head to head · open source
Netbird vs FireZone
Netbird has 29,318 GitHub stars, 1,684 forks, 1,512 open issues and last shipped yesterday. FireZone has 9,097 stars, 456 forks, 412 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Netbird leads on adoption by 222% (29,318 vs 9,097 stars). Netbird is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence; FireZone is written in Elixir under Apache-2.0. Netbird has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, FireZone 5%. Netbird 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
| Netbird | FireZone | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 9.1K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Elixir |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 456 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Netbird if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick FireZone if
- You want the FireZone feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Elixir
- You evaluated both and FireZone fits your workflow better
About Netbird
NetBird is an open source, Go based platform that combines a configuration free peer to peer WireGuard overlay network with a centralized access control system, built for organizations and home users who need secure private networking without opening ports, writing complex firewall rules, or deploying VPN gateways.
read the full Netbird overview →
About FireZone
FireZone is an enterprise ready zero trust access platform built on WireGuard. It connects users to private applications, databases, servers, and subnets through granular policies that define who can reach each Resource and under what conditions. It lives in the Security & Privacy / Network Security ecosystem, with Elixir, Phoenix LiveView, and Rust components indicated by repository topics and language metadata.
read the full FireZone overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Netbird or FireZone more popular?
Netbird has 29,318 GitHub stars and FireZone has 9,097. Netbird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Netbird and FireZone free?
Both are open source. Netbird has no licence declared in this registry, and FireZone is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Netbird and FireZone?
Netbird is written in Go and FireZone in Elixir. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Netbird or FireZone?
Choose Netbird if you want the larger community (29,318 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose FireZone if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.