head to head · open source
openvpn-install vs wireguard-install
openvpn-install has 16,138 GitHub stars, 3,339 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. wireguard-install has 2,663 stars, 455 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. openvpn-install leads on adoption by 506% (16,138 vs 2,663 stars). openvpn-install is written in Shell under MIT; wireguard-install is written in Shell under MIT. openvpn-install has attracted 21% 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 6 topic tags (bash, centos, debian, 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
| openvpn-install | wireguard-install | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 455 |
| 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 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 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 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 openvpn-install or wireguard-install more popular?
openvpn-install has 16,138 GitHub stars and wireguard-install has 2,663. openvpn-install has the larger community by that measure.
Are openvpn-install and wireguard-install free?
Both are open source. openvpn-install is licensed under MIT and wireguard-install under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between openvpn-install and wireguard-install?
openvpn-install is written in Shell 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, openvpn-install or wireguard-install?
Choose openvpn-install if you want the larger community (16,138 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose wireguard-install if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.