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Aruba Remote Access Points vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

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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
71
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 10.9%, down from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server10.9%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.1%
Other88.0%
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 authentication features are valuable."
"It's easy to manage."
"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."
"Overall, I would rate Aruba Remote Access Points nine out of ten. I can definitely recommend them to other users."
"This solution is widely adopted and involves both technology and non-technical devices. It is robust, except in cases of significant power outages."
"It is a very stable tool."
"The solution is very stable, I haven’t heard about any failure of the access points, it seems to be reliable and the performance is good, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze."
"Aruba works well in large spaces, especially for manufacturing. That's when you start seeing the effectiveness of Aruba."
"We have seen a return on investment with OpenVPN Access Server, as the overall cost of management has decreased; one engineer can now handle what previously required more personnel, equating to a 66% reduction in engineering hours."
"OpenVPN Access Server is strong and quite good, and the cross-platform support is excellent, the integration with enterprise-level authentication is very good, and the scalability part is quite strong, providing improved security, better than other tools in the market, and we can utilize it in different ways while integrating with other cloud platforms or on-premises, so in that field, it stands out from others and improved our security."
"The initial setup phase of OpenVPN Access Server was fine, and it was 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."
"I have set the default routes to the VPN server so that all traffic is encrypted."
"It allowed people to remotely access files from their mobile devices and was so easy for end-users to use that they were able to work more efficiently no matter where they were, whether at a client’s campus, home, traveling – wherever they had a device and internet access."
"The best features OpenVPN Access Server offers are ease of setup, and it is just easy."
"The product provides secure internet connections and helps with faster downloads."
 

Cons

"There are some issues, like the VLAN capabilities and support for routing between two VMs."
"It could have better monitoring features. Not all features are available on the monitoring dashboard."
"Its scalability capabilities should be improved."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"One thing that would be beneficial is for the Aruba Central mobile app to work more effectively. Currently, it does not function as expected when I really need it."
"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"The solution should provide a faster connection, and its security could be improved."
"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."
"I would be more happy with the idea of licensing to have a reduced price with longer, grouped, annual fees. We have a lot of other software that does the same thing. It's a little higher price if you're going with a shorter stint, but there's a reduction in price for three- and five-year contracts."
"One improvement I would like to see in OpenVPN is better adaptability in certain geographical areas."
"There was one annoying feature where we had to disable and enable the user."
"I rate the price for OpenVPN as overpriced at the moment."
"OpenVPN Access Server needs to have fewer updates."
"I think OpenVPN Access Server's setup can be just one click; currently, it takes multiple steps, and when you forget the admin password, you are locked in."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"There are no other expenses than standard licenses for the product."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"It is an open-source solution, so we don't pay for anything."
"OpenVPN is a free and open-source solution."
"Open VPN Access Server is open-source and free of charge."
"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."
"The price point is fantastic since it is free."
"The solution was free of charge."
"Begin with the community version and upgrade to paid one if the need arises."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

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 Business45
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise25
 

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?
The pricing and setup costs for OpenVPN Access Server are on the high side since licenses are not user-dependent but based on the number of connections established. With two free simultaneous conne...
What needs improvement with OpenVPN Access Server?
There are definitely areas for improvement. A broader network level access faces challenges, and the clustering configuration seems insufficient, posing a single point of failure. Moreover, patch m...
 

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: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.