Best Open Source Virtual Private Network in 2026
Tools for creating encrypted VPN connections to protect internet traffic and maintain online privacy.
The most popular pick this year is Headscale with 38,278 GitHub stars, but all 2 options below are worth considering depending on your needs.
2 open source virtual private network — ranked by GitHub stars. Browse all
Headscale
An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server
ExpressVPN
OpenVPN
OpenVPN is an open source VPN daemon
ExpressVPNHow we rank these tools
Tools are ranked by GitHub stars as a proxy for community adoption and trust. Stars reflect how many developers found a project valuable enough to bookmark — a reasonable signal for quality in the open source world. We only list tools that are actively maintained and open source.
Looking for tools you can run yourself? Browse self-hosted virtual private network →