head to head · open source
Pangolin vs Defguard
Pangolin has 23,299 GitHub stars, 807 forks, 128 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Defguard has 2,894 stars, 121 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pangolin leads on adoption by 705% (23,299 vs 2,894 stars). Pangolin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Defguard is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. Pangolin has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Defguard 4%. Pangolin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (oidc), 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
| Pangolin | Defguard | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 807 | ⑂ 121 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pangolin if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Defguard if
- You want the Defguard feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Defguard fits your workflow better
About Pangolin
Website Documentation Contact Us Get started with Pangolin Cloud at app.pangolin.net Pangolin is an open source SASE platform, built on WireGuard®, with a simple mission: connect and protect your users, wherever they are. It brings networking and security together as one system including a zero trust VPN, zero trust reverse proxy, privileged access management, and an identity aware AI gateway, all sharing one identity and policy model. It's the same idea behind platforms like Cloudflare One, Zscaler, and Prisma but open, self hostable, and built to stay light and easy to deploy. Networking and security that's…
read the full Pangolin overview →
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 in a single solution. Built with a security first architecture, Defguard helps organizations securely manage access to infrastructure, applications, and private networks while maintaining full control over their environment. Why Defguard? Modern organizations often rely on multiple disconnected tools to manage identity, VPN access, authentication, and network permissions. Defguard brings these capabilities together into a unified platform…
read the full Defguard overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pangolin or Defguard more popular?
Pangolin has 23,299 GitHub stars and Defguard has 2,894. Pangolin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pangolin and Defguard free?
Neither Pangolin nor Defguard 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 Pangolin and Defguard?
Pangolin is written in TypeScript and Defguard in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Pangolin or Defguard?
Choose Pangolin if you want the larger community (23,299 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Defguard if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.