# meridian vs setup-ipsec-vpn

> Two self-hosted [VPN projects](https://selfhost.directory/vpn), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | meridian | setup-ipsec-vpn |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #31 of 56 in VPN | #3 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 499 | 28 880 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +323 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v4.0.0b8 · 27 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | Other |
| Main language | Python | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

setup-ipsec-vpn scores 78/100 against 52/100 for meridian, so it is the safer default.

meridian ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for setup-ipsec-vpn.

If you want the quickest setup, setup-ipsec-vpn is easier to run; meridian needs more configuration.

setup-ipsec-vpn is growing faster right now (+323 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [meridian](https://selfhost.directory/project/meridian) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/meridian.md)
- [setup-ipsec-vpn](https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/setup-ipsec-vpn.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/meridian-vs-setup-ipsec-vpn