Best Business VPN in 2026

NordLayer is the business network security product of Nord Security, the group behind NordVPN, NordPass and NordLocker. The company dates its business VPN predecessor to 2020 and the NordLayer brand to 2021, and states that more than 15,000 businesses use the service. It is a hosted gateway VPN: staff connect with the NordLynx protocol to shared gateways in more than 40 locations, or to virtual private gateways with a dedicated IP that the customer controls.

The product has grown from VPN access into a broader security service. The Premium tier adds a cloud firewall, device posture security, a site-to-site connector, Cloud LAN and a browser extension, while Core adds DNS filtering by category, custom DNS and an application blocker. CrowdStrike Falcon endpoint protection is offered as a per-device add-on. NordLayer states ISO 27001 certification and SOC 2 Type I and Type II compliance.

The main limitation is plan structure. Dedicated IPs, split tunnelling and IP allowlisting are not available on Lite, and creating a virtual private gateway on Core or Premium requires a US$40 monthly server add-on on top of per-user fees. There is no free trial, only a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Cloudflare One is the zero trust and SASE platform of Cloudflare, the content delivery and network security company. Its Access component replaces VPN connections with identity-aware access to internal applications, while the device client, application connector and Gateway filtering extend it into a full secure service edge. Cloudflare positions the platform explicitly as a VPN replacement.

The pricing is unusually open for a SASE vendor. The Free plan is permanent for teams under 50 users and includes the application connector, device client, ZTNA, digital experience monitoring and network flow monitoring, with basic CASB and limited data loss prevention profiles. Pay-as-you-go costs US$7 per user per month billed annually with no user limit; contract plans add longer log retention, up to 250 network locations and full DLP and CASB as add-ons.

All plans include clientless browser-based SSH and VNC, an application launcher, service tokens, internal DNS, mTLS and Terraform automation. The documented limitations sit in support and retention: the free plan relies on community forums and keeps logs for up to 24 hours, and pay-as-you-go keeps them for up to 30 days with chat and ticket support only. Cloudflare One is not designed to provide dedicated exit IPs by country the way a gateway VPN does, so teams needing that feature should check the contract options.

Tailscale, founded in 2019, builds a private mesh network (a "tailnet") between devices using the WireGuard protocol. Instead of sending traffic through a central gateway, devices connect directly to each other under access control lists, with relay servers used only when a direct path cannot be established. Exit nodes and subnet routers let the same network carry internet traffic or reach whole subnets.

In April 2025 the company raised US$160 million in a Series C round led by Accel, and it names Instacart, SAP, Telus, Motorola and Duolingo among its business users. The Standard plan adds SCIM provisioning, MDM configuration and device posture integrations with MDM, EDR and XDR tools, while Premium adds just-in-time access, advanced Tailscale SSH, network flow logs, log streaming and regional routing.

Tailscale suits engineering-led organisations that need developers to reach servers, databases and Kubernetes clusters. It is less suited to teams that simply want a dedicated static exit IP in many countries, which is the core use case for gateway VPNs. The free Personal plan is restricted to non-commercial use, so companies must budget for Standard from the outset, although custom-domain tailnets start with a 14-day Enterprise trial.

Twingate is a zero trust network access provider headquartered in Redwood City, California, which says it began building its product in 2019. It is designed to replace a traditional VPN: lightweight connectors are deployed inside each private network, and the client routes only traffic for authorised resources to them, leaving other traffic on the local internet connection. Connections are peer to peer where possible, and split tunnelling is part of the design.

The Teams plan, aimed at groups of up to 100 users, includes Google Workspace SSO, SaaS application gating, native device posture checks, MFA for bastion hosts and SSH, and automated least-privilege policies. Business, for up to 500 users, adds identity-provider provisioning, Okta and Entra ID SSO, endpoint integrations, secure service accounts, usage-based and just-in-time access policies, and exit networks. Enterprise adds geoblocking, static IPs, custom SLAs and invoicing.

Limitations are mainly commercial. DNS filtering and privileged access are add-ons even on Business, static IPs are listed only on Enterprise, and the pricing page shows both a discounted annual rate and a higher rate without fully explaining which billing period the higher figure covers. A free Starter plan supports up to five users.

Proton VPN for Business is the organisational version of Proton VPN, sold by Proton AG of Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. The company states that it operates more than 20,000 servers in over 140 countries and is used by more than 100,000 businesses. Administrators manage users centrally, enforce two-factor authentication, and deploy the client through MDM systems including Intune, Jamf, Workspace One and Google Workspace.

