121 tools · 61 open-source · 60 SaaS
The best networking & VPN tools. Ranked by real activity.
The top-ranked open-source networking & VPN tool on Enlisted is RustDesk (125k GitHub stars), followed by frp and Caddy. Among SaaS products, other tools on Enlisted are most often compared with Cloudflare, Akamai and Tailscale.
Enlisted lists 121 networking & VPN tools: 61 open source and 60 SaaS. 57 of the open-source ones can be self-hosted on your own server or computer. The most common open-source licences here are Apache-2.0 (17 tools), GPL-2.0 (8) and MIT (8). The open-source ones are most often listed as alternatives to Tailscale, NordLayer and Twingate.
Last updated October 3, 2026 · ranked by GitHub stars, growth and recent commits
The top 48 of 121 networking & VPN tools
RustDesk
Networking & VPN
RustDesk is the best open-source remote desktop software. Secure alternative to TeamViewer
AGPL-3.0vs TeamViewer★ 125kfrp
Networking & VPN
A fast reverse proxy to help you expose a local server behind a NAT or firewall to the int
Apache-2.0vs ngrok★ 110k
Caddy
Networking & VPN
Fast and extensible multi-platform HTTP/1-2-3 web server with automatic HTTPS
Apache-2.0★ 76k
Traefik
Networking & VPN
The Cloud Native Application Proxy
MIT★ 65k
Pi-hole
Networking & VPN
A black hole for Internet advertisements
OSSvs Cisco Umbrella★ 61kHeadscale
Networking & VPN
An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server
BSD-3-Clausevs Tailscale★ 44k
sing-box
Networking & VPN
The universal proxy platform
OSS★ 39k
AdGuard Home
Networking & VPN
Network-wide ads & trackers blocking DNS server
GPL-3.0vs Cisco Umbrella★ 37k
Tailscale
Networking & VPN
The easiest, most secure way to use WireGuard and 2FA.
BSD-3-Clausevs Twingate★ 37k
Nginx Proxy Manager
Networking & VPN
Docker container for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface
MIT★ 34k
NGINX
Networking & VPN
The official NGINX Open Source repository.
BSD-2-Clausevs Cloudflare★ 32k
NetBird
Networking & VPN
Connect your devices, users, and agents into a secure WireGuard®-based overlay network wit
OSSvs Tailscale★ 30k
OpenWrt
Networking & VPN
This repository is a mirror of https://git.openwrt.org/openwrt/openwrt.git It is for refer
OSSvs Cisco Meraki★ 29k
wg-easy
Networking & VPN
The easiest way to run WireGuard VPN + Web-based Admin UI.
AGPL-3.0vs NordVPN★ 27k
Cilium
Networking & VPN
eBPF-based Networking, Security, and Observability
Apache-2.0vs Illumio★ 26k
Pangolin
Networking & VPN
Open-source SASE platform providing secure access and connectivity to apps, infrastructure
OSSvs Cloudflare Tunnel★ 23k
NetBox
Networking & VPN
The premier source of truth powering network automation. Open source under Apache 2. Try N
Apache-2.0vs Auvik★ 22k
Nebula
Networking & VPN
A scalable overlay networking tool with a focus on performance, simplicity and security
MITvs Tailscale★ 18k
ZeroTier
Networking & VPN
A Smart Ethernet Switch for Earth
OSSvs Tailscale★ 17k
LibreSpeed
Networking & VPN
Self-hosted Speed Test for HTML5 and more. Easy setup, examples, configurable, mobile frie
LGPL-3.0vs Speedtest by Ookla★ 15k
OpenVPN
Networking & VPN
OpenVPN is an open source VPN daemon
OSSvs NordLayer★ 15k
CoreDNS
Networking & VPN
CoreDNS is a DNS server that chains plugins
Apache-2.0vs Amazon Route 53★ 14k
FreeRDP
Networking & VPN
FreeRDP is a free remote desktop protocol library and clients
Apache-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 14k
Netmaker
Networking & VPN
Securely connect your devices, clouds, and sites with Netmaker's Zero Trust platform.
OSSvs Tailscale★ 12k
Technitium DNS Server
Networking & VPN
Technitium DNS Server
GPL-3.0vs Cloudflare★ 10k
Wireshark
Networking & VPN
Read-only mirror of Wireshark's Git repository at https://gitlab.com/wireshark/wireshark.
