czech Republic Gateway-based zero trust SMB-focused
GoodAccess was built specifically for small and mid-sized businesses wanting zero trust access without the complexity of an enterprise SASE platform, and its gateway-based model is a genuine middle ground between Tailscale's minimal-config mesh and a full site-to-site VPN. Founded in the Czech Republic and serving over 15,000 business users across 120-plus countries, it is the one entry in this ranking incorporated entirely within the EU.
Where it falls short
Additional gateways and connectors, needed for multiple office locations or cloud environments, are billed as separate add-ons on top of the per-user rate, so a company with several sites should get a full quote rather than assume the headline price. There is no permanent free plan, only a 14-day trial, and its admin console is less configurable than Twingate's for very granular per-resource policy.
Wrong for
A company needing many gateways across numerous locations should price the add-ons carefully before assuming GoodAccess is the cheaper option; a flatter-rate platform may work out less expensive at that scale.
Pricing: Essential $7/user/month (annual) or $9 monthly, minimum 5 users; Premium $11/user/month (annual) or $14 monthly; Enterprise custom, minimum 50 users; additional gateways from $29-49/month; 14-day free trial, no credit card required. (free trial)
Visit GoodAccess →
#4 NordLayer
SASE-oriented VPN from the Nord Security group · Lithuania · nordlayer.com
Nord Security group Formerly NordVPN Teams Site-to-site + remote access
NordLayer launched in 2019 as NordVPN Teams and was rebranded in 2021 once its feature set grew beyond a simple team VPN into a broader SASE-style bundle covering site-to-site connections, a secure web gateway and cloud firewall alongside remote access. It benefits from Nord Security's brand recognition and R&D scale, built by the same group behind NordVPN, valued at roughly $3 billion as of 2024.
Where it falls short
Its precise corporate structure spans several jurisdictions, and current self-serve pricing is worth confirming directly before budgeting, since it was not consistently accessible during this review. As part of a larger consumer VPN group rather than a business-first company like Twingate or GoodAccess, its support organization and roadmap priorities may weigh consumer-product volume alongside business customer needs.
Wrong for
A buyer specifically wanting a vendor whose entire business is B2B, with no consumer VPN product alongside it, may prefer Twingate or GoodAccess instead of a brand built primarily around NordVPN.
Pricing: Per-user monthly tiers covering Basic, Advanced and custom Enterprise plans; current published figures should be confirmed directly on nordlayer.com, as they were not independently re-verifiable at time of writing. (free trial)
Visit NordLayer →
#5 OpenVPN Access Server
Self-hosted VPN server, billed per connection · United States · openvpn.net
Self-hosted Connection-based pricing Built on OpenVPN protocol
Access Server is OpenVPN, Inc.'s commercial, self-hosted product built on the open-source OpenVPN protocol, distinct from the free Community Edition, and it remains the most traditional entry in this ranking: a company stands up its own server and every connecting device joins that network. Pricing by simultaneous connection rather than by named user is a genuine differentiator, and a free tier for up to two connections is enough for a real small-scale evaluation.
Where it falls short
Being self-hosted, ongoing patching, scaling and uptime are the buyer's own responsibility rather than a vendor's, a real and ongoing operational cost that a managed product like Tailscale or Twingate absorbs into its subscription. Its traditional network-join model also lacks the per-resource access granularity that ZTNA-first products offer by design.
Wrong for
A company without spare engineering capacity to run and patch its own server, or one specifically wanting per-resource ZTNA access rather than full network access, should choose a managed product instead.
Pricing: Free for up to 2 simultaneous connections, permanent, no credit card; Growth $7/connection/month (annual billing, 10-2,000 connections), 14-day free trial; Enterprise/IoT custom, unlimited connections. (free plan)
Visit OpenVPN Access Server →
#6 Cloudflare Zero Trust
Zero trust access on Cloudflare's global network · United States · cloudflare.com
Global edge network Genuine free tier Bundled SASE platform
Cloudflare Zero Trust, formerly Cloudflare for Teams, runs access control on top of the same global edge network Cloudflare uses for its CDN and DNS products, which is a real performance advantage for a distributed team connecting from many locations. A genuinely usable free plan lowers the barrier to a real proof of concept, and a company already using Cloudflare for other services gets a natural single-vendor fit.
