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Ivanti Connect Secure 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

Ivanti Connect Secure
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 6.0%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 15.3%, up from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenVPN Access Server Enterprise15.3%
Ivanti Connect Secure6.0%
Other78.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Johan Derycke - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable remote access and tunneling enhance work efficiency, but upgrade processes need improvement
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used. On the client side, browser-initiated sessions are complex and require a more robust approach for non-admin users.
LAWAL YUSUF - PeerSpot reviewer
Has robust features for encryption and stability
We use the product for secure remote access, including WiFi and IoT device security The product has strong encryption and scalability features. It provides security for private network connections. The product’s connectivity is very slow. It could be faster. We have been using OpenVPN Access…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ivanti Connect Secure provides the feature to check and ensure that employee devices are compliant before allowing them to access the VPN."
"Ivanti secures access to the corporate network from various devices and locations."
"It's a very convenient and user-friendly application."
"Pulse Connect Secure is a stable solution."
"The flexibility in their management is great."
"The most valuable feature is being able to securely connect and use virtual desktops."
"This solution enables secure connections for our engineers to work from home or other locations."
"VPN tunneling is a very valuable feature of Pulse Connect Secure. I also like that it is straightforward to use, and you can see traffic logs on it."
"It is much easier to scale and troubleshoot compared to regular Windows-based VPN solutions or PPTP daemon."
"The solution is secure and user-friendly."
"It is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is that I can access my local network remotely and avoid doing all the port forwarding and redirections, and so on."
"The compatibility with almost any Linux operating system, and how easy it is to write scripts and generate keys for people to use and log in. I found it easy to deploy quickly."
"I like that it's free."
"The initial setup phase of OpenVPN Access Server was fine, and it was easy."
"A valuable feature for us is its ability to see the new Citrix server as a local server within the company. And it allows us to test abroad."
 

Cons

"The product's price is an area where improvements are required."
"There is room for improvement. I'm concerned about the frequent vulnerabilities identified. As a security product, the number of vulnerabilities is concerning."
"The stability could be better. There are sometimes bugs in the system."
"Setup is complex. A few users had some issues with it."
"The solution must be more user-friendly."
"We need to know how many live active users there are and we can't. We even updated the server, however, we still can't see the proper level of live connections. Right now, it's showing as 300 users and my customer does not have that many users in his organization."
"At the moment, Pulse Connect Secure is a pretty good solution, and I don't see any issues with it. Currently, I'm not aware of a new or additional feature that's needed in Pulse Connect Secure, but it would be good if the team could look at how the speed of connection could be increased. Though it's quite seamless and I didn't face any problem with the speed, it would be better to improve the speed and keep going forward, especially as the industry's changing and people would love connections to be a lot faster."
"Pulse Connect Secure could improve by having better integration with NAC solutions, such as Cisco ClearPass integration with Pulse Connect Secure. Additionally, they need better integration with Microsoft Azure AD and Azure Authenticator."
"​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."
"There are tasks that require logging onto the server to run commands, which is not intuitive through the UI."
"OpenVPN does not have the ability to selectively terminate connections."
"There is always room for more security features."
"It could include a configuration wizard so that users who do not follow instructions well can configure a connection."
"One improvement I would like to see in OpenVPN is better adaptability in certain geographical areas."
"If we had to create something for someone who was not necessarily tech savvy, I had to set that up on their computer, I had to write "read me's" and other things so that they could install their client and then connect to the VPN by themselves. So it was hard to set up for people who are not tech savvy."
"It requires some experience of Linux server configuration to set it up."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
"OpenVPN Access Server was free for students. I don't know if you have to pay for an advanced version."
"The Pro Edition has a reasonable price per user."
"Open VPN Access Server is open-source and free of charge."
"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."
"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."
"It is free, you buy support."
"The product offers yearly as well as monthly subscription plans. It has moderate pricing."
"I don't need to pay for its license since it is an open-source tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?
From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, t...
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

Pulse Connect Secure
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Ivanti Connect Secure vs. OpenVPN Access Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.