GlobalProtect vs. OpenVPN Access Server Comparison


GlobalProtect Palo Alto Networks	OpenVPN Access Server OpenVPN	+	+
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		Related Products ManageEngine Endpoint Central ManageEngine Endpoint Central gives IT teams a single platform to manage and secure every device across the organization, eliminating the need to juggle multiple point tools. Patch management is automated across Windows, macOS, Linux, and 1000+ third-party applications. Software deployment, OS imaging, and remote desktop capabilities allow administrators to provision, update, and troubleshoot endpoints without physical presence. Security capabilities include vulnerability assessment, application control, device control, browser security, endpoint privilege management, EDR, NGAV protection against malware and zero-day threats, and private access for secure remote connectivity. BitLocker and FileVault encryption management adds data protection across Windows and macOS fleets. Mobile device management extends control to iOS and Android, supporting corporate-owned and BYOD environments. Available on-premises or in the cloud across five editions: Free, Professional, Enterprise, UEM, and Security. 3,347 Ratings Visit Website ESET PROTECT Advanced ESET Protect Advanced is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers advanced endpoint protection against ransomware, zero-day threats, and sophisticated attacks with ESET LiveSense technology. It includes full disk encryption for legal compliance and data protection. The solution features proactive cloud-based threat defense using adaptive scanning, machine learning, cloud sandboxing, and behavioral analysis to prevent new threats. Mobile threat defense secures Android and iOS devices with anti-malware, anti-theft, and mobile device management. It also provides cloud app protection, mail server security, and vulnerability and patch management. Extended detection and response (XDR) enhances threat detection and response, while multi-factor authentication adds security. The solution offers single-pane-of-glass remote management for visibility into threats and users, along with advanced reporting and custom notifications. 2,332 Ratings Visit Website Kitecyber Kitecyber: Gen AI & Data Security, Built on the Endpoint Kitecyber protects your data and secures Gen AI use with a single lightweight agent that runs directly on the endpoint. Because it lives on the device, Kitecyber sees the complete picture—device posture, operating system activity, process activity, data classification, user activity, and network activity—together, in real-time context. That's something network- and cloud-only tools can't match: they watch traffic after it leaves the device, while Kitecyber understands the action at the moment it happens. One agent replaces a stack. Kitecyber unifies data loss prevention, secure web gateway, zero trust private access, SaaS protection, device management, and Gen AI security, no appliances, no separate consoles, and deployment in about a day. Data security that keeps up with your data. Kitecyber classifies sensitive information with LLM-powered, context-aware intelligence across 80+ categories (PII, PHI, PCI, source code, IP) at over 90% accuracy — not brittle keyword matching. It tracks data lineage through transformations like screenshots, encoding, and file conversion that defeat traditional scanners, and enforces policy inline before data ever leaves the device. Gen AI security for the age of AI agents. Kitecyber tracks sensitive data pasted or uploaded into tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini and blocks it before it leaves the endpoint. It discovers shadow AI apps reaching your devices and extends visibility to the AI agents now acting on your users' behalf — a blind spot for identity- and network-based tools. Trusted and proven. Kitecyber secures fast-growing fintech, AI companies, BFSI, Manufacturing, healthcare and SMB organizations in highly regulated environments, and partners with GRC leaders like Vanta and Scrut Automation to simplify security and compliance together. Customers report up to 50% lower total cost of ownership, ~20 hours a week saved, and enterprise-grade protection without enterprise complexity. Kitecyber is SOC 2 Type II compliant, with pre-built templates for GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and more. The company operates and has customers across USA, Europe, Middle east and APAC. Get enterprise-grade Gen AI and data security in days, from one agent. Learn more at kitecyber.com. 87 Ratings Visit Website Cloudflare Cloudflare is the foundation for your infrastructure, applications, and teams. Cloudflare secures and ensures the reliability of your external-facing resources such as websites, APIs, and applications. It protects your internal resources such as behind-the-firewall applications, teams, and devices. And it is your platform for developing globally scalable applications. Your website, APIs, and applications are your key channels for doing business with your customers and suppliers. As more and more shift online, ensuring these resources are secure, performant and reliable is a business imperative. Cloudflare for Infrastructure is a complete solution to enable this for anything connected to the Internet. Behind-the-firewall applications and devices are foundational to the work of your internal teams. The recent surge in remote work is testing the limits of many organizations’ VPN and other hardware solutions. 2,048 Ratings Visit Website ThreatLocker ThreatLocker is a Zero Trust Platform that prevents cyber threats by blocking unknown applications, enforcing least privilege, and controlling what can run across your environment. Using Allowlisting, Ringfencing, Network Control, and more, ThreatLocker stops ransomware, zero-day attacks, and unauthorized activity before execution, rather than relying on detection after the fact. Built for modern IT and cybersecurity teams, the platform delivers centralized visibility and policy management across endpoints, users, and applications. ThreatLocker reduces attack surface, limits lateral movement, and supports compliance with detailed audit logs. With fast deployment, a large built-in application library, and streamlined approvals, organizations can strengthen security while minimizing operational overhead and maintaining business continuity. 