head to head · open source
openvpn-install vs SoftEtherVPN
openvpn-install has 16,138 GitHub stars, 3,339 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SoftEtherVPN has 13,575 stars, 2,781 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. openvpn-install leads on adoption by 19% (16,138 vs 13,575 stars). openvpn-install is written in Shell under MIT; SoftEtherVPN is written in C under Apache-2.0. openvpn-install has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, SoftEtherVPN 20%. openvpn-install was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (openvpn), 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
| openvpn-install | SoftEtherVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 14K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Shell | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick openvpn-install if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SoftEtherVPN if
- You want the SoftEtherVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and SoftEtherVPN fits your workflow better
About openvpn-install
openvpn install is an MIT licensed Bash script that installs and manages a self hosted OpenVPN server on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, Amazon Linux, Arch Linux, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, aimed at anyone who runs their own VPS, dedicated server or home machine and wants to generate VPN client configuration files per device.
read the full openvpn-install overview →
About SoftEtherVPN
SoftEther VPN is an open source, cross platform, multi protocol VPN server and client, written in C and licensed under Apache 2.0, intended for administrators and self hosters who need one program to serve many VPN protocols instead of running several separate daemons.
read the full SoftEtherVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is openvpn-install or SoftEtherVPN more popular?
openvpn-install has 16,138 GitHub stars and SoftEtherVPN has 13,575. openvpn-install has the larger community by that measure.
Are openvpn-install and SoftEtherVPN free?
Both are open source. openvpn-install is licensed under MIT and SoftEtherVPN under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between openvpn-install and SoftEtherVPN?
openvpn-install is written in Shell and SoftEtherVPN 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, openvpn-install or SoftEtherVPN?
Choose openvpn-install if you want the larger community (16,138 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose SoftEtherVPN if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.