netbirdvsOpenWA
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| netbird | OpenWA | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 56 in VPN | #2 of 19 in API Management |
| GitHub stars | 30 290 | 16 340 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +822 | +334 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 40 | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
netbird scores 81/100 against 77/100 for OpenWA, so it is the safer default.
netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for OpenWA.
If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; netbird needs more configuration.
netbird is growing faster right now (+822 stars in 30 days).
netbird details →OpenWA details →
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