Where it falls short
It is sold as part of a broader platform bundling web gateway, browser isolation and data-loss prevention, which is more than a small company purchasing only remote access typically needs, and buying it standalone is a less common, less well-supported path than adopting the fuller bundle. Exact paid-tier pricing is less transparent than a flat published rate card.
Wrong for
A small team wanting only simple point-to-point access without a broader security platform attached may find Tailscale or Twingate a more focused, easier-to-price fit.
Pricing: A published free plan is available to start a proof of concept; paid Small Business and Enterprise tiers add higher usage limits and support; exact current per-user figures should be confirmed on Cloudflare's plans page. (free plan)
Visit Cloudflare Zero Trust →
#7 Zscaler Private Access
Enterprise ZTNA inside the Zero Trust Exchange · United States · zscaler.com
Original enterprise ZTNA vendor Zero Trust Exchange platform Publicly traded (NASDAQ: ZS)
Zscaler Private Access was one of the first products to popularize zero trust network access at enterprise scale, and it remains part of the broader Zero Trust Exchange platform that many large security teams have already standardized on for web and private app access together. Ongoing investment in AI-powered app segmentation and workload-to-workload security keeps it credible against newer entrants for a genuinely large, complex environment.
Where it falls short
There is no self-serve signup and no published pricing anywhere, so evaluating it always means a formal sales process, and its interface and deployment model assume a dedicated network security team rather than a generalist IT admin. It is built for enterprise scale in a way that is genuine overkill for a company in this ranking's target size range.
Wrong for
A company without a dedicated security team, or one under a few hundred employees, will find the procurement process and platform complexity a poor match; Tailscale or Twingate deploy far faster at that scale.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise pricing; no published self-serve tiers or per-user rates. (none)
Visit Zscaler Private Access →
#8 Check Point SASE Platform
Formerly Perimeter 81, now Check Point's SASE line · Israel · checkpoint.com
Formerly Perimeter 81 Renamed twice since 2023 Bundled with Check Point security suite
This product started as Perimeter 81, an SMB-friendly ZTNA startup that reached unicorn status in June 2022, before Check Point Software Technologies acquired it in August 2023 for roughly $490 million and renamed it Harmony SASE. As of this ranking it has been renamed again to Check Point SASE Platform, and buyers researching either older name should know they now point to the same product, sold as part of Check Point's wider enterprise security suite.
Where it falls short
Two renames in three years make researching the product's own history and older reviews confusing, and pricing is entirely quote-only. Having moved from an SMB-friendly startup into a large incumbent's enterprise platform, some of its original ease-of-deployment advantage has given way to the more complex packaging typical of Check Point's broader suite.
Wrong for
A small company specifically wanting the simpler, faster-to-deploy startup product Perimeter 81 originally was should look at Tailscale or Twingate instead; that standalone product no longer exists.
Pricing: Quote-only; Internet Access, Private Access (ZTNA) and SaaS Security are sold as a bundled platform without a published self-serve rate card. (none)
Visit Check Point SASE Platform →
#9 Cisco Secure Access
Cisco's cloud-native access platform, plus legacy AnyConnect · United States · cisco.com
Cisco-standardized enterprises Cloud-native SSE/ZTNA Legacy AnyConnect still supported
Cisco currently sells two related but distinct product lines: Secure Access, its newer cloud-native SSE/ZTNA platform, and Secure Client, which still carries the AnyConnect VPN module many enterprises have run for years. That dual line-up matters in practice, since a lot of Cisco's existing customer base is still migrating from the older client-based VPN to the newer cloud platform rather than having fully switched, and Cisco supports both paths at once.
Where it falls short
There is no published pricing and no self-serve trial, matching the sales-led enterprise model typical of Cisco's security portfolio, and evaluating either product line means an existing or new Cisco sales relationship. Running two product lines side by side also means a prospective buyer needs to be specific about which one, Secure Access or Secure Client/AnyConnect, a quote actually covers.
