head to head · open source
Defguard vs Werbot
Defguard has 2,841 GitHub stars, 115 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Werbot has 170 stars, 10 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Defguard leads on adoption by 1,571% (2,841 vs 170 stars). Defguard is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence; Werbot is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. Defguard has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Werbot 6%. Defguard was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Defguard | Werbot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.8K | ★ 170 |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | Rust | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 115 | ⑂ 10 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Defguard if
- You weight community size — 2.8K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Werbot if
- You want the Werbot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Werbot fits your workflow better
About Defguard
Defguard is a self hosted secure remote access platform that combines WireGuard VPN, identity and access management, multi factor authentication, and network access control. It lives in the Rust based open source network security ecosystem and presents itself as zero trust access management with true WireGuard 2FA/MFA. The project uses an AGPL open source core, while Enterprise components are described as open code.
read the full Defguard overview →
About Werbot
Werbot is a self hosted server access management platform written in Go and packaged as Docker containers that run as microservices. It gives a team a single place from which to grant, control and audit access to servers, databases, web applications, desktops, containers and clouds, using single sign on rather than shared passwords or scattered private keys. The project lives in the Go and container ecosystem, with supporting components for a web dashboard, enterprise functions, an install script, Windows and Unix agents, and a Pluggable Authentication Module for native two factor authentication on nix platforms.…
read the full Werbot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Defguard or Werbot more popular?
Defguard has 2,841 GitHub stars and Werbot has 170. Defguard has the larger community by that measure.
Are Defguard and Werbot free?
Neither Defguard nor Werbot declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Defguard and Werbot?
Defguard is written in Rust and Werbot in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Defguard or Werbot?
Choose Defguard if you want the larger community (2,841 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Werbot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.