OpenVPN Community
The VPN protocol and client that has been the default for two decades, and still runs on everything.
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3 more ways to get OpenVPN Community
Package managers
- winget
winget install --id OpenVPNTechnologies.OpenVPN - Chocolatey
choco install openvpn - Homebrew
brew install openvpn
About OpenVPN Community
OpenVPN builds an encrypted tunnel over TLS. It has been deployed for long enough that almost every router, firewall, NAS and corporate VPN concentrator speaks it, and almost every operating system has a client. Configuration is a single .ovpn file your provider or administrator hands you.
It is slower and more complicated than WireGuard, which is why new deployments often pick WireGuard instead. It is also far more flexible about ports, proxies and authentication methods, which is why it is still the one that works from a hotel network that blocks everything.
Strengths
- Supported by essentially every router, firewall and VPN provider
- Runs over TCP or UDP on any port, so it gets through restrictive networks
- Flexible authentication including certificates, passwords and hardware tokens
- Clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Android and iOS
Limitations
- Slower than WireGuard, with much more code to audit
- Configuration is genuinely complex if you are building a server
- Windows builds are MSI installers that need administrator rights
- Access Server, the commercial product, is easy to confuse with this
Details
- Pricing
- FreeThe Community Edition is free and open source under the GPL 2.0. OpenVPN Inc. also sells OpenVPN Access Server, a separate commercial product.
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Developer
- OpenVPN Inc.
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Connecting to an existing VPN, or building one that has to work everywhere
- Categories
- VPN
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (VPN); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Alternatives to OpenVPN Community
Compare allSoftware that can replace OpenVPN Community for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
WireGuard
A small, fast VPN protocol and set of official clients that connect two machines by exchanging public keys.
WireGuard is faster with much less code to audit and roams between networks, but each peer needs a static tunnel address and it does not hide VPN use by default.
Outline VPN
Self-run VPN server built on Shadowsocks, made for censored networks.
Outline VPN uses Shadowsocks to resist blocking, with a manager application that simplifies server creation and key sharing, but you pay for and run the server yourself.
AmneziaVPN
Sets up your own VPN server on a machine you rent, then connects to it, with obfuscated protocols for networks that block ordinary VPNs.
AmneziaVPN installs and configures a server over SSH from its client and offers obfuscated protocols for restrictive networks, but needs a rented server and root credentials.
Algo VPN
Ansible scripts that stand up a personal WireGuard and IPsec VPN.
Algo VPN deploys a personal WireGuard and IPsec server with Ansible scripts and fixed cryptographic defaults, avoiding complex configuration, but runs from macOS, Linux or the command line.
sing-box
A universal proxy platform that speaks WireGuard, Shadowsocks, VMess, Trojan, Hysteria and more from one binary.
sing-box speaks WireGuard, Shadowsocks, Trojan and more as client or server with per-connection routing, but has no graphical interface and complex JSON configuration.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Proton VPN
A VPN from the Proton Mail company with a free tier that has no data cap, and open source clients.
Mullvad VPN
A flat-rate VPN service with anonymous account numbers instead of usernames, and open source apps.
Tailscale
Builds a private network between your own devices using WireGuard, without opening ports or running a server.
OPNsense
An open-source firewall and routing platform based on FreeBSD that you install on your own hardware.
IPFire
A hardened Linux-based firewall distribution with VPN support, network segmentation and a web management console.
VyOS
An open-source network operating system that combines routing, firewall and VPN functions in one platform.