Wrong for
A company with no existing Cisco networking investment gains little from choosing Cisco specifically over a faster-to-deploy, self-serve alternative like Tailscale or Twingate.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise pricing; no published self-serve tiers. (none)
Visit Cisco Secure Access →
#10 Netskope One Private Access
Universal ZTNA, recently listed on Nasdaq · United States · netskope.com
IPO'd August 2025 (NASDAQ: NTSK) Universal ZTNA Part of Netskope One SSE platform
Netskope One Private Access is described by the company as a universal ZTNA solution, sold as part of the broader Netskope One security service edge platform rather than as a standalone point product. The most notable recent fact about the company itself is its August 2025 IPO on Nasdaq, priced at $19 a share and raising roughly $908 million, ending several years as one of the largest privately held security vendors and giving prospective customers more financial visibility than a private competitor offers.
Where it falls short
Pricing is entirely quote-only, and the product is sold as one module of a larger platform rather than something a small company can adopt in isolation easily. Its enterprise-first packaging and sales process make it a slower, heavier evaluation than the self-serve products in this ranking.
Wrong for
A company not already evaluating a broader SSE or SASE platform purchase gets little from Netskope specifically over a lighter, self-serve ZTNA product like Tailscale or Twingate.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise pricing; no published self-serve tiers. (none)
Visit Netskope One Private Access →
#11 ScribeForce (Windscribe)
Windscribe's team VPN, billed per seat · Canada · windscribe.com
Consumer VPN infrastructure Simple per-seat pricing Centralized team billing
ScribeForce is Windscribe's business product, repackaging its consumer VPN network with centralized billing and team management so an admin can provision and pay for several employees' VPN access from one place. At $5 per seat a month it is a straightforward, inexpensive option for a very small team that mainly wants shared, private internet access rather than granular access control over specific internal applications.
Where it falls short
It is built on consumer VPN infrastructure rather than a purpose-built business access-control architecture, so it lacks the per-resource policy, device posture checks and audit logging that ZTNA-first products like Twingate offer. There is no free tier for the team product itself, and its focus on general private browsing is a different job from securing access to specific internal company systems.
Wrong for
A company needing granular per-application access control, device posture checks or detailed audit logs should choose Twingate or Tailscale instead; ScribeForce is closer to shared private browsing than access control.
Pricing: $5.00 per seat/month, includes centralized billing and team management on top of Windscribe's consumer Pro features; no separate free tier for the team product. (none)
Visit ScribeForce (Windscribe) →
#12 ExpressVPN for Teams
Consumer VPN network, licensed for teams · British Virgin Islands · expressvpn.com
Consumer VPN network Owned by Kape Technologies License-based team pricing
ExpressVPN for Teams takes the company's well-known consumer VPN network, spanning servers in 113 countries, and licenses it for shared business use with centralized billing, aimed at a small team wanting simple, private shared internet access rather than fine-grained access control over specific internal systems. It has been a subsidiary of Kape Technologies since September 2021, itself taken private by Unikmind Holdings in 2023.
Where it falls short
Pricing is not published anywhere on the site and requires a sales conversation even for a small team, an unusual amount of friction for what is positioned as a simple product. Its consumer-grade server network was not purpose-built for granular access control, so it lacks the per-resource policy and audit logging that ZTNA-first products in this ranking offer natively.
Wrong for
A company needing per-application access control, device posture checks or detailed audit logs should choose Twingate or Tailscale; ExpressVPN for Teams is closer to shared private browsing than true access management.
Pricing: Volume/license-based pricing over 1, 12 or 24-month terms with pro-rated seat additions; no published flat per-user rate, requires a sales contact; no free trial, 30-day money-back guarantee instead. (none)
Visit ExpressVPN for Teams →
#13 Surfshark for Teams
Surfshark's team VPN, a Nord Security sister brand · Netherlands · surfshark.com
Nord Security sister brand Consumer-style bundled extras Minimum 5 licenses
Surfshark for Teams licenses the consumer Surfshark VPN network for business use, and since a 2022 merger it operates as a sister brand to NordLayer under the same Nord Security holding structure, though the two remain separately run products. Higher tiers bundle in consumer-oriented extras, data-removal service Incogni and identity-theft coverage up to $1 million, an unusual combination for a B2B buyer more accustomed to security features than consumer protection add-ons.