The Essentials plan covers shared servers with the NetShield DNS-level malware and ad blocker, a kill switch, always-on VPN and split tunnelling. Professional adds SSO and SCIM provisioning, dedicated servers and IPs, private gateways with access policies, IP allowlisting, network monitoring with audit trails and Proton Sentinel account protection. A combined plan adds the Proton Pass password manager and SIEM integration, and the Workspace Standard bundle includes Mail, Drive, Docs, Calendar and Meet with VPN access for ten devices per user.

Proton states that the service was built with HIPAA, CCPA and GDPR in mind. The pricing page shows per-user rates but leaves the dedicated-IP price as a placeholder, and some annual totals on the page do not match the per-user figures, so buyers should confirm the final quote at checkout. DNS filtering on Professional is marked as coming soon.

GoodAccess is a cloud VPN and zero trust access service founded in 2020 and states that it has more than 15,000 business users in over 120 countries. Its model centres on a dedicated cloud gateway with a static IP for each customer, which staff connect to before reaching SaaS applications, cloud environments or branch networks. All plans include more than 35 gateway locations, 10 Gbps gateway performance, unlimited data and split tunnelling.

The Essential plan covers static IP allowlisting, always-on connectivity, MFA, gateway and admin access logs, a lite secure web gateway and custom domain blocking. Premium adds SSO with Google Workspace, Entra ID, Okta and other SAML services, SCIM, an API, device posture checks, a cloud firewall for zero trust access control, network segmentation, SIEM integration, geo-restriction, device approval and one Clouds and Branch connector for linking offices or cloud networks.

GoodAccess publishes both annual and monthly prices and offers a 14-day trial without a credit card. Its limitations are the five-user minimum, the US$49 monthly charge for each additional dedicated gateway, and the absence of SSO, SCIM and posture checks on Essential. Enterprise requires at least 50 users and adds on-premise deployment on request, 24/7 phone support and a dedicated account manager.

OpenVPN Inc. commercialises the open-source OpenVPN protocol and sells two business products. Access Server is self-hosted VPN software that customers run on their own servers or cloud instances; it is licensed by the number of simultaneous active connections rather than by users or devices, so an organisation can register unlimited users but only the purchased number can be connected at once. CloudConnexa is the hosted counterpart, licensed by seat, where each active user or connector counts as one seat.

Access Server's feature set is the same across tiers, covering deployment, networking, authentication, access control, administration, an API and logging; tiers differ in connection limits and support. Enterprise lists GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA compliance. CloudConnexa's Essential tier adds LDAP and SAML, IPsec support, SIEM log streaming, a public API and application sharing; Premium adds SCIM, multiple authentication methods, longer log retention, a dedicated account manager and a 99.9% uptime SLA.

The pair suits organisations that want either full control of the VPN server or a hosted network built on a widely supported protocol. Self-hosting Access Server shifts patching and availability work to the customer. The pricing page's statements on whether trials require a credit card are inconsistent.

Check Point's SASE platform descends from Perimeter 81, a security service edge company whose cloud service let businesses build a private corporate network over a global backbone without hardware. When Check Point Software Technologies completed the acquisition on 13 September 2023, Perimeter 81 served more than 3,000 customers and partners, mainly managed service providers and resellers, and had more than 200 employees. The product was marketed as Harmony SASE and is now presented as the Check Point SASE Platform.

The platform combines Private Access, an identity-based ZTNA service over a full-mesh private backbone for employees, third parties and branches; Internet Access with on-device inspection, web and DNS filtering and malware protection; SaaS security with inline and API controls and DLP; and SD-WAN with application routing and failover. Check Point cites more than 80 data centres and more than 12,000 customers secured, and states that it was named a leader in Forrester's Zero Trust Platforms Wave for Q3 2023.

The Perimeter 81 era was known for published per-user prices, but the current product page lists no pricing, so the service is treated here as quote-based. Buyers moving from the older product should verify which features remain in their tier after the rebranding.

Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is the ZTNA service of Zscaler, a cloud security company best known for its secure web gateway. ZPA brokers connections between authorised users and specific applications, so that users are never placed on the corporate network and applications are not exposed to the internet. Zscaler states that ZPA can replace VPNs and virtual desktop infrastructure in hours, and cites PTC turning off its legacy VPN and Siemens moving its global users in about two weeks.

