head to head · open source
algo vs wireguard-install
algo has 30,390 GitHub stars, 2,366 forks, 77 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. wireguard-install has 2,663 stars, 455 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. algo leads on adoption by 1,041% (30,390 vs 2,663 stars). algo is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; wireguard-install is written in Shell under MIT. algo has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, wireguard-install 17%. wireguard-install was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (encryption), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| algo | wireguard-install | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 455 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick algo if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick wireguard-install if
- You want the wireguard-install feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and wireguard-install fits your workflow better
About algo
Algo VPN is a set of Ansible scripts from Trail of Bits, written in Python and released under AGPL 3.0, that turns a fresh cloud virtual machine into a personal WireGuard and IPsec VPN server, and it is aimed at individuals and small teams who want to run their own VPN instead of trusting a hosted provider.
About wireguard-install
wireguard install is an MIT licensed Shell installer for Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS, Fedora, openSUSE and Raspberry Pi OS that stands up and manages a WireGuard VPN server on a Linux machine in a few minutes, and it is aimed at self hosters, system administrators and small teams who want their own VPN endpoint — typically on a cloud server, virtual private server or dedicated server — without configuring WireGuard by hand.
read the full wireguard-install overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is algo or wireguard-install more popular?
algo has 30,390 GitHub stars and wireguard-install has 2,663. algo has the larger community by that measure.
Are algo and wireguard-install free?
Both are open source. algo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and wireguard-install under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between algo and wireguard-install?
algo is written in Python and wireguard-install in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, algo or wireguard-install?
Choose algo if you want the larger community (30,390 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose wireguard-install if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.