Where it falls short
The bundled consumer extras, data removal and identity-theft coverage, are unusual positioning for a business buyer more focused on access control than personal protection services, and there is no free trial published for the team product specifically. Like ExpressVPN for Teams, it lacks the per-resource access policy and audit logging that ZTNA-first products offer by design.
Wrong for
A company needing granular per-application access control or detailed audit logs should choose Twingate or Tailscale; Surfshark for Teams is closer to shared private browsing with consumer add-ons than access management.
Pricing: Per-user monthly pricing, minimum 5 licenses on a 1-year plan: Starter from $5.90/user/month, One from $6.90/user/month, One+ from $9.40/user/month; no free trial published for the team product. (none)
Visit Surfshark for Teams →
What the data says about this market
The category has quietly split into two generations of product sold under the same label. Tailscale, Twingate, GoodAccess and NordLayer are all zero trust network access tools, granting access to one application at a time rather than placing a device on the wider network, and all four were built or substantially rebuilt after 2019. OpenVPN Access Server represents the older, still-common model: a self-hosted server a remote device tunnels into, joining the network rather than reaching one resource within it. The five largest platforms here, Cloudflare Zero Trust, Zscaler, Check Point, Cisco and Netskope, have folded VPN and ZTNA into a broader secure access service edge (SASE) category that also includes firewall and web-filtering functions most small buyers do not need.
Acquisition activity has been heavy on the enterprise side of this list. Check Point Software bought the ZTNA startup Perimeter 81 for roughly $490 million in August 2023, and the product has been renamed twice since, first to Harmony SASE, then to Check Point SASE Platform, worth knowing since older reviews and documentation still reference the earlier names. Netskope completed an $908 million IPO on Nasdaq in August 2025, ending several years as one of the largest remaining private security vendors. Two consumer VPN groups, Nord Security and Kape Technologies, own three of the fourteen products ranked here between them, NordLayer, Surfshark for Teams and ExpressVPN for Teams, a reminder that a familiar consumer brand does not always mean an equally mature enterprise support organization sits behind it.
Nine of the fourteen vendors here are US-incorporated, a concentration that mirrors a broader shift in global services trade: ICT service exports grew from 9.1% of world service exports in 2013 to 14.48% in 2023, with the European Union's share climbing even further, from 10.58% to 17.55% over the same period (World Bank). GoodAccess, incorporated in the Czech Republic, is the one fully EU-based vendor in this ranking, while Tailscale (Canada) and Windscribe's ScribeForce (Canada) sit outside both blocs entirely. A buyer with a data-residency requirement should treat that geographic spread as a genuine shortlist filter, not an afterthought to check once a product is otherwise chosen.
The 13 ranked vendors, counted
- Headquarters by region: North America 8, Europe 3, Middle East & Africa 1, Other 1
- By country: United States 6, Canada 2, British Virgin Islands 1, Czech Republic 1, Israel 1, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 1
- Pricing model: Per user / month 7, Quote only 5, Usage-based 1
- Free option: None 7, Free plan 4, Free trial 2
Counted from the 13 vendors on this page. More in our market data.
For the wider market behind business VPN software, read our report The Global Shift to ICT Services,
or browse all industry reports.
Questions and answers
What is the best business VPN software in 2026?
Tailscale ranks #1 here for most small and mid-sized teams: its mesh-network approach is the fastest of anything in this ranking to actually get working, and its free tier is genuinely usable for a small pilot before any paid plan is needed. Twingate is the better pick for a company wanting a more traditional admin console with granular per-resource policies. GoodAccess suits a European buyer wanting a simpler, gateway-based zero trust product without Tailscale's more technical setup model.
What is the difference between a traditional VPN and ZTNA?
A traditional VPN, OpenVPN Access Server's core model, places a connecting device on the company's network, so anything reachable from that network becomes reachable from that device once connected. Zero trust network access (ZTNA), the model behind Tailscale, Twingate, GoodAccess and NordLayer, instead grants access to one specific application or server at a time, without ever joining the broader network, so a compromised laptop or a departing contractor's account exposes far less. Most companies evaluating this category today are choosing ZTNA over a traditional VPN for exactly that reason.
What happened to Perimeter 81?
