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Aruba Remote Access Points vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 31, 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
10th
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 October 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 15.4%, up from 15.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server15.4%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.0%
Other83.6%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
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
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

"It’s very light."
"Overall, I would rate Aruba Remote Access Points nine out of ten. I can definitely recommend them to other users."
"It is a very stable tool."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Remote Access Points is the manageability from the central cloud platform."
"Aruba works well in large spaces, especially for manufacturing. That's when you start seeing the effectiveness of Aruba."
"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."
"What I like best about Aruba Remote Access Points is that it's pretty easy to set up."
"The platform has the most valuable advanced filtering feature."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
"It is very easy to look at the quality of the connection and the bandwidth and do an investigation if there are problems on the network."
"The initial setup phase of OpenVPN Access Server was fine, and it was easy."
"OpenVPN Access Server is a simple and easy-to-use solution that I can use myself without anybody's help."
"I would recommend this solution to other people."
"The product provides secure internet connections and helps with faster downloads."
"OpenVPN Access Server met that need well."
"Highly configurable. You can create your own custom client installer and can rebrand the server-side program."
 

Cons

"The solution's technical support has some shortcomings that need improvement."
"The product needs an increased level of security for the end user."
"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."
"The remote access point coverage should be bigger than it is now."
"I use the controller when using Aruba Remote Access Points, particularly during configuration. Hence, room for improvement in Aruba Remote Access Points is for its web UI to be easier to control."
"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."
"I don't really have any critiques at this time."
"I would rate stability as five out of ten. Sometimes it is stable, and sometimes it is not."
"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."
"The connections could be faster and more stable."
"The plan for OpenVPN Access Server could be improved. When adding new people, better plans for startups would be beneficial."
"Open VPN Access Server could be more user-friendly."
"When there are too many concurrent users trying to connect at the same time, there may be a bit of a bottleneck."
"They may have this already, but it would be nice to be able to get more notifications if a site drops unexpectedly."
"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."
"I would like to see a simpler interface, so that we can make the connection between the local network using the LAN IP."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Aruba pricing is not very high. They offer competitive pricing for what they provide."
"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."
"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"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."
"OpenVPN is a free and open-source solution."
"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."
"I don't need to pay for its license since it is an open-source tool."
"It is free, you buy support."
"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."
"The solution is free of cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Healthcare Company
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
7%
Educational Organization
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.
 

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 2025.
872,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.