[opensourcedex]

best-of ranking · updated nightly

Best Open Source Network Security Tools

Ranked by GitHub stars — actual adoption, not editorial taste. All 7 are free, open source and self-hostable; license and last activity on every entry.

  1. 1
    Tailscale ★ 37K

    Zero-config VPN with WireGuard for secure networking

    BSD-3-Clause Go pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  2. 2
    Netbird ★ 29K

    Zero Trust networking with WireGuard-based secure connectivity

    NOASSERTION Go pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  3. 3
    Pangolin ★ 23K

    Zero trust network access that's better than VPN

    NOASSERTION TypeScript pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  4. 4
    FireZone ★ 9.1K

    Fast, flexible VPN replacement with zero-trust security

    Apache-2.0 Elixir pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  5. 5
    Defguard ★ 2.8K

    Zero-Trust VPN with built-in 2FA/MFA and SSO capabilities

    NOASSERTION Rust pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  6. 6
    WireGuard ★ 717

    Fast, minimal VPN built on modern cryptography

    GPL-2.0 C pushed 2026-05-06 details →
  7. 7
    Werbot ★ 170

    Secure, scalable server access management for DevOps

    NOASSERTION Go pushed 2026-08-03 details →
method stars desc · snapshot from github api refresh nightly related Identity & Access Management (IAM), Data Security & Privacy, Threat Detection & Response, Secrets Management, Application Security, Fraud Prevention

Related best-of lists

best Identity & Access Management (IAM) →best Data Security & Privacy →best Threat Detection & Response →best Secrets Management →best Application Security →best Fraud Prevention →

last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best open source Network Security tool in 2026?

Tailscale leads the ranking with 36,587 GitHub stars, ahead of Netbird. Rankings use live GitHub star counts, refreshed nightly.

How is this list of Network Security tools ranked?

By GitHub stars — a proxy for adoption and community size. Each entry also shows its licence, primary language and last commit date, so you can judge maintenance activity rather than trusting the ranking alone.

Are the best Network Security tools free?

Every project on this list is open source and free to self-host. Some also offer paid managed hosting, but the software itself carries no licence fee.