Capabilities include AI-assisted application discovery and segmentation, workload-to-workload segmentation across AWS and Azure, clientless privileged remote access to RDP, SSH and VNC, browser access, a Private Service Edge for on-premises users, business-continuity mode, layer-7 inspection and data loss prevention. For applications that still need a conventional tunnel, Zscaler's plans include VPN Service Edge entitlements that scale with user count.

ZPA is sold as part of the Essentials or Zscaler platform bundles or as a standalone product, with add-ons such as AppProtection and a clientless platform. No per-user prices are published; purchasing begins with a demo request. The product is aimed at large enterprises, and its scope and sales process make it a poor fit for small teams.

GlobalProtect is Palo Alto Networks' remote access product. It extends the company's next-generation firewalls, or its cloud-delivered Prisma Access service, to mobile and remote users so that the same security policy applies to their traffic as to office traffic. Authentication options include LDAP, SAML, Kerberos, RADIUS, TACACS+ and client certificates, with two-factor authentication through one-time passwords, smart cards or software tokens.

A distinguishing feature is the Host Information Profile, which assesses a device's security posture before and during connection; the client can be set to stay disconnected if an IPsec tunnel does not meet compliance requirements. Both client and clientless deployment are supported. When delivered through Prisma Access, GlobalProtect connections gain ZTNA, secure web gateway, CASB, remote browser isolation and firewall-as-a-service functions.

Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of identity-security vendor CyberArk on 11 February 2026, adding privileged-access controls to the same platform. The limitations are cost and dependency: GlobalProtect is valuable mainly to organisations that already run Palo Alto firewalls or buy Prisma Access, and the product page publishes no licensing or pricing details.

Cisco Secure Client is the current name of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client. Cisco now describes it as a unified endpoint agent that combines AnyConnect VPN and ZTNA access with other security modules, managed from a single cloud console.

Beyond the VPN, the agent can host the Cisco Secure Endpoint module for endpoint protection and the Cisco Umbrella roaming module, which applies cloud-delivered DNS security when a user is off the VPN. Paired with Cisco Secure Network Analytics, it reports endpoint application and user behaviour for network visibility. This makes the client attractive for organisations already running Cisco firewalls or Umbrella, which can consolidate several agents into one.

The product page does not describe licence tiers or prices, pointing buyers instead to the Cisco Security Enterprise Agreement. As with other firewall-attached clients, the VPN headend must be Cisco equipment or a Cisco cloud service, and the model grants network-level access unless ZTNA policies are configured. Smaller organisations without Cisco infrastructure will usually find hosted services simpler to buy and run.

FortiClient is Fortinet's endpoint agent for connecting to FortiGate firewalls. Fortinet offers it in several editions. The VPN-only edition is downloadable without a licence but comes without official support or central management, and Fortinet directs users to its paid tiers for those functions. FortiClient Standalone is a low-cost supported edition for small deployments without a management server, including remote access VPN with MFA, a FortiIdentity Cloud Basic subscription and email support.

The ZTNA edition requires FortiClient EMS for central management and adds zero trust application access, real-time posture checks, FortiGuard web and video filtering, and inline and API-based CASB. The EPP/APT edition adds antivirus, anti-ransomware, an application firewall and sandbox integration.

For companies that already own FortiGate appliances, FortiClient is often the least expensive route to a supported business VPN, because the headend is already paid for. Its limitations are the same as other firewall-bound clients: it is useful only with Fortinet infrastructure, and Fortinet publishes no prices, sending buyers to sales through its "How to Buy" pages.

NetBird is an open-source overlay network that connects devices peer to peer over WireGuard, similar in design to Tailscale. Its code is published on GitHub, and organisations can either use the hosted service or deploy NetBird inside their own infrastructure using the self-hosting documentation. Prices are quoted in euros.

The free plan supports up to five users and 100 machines and includes peer-to-peer encryption, social-login SSO with MFA, access controls, private DNS, network routes and SSH. Team adds enterprise identity-provider SSO and MFA, SCIM provisioning and audit event logs. Business adds device approvals, MDM and EDR controls, posture checks, connection traffic logs and event streaming. Enterprise lists DORA compliance support, SLAs and custom integrations.

NetBird charges only for users and machines active during the billing period, and Team and Business include 100 machines plus ten per user before a €0.50 monthly charge per extra machine. That model suits fleets of servers and IoT devices. As a newer vendor it has a smaller support organisation than the enterprise suppliers on this list, and the pricing page does not state where the company is based or publish a price for supported self-hosting.