GPL-2.0★ 9.9k
Firezone
Networking & VPN
Blazing-fast remote access
Apache-2.0vs Tailscale★ 9.1k
TigerVNC
Networking & VPN
High performance, multi-platform VNC client and server
GPL-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 7.5k
MeshCentral
Networking & VPN
A complete web-based remote monitoring and management web site. Once setup you can install
Apache-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 7.3k
NetAlertX
Networking & VPN
NetAlertX: Visualize Your Networks, Get Real-Time Alerts, and Seamlessly Integrate with Yo
GPL-3.0vs Auvik★ 7.2k
IPsec VPN Server
Networking & VPN
Docker image to run an IPsec VPN server, with IPsec/L2TP, Cisco IPsec and IKEv2. Auto-gene
OSSvs ExpressVPN★ 7.1kBlocky
Networking & VPN
Fast and lightweight DNS proxy as ad-blocker for local network with many features
Apache-2.0vs Cisco Umbrella★ 7k
HAProxy
Networking & VPN
HAProxy Load Balancer's development branch (mirror of git.haproxy.org)
OSSvs Azure Front Door★ 6.9k
Scanopy
Networking & VPN
Network diagrams that update themselves
AGPL-3.0vs IT Glue★ 5.8k
Rathole
Networking & VPN
A lightweight and high-performance reverse proxy for NAT traversal, written in Rust. An al
Apache-2.0vs ngrok★ 14k
Zoraxy
Networking & VPN
A general purpose HTTP reverse proxy and forwarding tool. Now written in Go!
AGPL-3.0★ 5.5k
KasmVNC
Networking & VPN
Modern VNC Server and client, web based and secure
GPL-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 5.3k
Zrok
Networking & VPN
Secure internet sharing made simple.
Apache-2.0vs ngrok★ 4.7k
OPNsense
Security
OPNsense GUI, API and systems backend
BSD-2-Clausevs Fortinet★ 4.7k
OpenZiti
Networking & VPN
The parent project for OpenZiti. Here you will find the executables for a fully zero-trust
Apache-2.0vs Twingate★ 4.4k
PowerDNS
Networking & VPN
PowerDNS Authoritative, PowerDNS Recursor, dnsdist
GPL-2.0vs Cloudflare★ 4.5k
Octelium
Networking & VPN
A next-gen FOSS self-hosted unified zero trust secure access platform that can operate as
AGPL-3.0vs Tailscale★ 4.1k
Apache Guacamole
Networking & VPN
The Apache Guacamole proxy daemon (guacd), C API (libguac), and protocol support.
Apache-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 4kOxidized
Networking & VPN
Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool. It's a RANCID replacement!
Apache-2.0vs Auvik★ 3.6k
Xpra
Networking & VPN
Persistent remote applications for X11; screen sharing for X11, MacOS and MSWindows.
GPL-2.0vs TeamViewer★ 3k
Kamailio
Networking & VPN
Kamailio - The Open Source SIP Server for large VoIP and real-time communication platforms
OSS★ 3k
Defguard
Networking & VPN
Zero-Trust access management with true WireGuard® 2FA/MFA
OSSvs Tailscale★ 2.9k
phpIPAM
Networking & VPN
phpipam development repository
OSS★ 2.8k
Networking & VPN tools: questions
- What is the best open-source networking & VPN tool?
- RustDesk is the top-ranked open-source networking & VPN tool on Enlisted, with 125k GitHub stars. It is followed by frp, Caddy and Traefik.
- What are the best free networking & VPN tools?
- The top-ranked open-source networking & VPN tools with a standard licence are RustDesk (AGPL-3.0), frp (Apache-2.0) and Caddy (Apache-2.0), so their code is free to use. 23 of the 60 SaaS products here have a free plan, including Cloudflare, Tailscale and Twingate.
- Which networking & VPN tools can be self-hosted?
- 57 of the 61 open-source networking & VPN tools on Enlisted can be self-hosted on your own server or computer; the top-ranked are RustDesk, frp and Caddy.
- How are these networking & VPN tools ranked?
- Open-source tools are ordered by a score built from GitHub stars, star growth over the last 30 days and how recently the code changed; 51 of the 61 had new commits or a release in the last 30 days. SaaS products have no public repository, so they get a fixed baseline score. GitHub data is refreshed daily, and nobody can pay to move up.