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Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
Check Point Harmony SASE users see cost savings, productivity boosts, and security improvements, though some find returns complex to quantify.
Sentiment score
3.2
OpenVPN Access Server offers high ROI and efficiency, saving developers time despite initial costs, praised for simplicity and security.
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) blocked access to those URLs at the network level before users could click through.
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
We are saving 40% of our time, which is good.
Cloud Security Engineer at Punch Powertrain nv
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Check Point Harmony SASE provides responsive, knowledgeable, and professional support, with most users expressing high satisfaction despite occasional delays.
Sentiment score
4.3
OpenVPN Access Server offers responsive support, complemented by extensive online resources, leading to high user satisfaction and effective issue resolution.
I would rate support 10 out of 10.
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
People working really hard, listening to every issue and request, and replying within hours.
Security Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
I would rate the technical support an eight on a scale of one to ten.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Any issue was solved in five to ten minutes.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
It was very good, and I would rate it an eight.
Chief Cloud Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Check Point Harmony SASE offers impressive scalability and flexibility, smoothly adapting to growing user bases and organizational needs.
Sentiment score
6.4
OpenVPN Access Server is scalable but faces challenges in strict regions and may need restarts for horizontal scaling.
The cloud-native model ensures we are not tied to any specific location or hardware, which has been a great game changer in terms of agility.
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
I would rate it nine out of ten for scalability.
Cloud Security Engineer at Punch Powertrain nv
Check Point Harmony SASE's scalability is good; it can handle growth easily, allowing me to easily add another region and gateway to have more people join in.
Security Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
When we deploy and install OpenVPN Access Server, the principle is to install and forget.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
It's not very easy to expand, and it would be beneficial if the process were simpler.
Chief Cloud Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It is scalable on AWS because it is a matter of increasing the instance size and increasing the number of licenses.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Check Point Harmony SASE is praised for stability, reliability, and minimal issues, with high uptime and efficient performance.
Sentiment score
6.7
OpenVPN Access Server is mostly stable and reliable, with occasional issues generally resolved quickly and rated highly by users.
There are some lags and glitches with connectivity, so I would rate the stability as between seven or eight out of ten.
Cloud Security Engineer at Punch Powertrain nv
After the last improvement, I can say it is much more stable now.
Technical Lead at Netsmart
Check Point Harmony SASE is stable most of the time, but there are still some issues that are hard to troubleshoot.
Security Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Regarding stability, I have not had any crashes, performance issues, or stability issues with OpenVPN Access Server.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
I find it very stable.
System Network Administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Harmony SASE needs improvements in performance, user interface, integration, documentation, scalability, and features like SD-WAN and firewalls.
OpenVPN Access Server needs enhanced usability, security, scalability, better integration, performance, compatibility, user tools, and competitive pricing options.
A local data center in Turkey would enhance the product, as currently, our Internet traffic goes to another country, which is problematic for us.
Technical Lead at Netsmart
One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers.
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
The product is lacking features that other competitors have, making it quite challenging to migrate customers to this solution because it feels very much unfinished.
Security Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
If they had a one-click setup where you provide credentials instead of manually running commands, that would be beneficial.
Chief Cloud Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
If there was a dedicated plan for startups, it would be really helpful.
Devops Engineer at Emergent
You can see who can access what resources from the user view, but you can also see the reverse, which is which resource can be accessed by what users.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Check Point Harmony SASE offers competitive value for large enterprises, though its pricing isn't the cheapest for smaller firms.
OpenVPN Access Server provides cost-effective licensing and minimal setup costs, offering excellent value for enterprises evaluating VPN solutions.
Cost efficiency is a consideration, as SASE products are not the cheapest security products.
Technical Lead at Netsmart
The cost is a bit expensive for most users.
Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It is a bit expensive.
Cloud Security Engineer at Punch Powertrain nv
My experience with pricing is excellent as the pricing is free.
Service Delivery Manager at CasCom
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for OpenVPN Access Server is really good, not that expensive.
Devops Engineer at Emergent
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing cost of OpenVPN Access Server is that the licensing is fair for the value provided.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Harmony SASE offers secure, efficient, and centralized network management with real-time threat intelligence and zero trust access.
OpenVPN Access Server is praised for its security, user-friendliness, multi-platform compatibility, and robust remote access capabilities.
The firewall management is the most valuable feature for me.
Cloud Security Engineer at Punch Powertrain nv
The Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) feature is a major highlight as it gives users seamless and secure access to internal resources without requiring a full-blown VPN, which improves both security and user experience.
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
The Zero Trust and segmentation have helped my team and our customers significantly because we are able to protect every scope and allow the work-from-home users to access internal resources while passing through a threat prevention gateway, ensuring that everything is safe.
Security Support Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
The most valuable features of OpenVPN are its ease of use, client familiarity, end-user familiarity, operating system integration, and price points.
Service Delivery Manager at CasCom
The main benefits I have seen from using OpenVPN Access Server include secure access to private resources over the public internet.
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
OpenVPN Access Server has positively impacted my organization by allowing access to our private services, enhancing security, and enabling remote work from anywhere.
DevOps and Site Reliability Engineer at Honey Insurance
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Harmony SASE (f...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (7th), Firewalls (16th), Anti-Malware Tools (7th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), ZTNA (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (7th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 3.6%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 13.3%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server13.3%
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)3.6%
Other83.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.
Emmanuel Chebukati - PeerSpot reviewer
DevSecOps Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Secure remote access has protected diverse users while access controls provide precise permissions
The user interface of OpenVPN Access Server is good but can be improved. I would prefer to see it become more intuitive. I use Twingate as an alternative, and in Twingate, you see resources, while in OpenVPN Access Server, those would be IP addresses. You get to see dashboards and access views of who can access a particular resource or subnet. You can see who can access what resources from the user view, but you can also see the reverse, which is which resource can be accessed by what users. That reverse view would be a nice addition to have in a dashboard. Additionally, access logs associated with that resource would be helpful, so it would be beneficial to have different views for the same content. Beyond the positive aspects, I would like to see improvements in OpenVPN Access Server. Twingate offers a different approach to the same problem by moving more towards resource-specific resources and fine-grained zero-trust access, as opposed to entire subnets and entire networks. I would prefer to see views on resources. In the same way that we can define subnets, perhaps we could have views that describe what this particular subnet does and what this particular resource does. Then we can assign those resources and subnets to individual users and groups. It is more about granularizing the resources that can be accessed rather than simply bundling them under subnets or a list of subnets, which is the current approach. Apart from that, I would like to see UI enhancements in OpenVPN Access Server in the future. Making it more modern would be beneficial.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Harmony Connect?
The product's initial setup phase is very simple.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Harmony Connect?
I am not aware of the pricing, setup cost, and licensing, but I would say the setup cost is our resource, and we have invested many hours into this project.
What needs improvement with Harmony Connect?
When I'm raising a ticket for Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81), it's a bit technical for non-technical people. It could have been clearer and easier for them to raise a ticket becau...
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?
I find it not cost-effective. It is not worth the money from a pricing perspective. However, it is a good investment for security and company information security. It is a good investment overall.
 

Also Known As

Check Point Quantum SASE
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.