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Aruba Remote Access Points vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Remote Access Points
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.2%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 13.4%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server13.4%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.2%
Other85.4%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of ELV and ICT at Intec Systems Solution Pvt Ltd
Efficient Setup and Strong Performance Highlight Versatile Capabilities
In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as well as power management limitations. If the user is in one direction and you're transmitting everywhere, that's not good power management. Currently, all access points provide the same power requirement to the client, but we should explore what extra mile we can go. We are facing energy crises and climate issues, along with GHG and SDGs protocols. If we highlight the alignment with these protocols, it can enhance the product quality as an environmentally friendly option. Apart from that, service-wise, every unit is the same. Users can only distinguish those requirements using spectrum analyzers; otherwise, minor data delays of one or two seconds do not matter, but for high-security or high-speed needs, it becomes significant.
Girraj Godia - PeerSpot reviewer
Devops Engineer at Emergent
Has improved internal app access by allowing secure user onboarding and simplified network whitelisting
The plan for OpenVPN Access Server could be improved. When adding new people, better plans for startups would be beneficial. I'm working in a startup and sometimes people think we should take the enterprise plan or not. If there was a dedicated plan for startups, it would be really helpful. For instance, providing store credit for OpenVPN Access Server through a startup program, similar to YC's program which gives credit to new startups. UI-wise, OpenVPN Access Server is easy to manage, but the overall overview dashboard in the admin portal could be improved. Currently, you have to go through dropdowns to find where to add users or whitelist IPs. Creating an onboarding dashboard where an admin person can find these things easily would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."
"The product is very flexible. So far the stability of the solution has been good."
"The stability and performance of Aruba Remote Access Points with minimal issues in an IT environment are worth a recommendation."
"Once we got things set up properly, we just need to do updates, and it just runs."
"I can use the solution from my home or any remote office to access printers, servers, etc."
"What I like best about Aruba Remote Access Points is that it's pretty easy to set up."
"The tool's most valuable features are its ease of configuration and deployment."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"It is much easier to scale and troubleshoot compared to regular Windows-based VPN solutions or PPTP daemon."
"The setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature of OpenVPN is that it is open source. I can do anything with the solution, such as change, build, and collect. Additionally, it is safe to use the solution and there are frequent updates."
"The best features OpenVPN Access Server offers is whitelisting members in my company who have joined recently; it is really easy to use, and it is really easy to set up OpenVPN Access Server as an internal app."
"It allows our employees to work remotely across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms."
"The stability is very reliable in my experience."
"OpenVPN Access Server is very stable."
"OpenVPN Access Server provides remote secure access."
 

Cons

"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."
"The product is not user-friendly."
"It would help if the remote APs had some kind of SoHo environment with built-in firewall features. That way it could connect directly in a client-to-site type of environment, or a site-to-site VPN environment. That way users could have a complete office setup without coming to the private cloud."
"They can add more graphical reporting systems so that network admins and system admins get more information about user usage, such as which user, what they use, and when they use it."
"Its scalability capabilities should be improved."
"I would rate stability as five out of ten. Sometimes it is stable, and sometimes it is not."
"The security side of Aruba Remote Access Points could be improved."
"There are some issues, like the VLAN capabilities and support for routing between two VMs."
"It would be nice with all these features, if they could send some examples of each one; just small sample scripts to look at and say, "Oh okay, I could expand on this." That would help us a lot."
"The solution should provide a faster connection, and its security could be improved."
"I want the tool to be faster. We have experienced connectivity issues while using OpenVPN and FortiClient."
"The security needs to be improved because it was a complaint that our customers had."
"I'd like to have more control over the users when they are accessing the network."
"The high availability deployment is not very straightforward. They can make it simpler. OpenVPN does not support some of the additional protocols that Pulse Secure and Cisco AnyConnect support. They can include support for these additional protocols."
"If there was a Graphical User Interface to help streamline the configuration, I believe OpenVPN would probably venture more into the non-geek realm as it were."
"There are tasks that require logging onto the server to run commands, which is not intuitive through the UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"OpenVPN Access Server was free for students. I don't know if you have to pay for an advanced version."
"OpenVPN Access Server is a cheap corporate solution."
"OpenVPN is an open-source solution. If the solution is used for personal use it is free. For non-personal use, the solution can be expensive."
"Begin with the community version and upgrade to paid one if the need arises."
"One of the valuable features of OpenVPN is that it is free for a single user."
"The price point is fantastic since it is free."
"With regard to setup cost, pricing and/or licensing, the simple answer is that you'll need to set aside some time to learn it and experiment with it."
"The licensing has a fixed pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Healthcare Company
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Remote Access Points?
This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
The pricing is adequate. It is available in every range, from medium range to high range and enterprise level. Thus, it is not an issue.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
In terms of areas for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points, when planning for the customer's end, you need to highlight the precautions against EMF emissions and environmental emissions, as we...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What do you like most about OpenVPN Access Server?
OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for OpenVPN Access Server is really good, not that expensive. I am easily able to add new users from the OpenVPN Access Server official websit...
 

Also Known As

Aruba RAP
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trafford Metropolitan Borough
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Remote Access Points vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.