No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Aruba Remote Access Points vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 11.7%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server11.7%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.0%
Other87.3%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

AmrIssa - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Officer at Mobica Advanced
Remote access has provided secure site connectivity and supports centralized on‑prem operations
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues. Aruba Remote Access Points are critical for our construction company because we have many sites…
AS
Network operation center engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Secure remote access has protected critical data and now simplifies role-based user management
An area for improvement is the pricing model. The concurrent user licenses get expensive pretty quickly as your organization grows, so more flexible pricing options would be a huge plus. Another area is configurational disconnect. While the admin web UI handles about 90% of what you need, the moment you have to do deep, advanced routing customization, you still have to drop back to the command line interface to make those changes. It would be great to see those deeper configurations completely integrated into the web portal. Lastly, it would be awesome to see native support for newer, lighter protocols through WireGuard built straight into the platform alongside standard OpenVPN for better performance efficiency.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Aruba Remote Access Points are the easy configuration, straightforward installation, and secure security features."
"We have many government colleges here and provide a wireless network to all students, faculty, and teachers, so we have deployed their security access network and firewall security."
"We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without issues."
"I can use the solution from my home or any remote office to access printers, servers, etc."
"There are no bad features in Aruba Remote Access Points. Every feature is customized to meet customer requirements according to their limitations, and we can make use of all features to benefit us as needed."
"This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages."
"The tool's most valuable features are its ease of configuration and deployment."
"Once configured and operational, they tend to function reliably, with few reported issues from clients or customers."
"OpenVPN Access Server provides remote secure access."
"Once you set it up correctly, it works and continues to work reliably."
"I like that it's easy to use, easy to download, and not hard to manage."
"It allows our employees to work remotely across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms."
"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."
"We use the solution to access remote services."
"OpenVPN is a good option for kick-starting any kind of interoperability between offices."
 

Cons

"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."
"The solution is costly for medium-sized companies."
"To make the solution better, the cloud solution should be more integrated as it has too many different menus, and it would be preferable to have it more cohesive in one solution."
"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."
"I would rate stability as five out of ten. Sometimes it is stable, and sometimes it is not."
"Its scalability capabilities should be improved."
"Our difficulty with Aruba is that the product and the license are two different items. So, if we are adding an access point, we have to pay for two items. We have to pay to add the access point in the controller and we have to pay for the license."
"The solution's technical support has some shortcomings that need improvement."
"I would like to see a simpler interface, so that we can make the connection between the local network using the LAN IP."
"The solution should provide a faster connection, and its security could be improved."
"There could be an easier way to set up the solution. However, if you use the provided information that comes with the solution there should not be a problem."
"The main area for improvement is the pricing model, as the concurrent user license gets expensive quickly as our organization grows."
"The interface could be a little bit better in future iterations."
"There was one annoying feature where we had to disable and enable the user."
"Needs a better GUI."
"If someone's key is not working, or if we had to remove someone's permission from it, or maybe an employee left the company and we had to take their key out, that seemed a little bit more complicated than it had to be."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"I would say the product's pricing is a good value. I would recommend to other companies to implement it. I've seen other software, in tandem with the service, to be very expensive."
"Begin with the community version and upgrade to paid one if the need arises."
"The solution was free of charge."
"The licensing has a fixed pricing."
"The product's pricing is good value, definitely. It is one of the best features, I would say. Evaluate the product before seeing which type of licensing is good for you. I think there is a good evaluation method available for OpenVPN, so you can just evaluate if it meets your needs. Then go forward with the right licensing policy."
"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."
"Open VPN Access Server is open-source and free of charge."
"It is free, you buy support."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We do not use Zero Touch Provisioning with Aruba Remote Access Points because the Aruba device being expensive compared to cheaper Cisco options holds us back.
What needs improvement with Aruba Remote Access Points?
The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting. This is a significant area for improvement, especially when the dev...
What is your primary use case for Aruba Remote Access Points?
We have a solution that is completely Aruba, including the controller, access point, and switch. We deploy ClearPass from Aruba in our company on VMware, which integrates well and works without iss...
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenVPN Access Server?
I use it for a client, so I do not have much information regarding the pricing, setup cost, and licensing. But from what I have gathered, the pricing and setup costs are a little more expensive com...
What needs improvement with OpenVPN Access Server?
An area for improvement is the pricing model. The concurrent user licenses get expensive pretty quickly as your organization grows, so more flexible pricing options would be a huge plus. Another ar...
 

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: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.