About Twingate
Twingate is a zero trust network access service pitched as a replacement for the business VPN. It grants access to specific private resources based on the user, the device and the context of the request, rather than putting people onto an entire network. It is aimed at IT and security teams supporting distributed workforces and engineering groups.
The product emphasizes direct-to-resource connectivity without tunnels or bottlenecks, a single policy engine for least-privilege access, device posture checks and detailed audit logging. An admin console manages policies, and integrations connect it with identity and security suites. The vendor also offers a portal for managed service providers and promotes access control for services and AI agents.
Twingate is a proprietary hosted service. Resources are reached through connectors placed inside your networks, while the control plane runs in the vendor's cloud, with a webinar on bringing your own cloud also promoted. A free trial and demo are offered, and plans are described on a pricing page.
Key features
- Identity-based access to private resources
- Single policy engine for least privilege
- Device posture and context checks
- Audit logging of access activity
- Admin console with identity provider integrations
- Portal for managed service providers
Good fit for
- →Retiring a business VPN
- →Giving contractors scoped access to internal resources
- Tags
- zero-trust
- ztna
- vpn-alternative
- remote-access
- security
- access-control
Twingate: questions and answers
- What is Twingate used for?
- Twingate is a zero trust remote access service that replaces business VPNs with identity-based access to users, services and AI agents, deployed in minutes. It is a good fit for retiring a business VPN and giving contractors scoped access to internal resources.
- Is Twingate free?
- Yes. Twingate has a free plan, and paid plans start at $6 per seat per month. A free trial is also available.
- Is Twingate open source?
- No. Twingate is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Twingate include Pangolin, OpenZiti and Netmaker.
- What are some alternatives to Twingate?
- Twingate competes with Tailscale, Cloudflare Zero Trust and NordLayer. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Twingate alternatives.
Open-source alternatives to Twingate
See all
Pangolin
Networking & VPN
Open-source SASE platform providing secure access and connectivity to apps, infrastructure
OSSvs Cloudflare Tunnel★ 23k
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
Netmaker
Networking & VPN
Securely connect your devices, clouds, and sites with Netmaker's Zero Trust platform.
OSSvs Tailscale★ 12k
Firezone
Networking & VPN
Blazing-fast remote access
Apache-2.0vs Tailscale★ 9.1k
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
Defguard
Networking & VPN
Zero-Trust access management with true WireGuard® 2FA/MFA
OSSvs Tailscale★ 2.9k
SaaS alternatives to Twingate
See all
Tailscale
Networking & VPN
Mesh VPN and zero trust network that connects devices without manual configuration
SaaS
Cloudflare Zero Trust
Security
Zero trust network access, secure web gateway and browser isolation from Cloudflare
SaaS
NordLayer
Networking & VPN
Business VPN and network access security for remote and hybrid teams
SaaS
Zscaler
Security
Cloud security platform for zero trust internet and private application access
SaaS
Cloudflare Tunnel
Networking & VPN
Cloudflare Tunnel securely connects web services and private networks to Cloudflare without opening inbound ports on the origin server.
SaaS
Prisma Access
Security
Palo Alto Networks cloud-delivered secure access service edge
SaaS

