head to head · open source
Defguard vs WireGuard
Defguard has 2,841 GitHub stars, 115 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WireGuard has 717 stars, 312 forks, 20 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. Defguard leads on adoption by 296% (2,841 vs 717 stars). Defguard is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence; WireGuard is written in C under GPL-2.0. Defguard has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, WireGuard 44%. 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 | WireGuard | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.8K | ★ 717 |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-05-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 115 | ⑂ 312 |
| 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 WireGuard if
- You want the WireGuard feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and WireGuard 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 WireGuard
WireGuard's userspace tooling, packaged as wireguard tools, is the command line layer that configures WireGuard VPN tunnels, aimed at system administrators, distribution packagers and anyone who needs to bring a WireGuard interface up and down from a shell or an init system.
read the full WireGuard overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Defguard or WireGuard more popular?
Defguard has 2,841 GitHub stars and WireGuard has 717. Defguard has the larger community by that measure.
Are Defguard and WireGuard free?
Both are open source. Defguard has no licence declared in this registry, and WireGuard is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Defguard and WireGuard?
Defguard is written in Rust and WireGuard in C. 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 WireGuard?
Choose Defguard if you want the larger community (2,841 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose WireGuard if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.