705 Ratings Visit Website Iru Iru (formerly Kandji) is an all-in-one, AI-powered security and compliance platform designed to simplify IT management and strengthen enterprise protection. Built on the Iru Context Model, it unifies identity, endpoint, and compliance into a single intelligent system that understands users, devices, and applications in context. With passwordless workforce identity, advanced endpoint detection, and automated compliance, Iru delivers both security and efficiency without the complexity of multiple tools. Its integrated approach enables IT teams to secure access, prevent threats, and maintain continuous audit readiness—all from one intuitive platform. Trusted by over 5,000 companies including Plaid, Notion, Airbus, and Vercel, Iru transforms how modern businesses manage digital trust. The result is reduced IT workload, improved employee experience, and enterprise-grade protection built for the AI era. 1,389 Ratings Visit Website NordVPN We help companies keep their networks and Internet connections secure. Our VPN service adds an extra layer of protection to secure your communications. We do this by applying strong encryption to all incoming and outgoing traffic so that no third parties can access your confidential information. Protect your organization against security breaches. Secure remote team access. Simplify business network security. Access region-specific online content from anywhere in the world 1,609 Ratings Visit Website Cloudbrink If you’ve ever dealt with slow VPNs, or clunky ZTNA agents that degrade app performance, you’re not alone. Many IT teams are stuck balancing security with usability—and often end up sacrificing both. Here is a different approach. The high-performance ZTNA service that is part of a personal SASE solution from Cloudbrink can upgrade or replace traditional VPNs while fixing the performance and complexity that come from other vendors in the ZTNA and SASE space. Built as a software-only service, Cloudbrink delivers sub-20ms latency and 1Gbps+ speeds per user using dynamically deployed FAST edges and a proprietary protocol that recovers packet loss before it impacts the app. Security isn’t bolted on—it’s built in. With mutual TLS 1.3, short-lived certs, and no exposed IPs, Cloudbrink provides real zero trust without making users suffer through poor connections or overloaded POPs. If you’ve been burned by “next-gen” solutions that still feel like 2008, it might be time for something new. 28 Ratings Visit Website Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security Bitdefender Small Business Security delivers enterprise-grade, layered cyber-protection designed specifically for small organizations. It covers Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices with centralized, easy-to-use management, so businesses without a dedicated IT staff can deploy and monitor security from one dashboard. Key features include multi-layered endpoint protection (machine learning, behavioral analytics, real-time monitoring, process termination, and rollback) to prevent known and unknown threats. It offers ransomware prevention and mitigation (detecting abnormal encryption attempts and restoring files from backups), fileless attack protection (memory/back-injection interference, script blocking), phishing & fraud prevention (blocking deceptive sites and warning users), and advanced exploit protection (real-time shield of browsers, Office apps, Adobe Reader) for comprehensive endpoint defense. 5 Ratings Visit Website Keeper Security Keeper Security is transforming the way people and organizations around the world secure their passwords and passkeys, secrets and confidential information. Keeper’s easy-to-use cybersecurity platform is built on a foundation of zero-trust and zero-knowledge security to protect every user on every device. Keeper’s solution deploys in minutes and seamlessly integrates with any tech stack to prevent breaches, reduce help desk costs and ensure compliance. Trusted by millions of individuals and thousands of organizations globally, Keeper is the leader for best-in-class password and passkey management, secrets management, privileged access, secure remote access and encrypted messaging. 1,812 Ratings Visit Website
About The modern workforce is more mobile than ever, accessing the network from any place on any device, at any time. Endpoint antivirus and VPN technologies aren’t enough to stop advanced threats. By extending next-generation firewall capabilities through the GlobalProtect subscription, you can gain greater visibility into all traffic, users, devices, and applications. With GlobalProtect, organizations can extend consistent security policies to all users, while eliminating remote access blindspots and strengthening security. GlobalProtect safeguards your mobile workforce by using the capabilities of your Next-Generation Firewall to inspect all traffic—incoming and outgoing. Enable always-on IPsec/SSL VPN connection between a variety of endpoints and operating systems to deliver transparent access to sensitive data without risk. Quarantine compromised devices with immutable characteristics on internal and external networks.	About OpenVPN Access Server is a self-hosted Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and business VPN solution that gives organizations full control over their own secure network. It's software organizations deploy directly into their own environment — on-premises hardware or their own cloud account on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or others — with tunnel traffic flowing directly between users and the server. With Access Server Link, teams can go from zero to a fully configured deployment in minutes: point-and-click setup across AWS, Azure, and GCP, automatic SSL certificate provisioning and renewal, and a web-based admin portal for managing users, certificates, and access — no SSH or manual DNS work required. Access is granted per application and per identity using domain names rather than broad network-level access, so users only reach what they're explicitly permitted to, and lateral movement is structurally blocked.
