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Shadowsocks vs VPN Gate: catalog facts
Shadowsocks	VPN Gate
Free Free and open source; you supply your own server.	Free Free of charge as a university research project.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Lightweight with low CPU and bandwidth use Clients and servers for most platforms, including routers	Free with no subscription Works with standard L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN and SSTP clients
A proxy rather than a full VPN Split across many separate implementations of varying quality	Servers are run by volunteers, so privacy depends on each operator Speed and availability vary from server to server
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Hosted service
Open source	Closed source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.