OpenVPN Access Server vs ZeroTier One: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

OpenVPN Access Server: Self-hosted business VPN with zero-trust controls and flexible auth. built by OpenVPN. Core capabilities include Zero-trust access controls with identity, device, and location verification, Flexible authentication: PAM, RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, local, and custom methods, MFA support via TOTP..

ZeroTier One: Software-defined overlay networking platform with encrypted P2P connectivity. built by ZeroTier. Core capabilities include Encrypted end-to-end peer-to-peer connectivity, Cryptographic device identity and authentication, Automatic NAT traversal and adaptive path discovery..

Both serve the VPN market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.

OpenVPN Access Server differentiates with Zero-trust access controls with identity, device, and location verification, Flexible authentication: PAM, RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, local, and custom methods, MFA support via TOTP. ZeroTier One differentiates with Encrypted end-to-end peer-to-peer connectivity, Cryptographic device identity and authentication, Automatic NAT traversal and adaptive path discovery.

OpenVPN Access Server is developed by OpenVPN. ZeroTier One is developed by ZeroTier. Vendor maturity, funding stage, and team size can be important factors when evaluating long-term viability and support quality.

OpenVPN Access Server and ZeroTier One serve similar VPN use cases: both are VPN tools, both cover ZTNA, Remote Access. Review the feature comparison above to determine which fits your requirements.