Platforms Supported Windows Not Supported Mac Not Supported Linux Not Supported Cloud Supported On-Premises Not Supported iPhone Not Supported iPad Not Supported Android Not Supported Chromebook Not Supported	Platforms Supported Windows Supported Mac Supported Linux Supported Cloud Supported On-Premises Supported iPhone Supported iPad Supported Android Supported Chromebook Not Supported
Audience Remote workforces that need a secure VPN and endpoint protection solution	Audience SMBs and Enterprises looking for a Zero Trust VPN as a foundation of their network security
Support Phone Support Supported 24/7 Live Support Not Supported Online Supported	Support Phone Support Not Supported 24/7 Live Support Not Supported Online Supported
API Offers API Not Supported	API Offers API Not Supported
Screenshots and Videos View more images or videos	Screenshots and Videos View more images or videos
Pricing No information available. Free Version Not Supported Free Trial Not Supported	Pricing Free Up to 2 connections Dependent on the number of connections and monthly or annually. If annual, under 100 connections, $7 per connection per month. If monthly, under 100 connections, $9 per connection per month. Over 100 connections will get lower pricing. Free Version Supported Free Trial Supported
Reviews/Ratings Overall 5.0 / 5 Read all reviews	Reviews/Ratings Overall 5.0 / 5 ease 4.5 / 5 features 5.0 / 5 design 5.0 / 5 support 5.0 / 5 Read all reviews
Pros & Cons from Real Users Pros I like how there's three different settings, or at least the way my uni's configured it, there's three settings. There's the split tunnel, where you use your own internet connection for common things (which is great, because all VPNs result in a little slower internet, and there's no point in slowing down, say, your Google searches), the full tunnel which is needed to access university specific stuff at the library, and then a third, 'restricted' connection which I assume is what researchers use. Cons Installing it was a little confusing, I guess? It's a slight hassle to input my username and password every time I turn on my computer? There's not much to dislike here.	Pros & Cons from Real Users Pros Open Source. lots of customization options. Create your own VPN profile using free networks available on sites such as vpnbook. Also available as a service - pay as you go model. Cross Platform. The software made the process of setting up a Virtual Private Network so much easier. It has a lot of configuration options available including the use of DNS servers, user permissions and more. OpenVPN has support that will help with any issues needed. Cons Initial setup is difficult - creating profiles, installing certificate (at least on windows). It still requires a fair bit of work to actually set up the Virtual Private Network.