It was acquired by Check Point Software Technologies for roughly $490 million in August 2023 and renamed Harmony SASE. As of this ranking, Check Point's own site has renamed the product again to Check Point SASE Platform, so a buyer researching "Perimeter 81" today should evaluate Check Point SASE Platform instead; there is no standalone Perimeter 81 product left to purchase, and older reviews using either earlier name are now out of date.
Is there a genuinely free business VPN or ZTNA tool?
Tailscale and Twingate both publish real, permanent free tiers rather than only a time-limited trial: Tailscale's personal plan covers up to six users for non-commercial use, and Twingate's Starter plan covers up to five users. Cloudflare Zero Trust also offers a free tier for a small proof-of-concept deployment. None of these free tiers are intended to run an entire company's remote access indefinitely, but all three are genuinely usable for evaluating the product with a real, small team before paying anything.
Why do NordLayer, Surfshark for Teams and ExpressVPN for Teams all look similar?
Because they descend from the same part of the industry. NordLayer and Surfshark for Teams both trace back to Nord Security, the Lithuania-founded group behind NordVPN, which merged with Surfshark under one holding structure in 2022; the two remain separately branded sister products, not a single merged one. ExpressVPN for Teams comes from a separate consumer VPN group, Kape Technologies, taken private by Unikmind Holdings in 2023. All three repurpose consumer VPN infrastructure for business use rather than being built ZTNA-first the way Tailscale or Twingate were.
Do I need a VPN if I already use Cloudflare, Zscaler or another SASE platform?
Usually not a separate one. Cloudflare Zero Trust, Zscaler Private Access, Check Point SASE Platform, Cisco Secure Access and Netskope One Private Access all bundle remote access, whether VPN-style or ZTNA-style, into a broader platform that also covers web filtering, firewall-as-a-service and data-loss prevention. Buying a standalone VPN or ZTNA product alongside one of these is usually redundant; the question worth asking is whether that broader platform is worth its cost for a company that only needs the access piece, not the rest of the suite.
Is self-hosting OpenVPN Access Server actually cheaper than a SaaS ZTNA tool?
Only once staff time is counted honestly. OpenVPN Access Server itself is billed per simultaneous connection rather than per user, which can look inexpensive, but someone still has to provision, patch and secure the server it runs on indefinitely, a real ongoing cost that a managed product like Tailscale or Twingate absorbs into its subscription. For a company with existing server-management capacity and a preference for keeping infrastructure in-house, it is a reasonable trade; for a company without spare engineering time, the managed alternatives usually work out cheaper in practice.
Which of these products actually replace a traditional office VPN one-for-one?
OpenVPN Access Server and NordLayer are the closest fits for a company that wants to keep the traditional model, a device joining the company network, rather than adopting per-application ZTNA access. GoodAccess and NordLayer both support site-to-site connections between office locations as well as individual remote-access clients, which OpenVPN Access Server also supports. Tailscale and Twingate can technically be configured to approximate broader network access, but both are designed around narrower, per-resource grants, and using them as a drop-in VPN replacement works against their actual design.
How does GoodAccess's gateway pricing work?
GoodAccess charges a base per-user rate, but additional dedicated gateways and connectors, needed for multiple office locations or cloud environments, are priced as separate monthly add-ons on top of that. A company with one office and one cloud environment sees a simple bill; a company with several regional offices or a multi-cloud setup should ask for a full quote covering every gateway it will actually need before comparing GoodAccess's headline per-user price against a flat-rate competitor.
Is Netskope's recent IPO relevant to a buying decision?
It is a genuinely useful signal, not just a financial footnote. Netskope operated as one of the largest privately held security vendors for years before completing an $908 million IPO on Nasdaq in August 2025, and public reporting requirements now give a prospective customer more visibility into its finances and stability than a private competitor offers. For a buyer weighing vendor risk over a multi-year contract, that additional transparency is a real, if modest, point in Netskope's favor against still-private rivals of a similar size.
How often is this business VPN and ZTNA ranking updated?
Whenever a fact underneath it changes: an acquisition like Check Point's purchase of Perimeter 81, a rename like Harmony SASE becoming Check Point SASE Platform, or a status change like Netskope's 2025 IPO. The published and last-reviewed dates at the top of this guide reflect an actual check of each vendor's current pricing, ownership and product naming, not a date moved forward without a re-check, which matters in a category where products have changed names twice in three years.
