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OpenVPN Access Server pros and cons

Vendor: OpenVPN

4.2 out of 5

52 reviews
98% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

OpenVPN Access Server is open source and offers strong encryption and scalability for secure connections. It supports platforms like Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, facilitating flexible remote work. The easy setup suits small projects, though Linux expertise is needed. It enhances security with multi-factor authentication, but could improve in compatibility and advanced security features. Issues include connectivity and licensing costs. Secure connections without complex setups are key advantages.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

OpenVPN Access Server is open source and affordable, providing cost-effective solutions for small projects.

It supports strong encryption and secure remote access across multiple platforms such as Mac, Windows, and Linux.

The setup is straightforward, allowing easy scalability and configuration, including multi-factor authentication options.

The remote connection stability is reliable, ensuring privacy and cryptography for network communication.

OpenVPN Access Server is advantageous for its adaptability, facilitating simple integration, script writing, and key generation.

CONS

OpenVPN Access Server requires Linux server configuration experience for initial setup.

OpenVPN Access Server experienced connectivity issues and needs improvements in stability and speed.

There are shortcomings in security that need addressing in OpenVPN Access Server.

OpenVPN Access Server's patching, updating, and migrating to newer versions present challenges.

OpenVPN Access Server lacks scalability and compatibility with some additional protocols supported by competitors.

OpenVPN Access Server Pros review quotes

Senior DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Jan 23, 2018

It is much easier to scale and troubleshoot compared to regular Windows-based VPN solutions or PPTP daemon.

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Senior Linux System Administrator at a media company with 51-200 employees

Jan 29, 2018

It allows us to give access to our office network in a safe and secure way to users, no matter which computing platform they use.

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ME

Python Developer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Jan 29, 2018

It is open source and therefore affordable for small projects.

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OpenVPN Access Server

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Learn what your peers think about OpenVPN Access Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.

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Founder

Mar 22, 2018

It allows our employees to work remotely across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms.

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TH

Infrastructure Administrator at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Aug 22, 2018

Provided the easiest UX for our end-users and had the greatest interoperability with all the operating systems we used, including but not limited to: iOS, Android, OS X, Windows, and Linux.

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XG

Cofounder/CTO and Principal Devops at a tech vendor

Mar 28, 2018

Provides privacy and cryptography for my network communication.

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BB

QA Engineer/Software Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Mar 29, 2018

It can securely do remote product updates... just as if it was on our LAN.

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Senior System Engineer with 1-10 employees

Mar 29, 2018

A valuable feature for us is its ability to see the new Citrix server as a local server within the company. And it allows us to test abroad.

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Software Engineer II at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

Mar 29, 2018

The compatibility with almost any Linux operating system, and how easy it is to write scripts and generate keys for people to use and log in. I found it easy to deploy quickly.

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ES

CEO at Scott Solutions LLC

Oct 28, 2019

The features I have found to be most valuable are the levels of encryption I can enact and the compression I can apply to improve throughput.

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OpenVPN Access Server Cons review quotes

Senior DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Jan 23, 2018

It requires some experience of Linux server configuration to set it up.

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Senior Linux System Administrator at a media company with 51-200 employees

Jan 29, 2018

There was one annoying feature where we had to disable and enable the user. I cannot remember what it was exactly, but I think it was for a password lockout. It would be nice if there was a checkbox, or something, in the web interface to allow you to unlock a user whose password was locked.

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ME

Python Developer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Jan 29, 2018

It could include a configuration wizard so that users who do not follow instructions well can configure a connection.

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OpenVPN Access Server

Free Report: OpenVPN Access Server Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about OpenVPN Access Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.

879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Founder

Mar 22, 2018

Needs a better GUI.

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TH

Infrastructure Administrator at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Aug 22, 2018

The upgrade path from older versions was more difficult than we wanted to tackle, so we ran an older version of the software for longer than I wanted. Patching, updating, and migrating to newer versions was a problem for us. That said, we were on a rather old version that I inherited yet it worked rock solid.

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XG

Cofounder/CTO and Principal Devops at a tech vendor

Mar 28, 2018

I would like to see a GUI or Web UI to manage users. Today these features are in the Pro Edition or are done by scripts.

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BB

QA Engineer/Software Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Mar 29, 2018

They may have this already, but it would be nice to be able to get more notifications if a site drops unexpectedly.

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Senior System Engineer with 1-10 employees

Mar 29, 2018

I would like to see a simpler interface, so that we can make the connection between the local network using the LAN IP.

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Software Engineer II at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

Mar 29, 2018

If someone's key is not working, or if we had to remove someone's permission from it, or maybe an employee left the company and we had to take their key out, that seemed a little bit more complicated than it had to be.

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ES

CEO at Scott Solutions LLC

Oct 28, 2019

If there was a Graphical User Interface to help streamline the configuration, I believe OpenVPN would probably venture more into the non-geek realm as it were.

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Product Categories

Product Categories

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

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Product Categories

Product Categories

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs OpenVPN Access Server

Fortinet FortiClient vs OpenVPN Access Server

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs OpenVPN Access Server

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs OpenVPN Access Server

Check Point Remote Access VPN vs OpenVPN Access Server

Tailscale vs OpenVPN Access Server

Ivanti Connect Secure vs OpenVPN Access Server

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway vs OpenVPN Access Server

SonicWall Netextender vs OpenVPN Access Server

Citrix Gateway vs OpenVPN Access Server

Hillstone E-Series vs OpenVPN Access Server

NordLayer vs OpenVPN Access Server

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs OpenVPN Access Server

SonicWall SMA vs OpenVPN Access Server

Sangfor SSL VPN vs OpenVPN Access Server

See all alternatives

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