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Aruba Remote Access Points vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 November 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba Remote Access Points is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 9.1%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server9.1%
Aruba Remote Access Points1.2%
Other89.7%
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

"Aruba works well in large spaces, especially for manufacturing. That's when you start seeing the effectiveness of Aruba."
"It provides good Spectrum Analysis and troubleshooting."
"It is a very stable tool."
"The Aruba Remote Access Points are simple, not expensive, and very intuitive for management and configuration."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is experienced by those working at home since they get a secure Wi-Fi connection."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Remote Access Points are the easy configuration, straightforward installation, and secure security features."
"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."
"We use the solution to access remote services."
"The setup is easy."
"The solution is reliable, easy to use, and open source. It's free at no cost."
"For us, it's important that OpenVPN Access Server is cheap and that we get to use it ourselves."
"It is easy to use."
"The best features OpenVPN Access Server offers are ease of setup, and it is just easy."
"The product’s adaptability is valuable."
"The product has strong encryption and scalability features. It provides security for private network connections."
 

Cons

"The solution's technical support has some shortcomings that need improvement."
"The device requires reconfiguration if we use a standalone setup because the battery fault leads to all configurations resetting."
"There is room for improvement in terms of pricing. If they can be more competitive."
"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."
"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."
"The product needs an increased level of security for the end user."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"​There was one annoying feature where we had to disable and enable the user. I cannot remember what it was exactly, but I think it was for a password lockout. It would be nice if there was a checkbox, or something, in the web interface to allow you to unlock a user whose password was locked."
"The interface could be a little bit better in future iterations."
"My impression of the connection speed when using OpenVPN Access Server compared to other VPN solutions is that it is stable and reliable, but it can be resource-heavy compared to newer solutions, handling day-to-day corporate traffic well while experiencing higher CPU utilization and slightly slower connection throughput compared directly to lighter protocols like WireGuard."
"OpenVPN Access Server could be improved in several areas. The encryption strength is inevitably lower compared with the latest technologies, and when I try to add features like two-factor authentication, the needed plugins and so on often are not really available or do not fit well."
"It could include a configuration wizard so that users who do not follow instructions well can configure a connection."
"The stability of the solution could improve."
"When there are too many concurrent users trying to connect at the same time, there may be a bit of a bottleneck."
"Needs a better GUI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You require no separate licensing to convert an access point to RAP."
"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."
"Aruba Remote Access Points' pricing is good and affordable."
"In terms of pricing, we've found Aruba's offerings to be very competitive."
"Price-wise, Aruba Remote Access Points is in the middle, so my rating for its pricing is three out of five."
"The price of Aruba Remote Access Points could be better. It is a little expensive."
"The solution is free of cost."
"It is an open-source solution, so we don't pay for anything."
"The Pro Edition has a reasonable price per user."
"One of the valuable features of OpenVPN is that it is free for a single user."
"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."
"The licensing has a fixed pricing."
"Begin with the community version and upgrade to paid one if the need arises."
"The product offers yearly as well as monthly subscription plans. It has moderate pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
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.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.