With hybrid work now the norm, securing remote access is no longer optional for any company that handles customer data, billing information or intellectual property. A consumer VPN falls short the moment you have more than two or three employees: there is no management console, you cannot revoke one person's access without changing everyone's password, and there is no record of who connected and from where. That is where business VPN and Zero Trust/SASE solutions come in, built from the ground up so an administrator can control hundreds of users, devices and applications.
In this guide we compare seven real solutions: NordLayer, Cloudflare Zero Trust, Twingate, Tailscale, Check Point Harmony SASE (the evolution of Perimeter 81) and OpenVPN Access Server, with per-user pricing, the security model each one uses and which type of company fits best. If your team is still on a consumer VPN, also check our VPN & Security comparison for personal use.
| Solution | Price from | Model | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordLayer | $8/user/month | Business VPN + ZTNA | SMBs moving off a consumer VPN | Visit site → |
| Cloudflare Zero Trust | Free up to 50 users | SASE / ZTNA | Startups and technical teams | Visit site → |
| Twingate | $10/user/month | ZTNA | Replacing a classic remote-access VPN | Visit site → |
| Tailscale | Free up to 3 users | Mesh VPN (WireGuard) | Technical and dev teams | Visit site → |
| Check Point Harmony SASE | Custom quote | Full SASE | Mid-size/large companies with multiple sites | Visit site → |
| OpenVPN Access Server | Free up to 3 connections | Self-hosted traditional VPN | Teams with in-house IT wanting full control | Visit site → |
A personal VPN solves an individual problem: hiding your IP and encrypting your connection. But a business runs into needs that no consumer VPN covers:
The first criterion is the security model: a traditional VPN opens access to most of the network once connected, while a Zero Trust solution grants access application by application, minimizing damage if an account is compromised. The second is ease of deployment: lightweight agents that install in minutes versus server setups that require a dedicated technician. The third is integration with your corporate identity (SSO, Active Directory, Google Workspace): without this, onboarding and offboarding become manual and error-prone.
The fourth factor is the real price per user, which usually scales with headcount and advanced features (DNS filtering, dedicated IP, extended logs). The fifth is cross-platform coverage: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android with a consistent experience. And the sixth is support and SLAs, critical when your entire company's remote access depends on the service working. Pair this comparison with our best business antivirus guide and our best password manager comparison to close all three protection layers.
NordLayer is the natural entry point for companies already using NordVPN personally that want to move to a managed solution. It offers site-to-site VPN, secure remote access and basic ZTNA features, all from a simple web console with team management, group policies and mandatory 2FA. The Lite plan starts at $8/user/month, with Core and Premium adding dedicated IP, advanced SSO integrations and DNS controls. All plans require a minimum of 5 users.
Cloudflare Zero Trust is the strongest value option, backed by Cloudflare's global network. Its free tier covers up to 50 users with basic ZTNA, DNS filtering and application protection, hard to match elsewhere. Paid plans (from around $7/user/month) add traffic inspection, DLP and extended log retention. It is the favorite of startups and technical teams already using other Cloudflare products (CDN, WAF).
Twingate was built with one clear goal: replace the traditional remote-access VPN without the pain of maintaining a gateway exposed to the internet. Its ZTNA architecture requires no inbound ports and no public server IP, drastically cutting the attack surface. The Business plan runs around $10/user/month on annual billing, with a generous free plan for small teams. Configuring resources and access groups is among the clearest in the market.
Tailscale builds a private mesh network based on WireGuard that connects devices directly to each other, bypassing a central server except for initial coordination. It is the favorite of development teams that need fast access to servers, databases and internal environments without the latency of a centralized VPN. The free plan covers up to 3 users, the Starter plan is around $6/user/month and Premium rises to about $18/user/month with SSO and advanced controls.
Following Check Point's acquisition of Perimeter 81, Harmony SASE offers a full SASE platform: VPN, ZTNA, firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) and web protection, all unified in a single console. It is the most robust option for mid-size or large companies with multiple offices that need to segment complex networks and apply consistent security policies across every site. Pricing is quoted per company based on users, gateways and contracted features.
For companies with their own technical team that prefer to self-host their VPN rather than rely on a third-party cloud service, OpenVPN Access Server remains the open-source reference. It installs on your own VPS or server (pairs well with a VPS from our comparison), is free up to 3 simultaneous connections and then billed per active connection. It gives you full control over configuration in exchange for handling your own maintenance and updates.
A traditional VPN (NordLayer in classic mode, OpenVPN Access Server) builds an encrypted tunnel into the corporate network: once inside, the device usually has access to a good chunk of that network, much as if it were plugged in at the office. It is a proven model, easy to understand and enough for small companies with few internal resources to protect.
A Zero Trust or SASE solution (Cloudflare Zero Trust, Twingate, Tailscale, Check Point Harmony SASE) flips that approach: nobody has access by default, not even while "inside" the network. Every request is verified against the user's identity, device posture and context (location, time, resource requested), and only the specific application connection needed is opened. The result is that if an attacker steals an employee's credentials, their blast radius is limited to what that employee could see, not the entire network. For companies handling sensitive data, working with external collaborators, or needing to comply with GDPR and ISO 27001, Zero Trust is today's recommended standard.
If your company is moving off a consumer VPN and wants the simplest jump to a managed solution, NordLayer is the most natural choice. If you want Zero Trust with the best free-tier/performance ratio and have some technical skills in-house, Cloudflare Zero Trust is hard to beat thanks to its free tier. To fully replace a classic remote-access VPN without exposing infrastructure, Twingate fits best. Development teams needing minimal latency between machines should look at Tailscale. Mid-size or large companies with multiple sites needing a unified SASE platform should request a quote from Check Point Harmony SASE. And if you prefer to self-host your own VPN and already trust a VPS provider, OpenVPN Access Server gives you full control without per-user fees.
To round out your company's security, also check our best business antivirus comparison, the best password manager guide and the best backup software comparison, and return to the VPN & Security section to see every option.