# Proton Mail Bridge vs setup-ipsec-vpn

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Proton Mail Bridge | setup-ipsec-vpn |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 78/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #11 of 33 in Communication | #3 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 1 575 | 28 890 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +324 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v3.27.1 · 8 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

setup-ipsec-vpn scores 78/100 against 60/100 for Proton Mail Bridge, so it is the safer default.

Proton Mail Bridge ships more often: 10 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; Proton Mail Bridge needs more configuration.

setup-ipsec-vpn is growing faster right now (+324 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Proton Mail Bridge](https://selfhost.directory/project/proton-bridge) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/proton-bridge.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/proton-bridge-vs-setup-ipsec-vpn