Training Documentation Supported Webinars Not Supported Live Online Not Supported In Person Not Supported	Training Documentation Supported Webinars Supported Live Online Supported In Person Not Supported
Company Information Palo Alto Networks Founded: 2005 United States www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/globalprotect	Company Information OpenVPN Founded: 2001 United States openvpn.net
Alternatives Cisco AnyConnect Cisco	Alternatives Cloudbrink
FortiClient Fortinet	Private Internet Access (PIA) Private Internet Access
Prisma Access Palo Alto Networks	NordVPN Nord Security
Fortinet	UTunnel VPN and ZTNA Secubytes LLC
Check Point SASE Check Point Software View All	Check Point SASE Check Point Software View All
Categories Cloud Edge Security Supported Endpoint Protection Supported Mobile Threat Defense Supported Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) Supported VPN Supported Zero Trust Security Supported	Categories IT Management Supported IT Security Supported IT admins & managers love Access Server - OpenVPN can help make network security and secure remote access easier — whether you have years of experience as an IT Admin or are just beginning your career. If you’re a Linux person, Access Server is for you. Access Server is an easy to deploy, cost-effective way to bolster your network security in a self-hosted environment. Network Security Supported OpenVPN’s scalable, easy-to-deploy solutions are built on our time-tested, industry standard open source protocol. With the ability to split traffic and only tunnel sensitive data, you won’t sacrifice internet performance or speed for security. With OpenVPN, you can say goodbye to your legacy VPN and traditional hardware and architecture that made it difficult to scale and grow. You’ll be able to harness next-gen VPN technology that grows with you and protects your business no matter where your team is working, whether from a tablet at their kitchen table, a laptop in a coffee shop, or a mobile phone at their desk. Proxy Servers Supported OpenVPN supports connections through an HTTP proxy, with the following authentication modes: no proxy authentication, basic proxy authentication, and NTLM proxy authentication. Secure Remote Access Supported With OpenVPN’s multi-layered solution, you can ensure that your mobile workforce is logging into corporate networks and third-party cloud services safely and securely. Minimize your attack surface & increase internet security levels - only authenticated users and compliant devices get access to authorized applications. VPN Supported OpenVPN business solutions provide secure, scalable, and flexible virtual private networking for organizations of all sizes. Built on the trusted OpenVPN protocol, they enable encrypted remote access, site-to-site connectivity, and seamless cloud integration. With centralized management, granular access controls, and support for modern authentication, businesses can protect sensitive data while ensuring employees and partners connect safely from anywhere. OpenVPN Access Server scales from small teams to enterprise deployments, offering reliability, strong encryption, and easy deployment across on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments. Trusted worldwide, OpenVPN combines open-source transparency with enterprise-grade features. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Supported We make ZTNA a reality for your business. Access Server and CloudConnexa® can be used to implement a zero trust network access solution that secures your network resources while limiting access to only what is necessary. Zero Trust Security Supported Transition to a Zero Trust framework with OpenVPN Access Server. Our self-hosted solution gives businesses of all sizes the ability to enforce zero trust essentials. Transition beyond protecting only what is inside of your corporate perimeter, and reduce your attack surface. With Access Server, you can protect workers using home and public WiFi networks, and SaaS applications, outside your network perimeter. We also provide all the tools and capabilities necessary for building a strong zero trust network to block or significantly mitigate attacks.
	VPN Features Anonymous Browsing Not Supported DNS Leak Protection Not Supported For Digital Security Supported For Financial Security Supported For Gaming Supported For Streaming Supported Kill Switch Not Supported Multi-Language Not Supported Multi-Protocol Not Supported Peer-to-Peer Not Supported Policy Management Supported Remote Access Supported Web Inspection Not Supported White Label Not Supported Show More Features IT Management Features Capacity Monitoring Not Supported Compliance Management Not Supported Event Logs Not Supported Hardware Inventory Not Supported IT Budgeting Not Supported License Management Not Supported Patch Management Not Supported Remote Access Supported Scheduling Not Supported Software Inventory Not Supported User Activity Monitoring Not Supported Network Security Features Access Control Supported Analytics / Reporting Supported Compliance Reporting Not Supported Firewalls Not Supported Internet Usage Monitoring Not Supported Intrusion Detection System Not Supported Threat Response Not Supported VPN Supported Vulnerability Scanning Not Supported
Integrations LoginTC Supported ADrive Enterprise Not Supported AWS Marketplace Not Supported Acceptto eGuardian Not Supported AccessOwl Not Supported AuthPoint Not Supported Azure Marketplace Not Supported DCXV Not Supported Google Authenticator Not Supported ICS CUBE Not Supported It'sMe Not Supported JumpCloud Not Supported Kamatera Not Supported MVPS Not Supported Netdata Not Supported Rublon Not Supported SecureIdentity IAM Supported SolusIO Not Supported SpendHound Not Supported TunnelFleet Not Supported Show More Integrations View All 7 Integrations	Integrations LoginTC Supported ADrive Enterprise Supported AWS Marketplace Supported Acceptto eGuardian Supported AccessOwl Supported AuthPoint Supported Azure Marketplace Supported DCXV Supported Google Authenticator Supported ICS CUBE Supported It'sMe Supported JumpCloud Supported Kamatera Supported MVPS Supported Netdata Supported Rublon Supported SecureIdentity IAM Not Supported SolusIO Supported SpendHound Supported TunnelFleet Supported Show More Integrations View All 59 Integrations
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