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Menlo Secure vs OpenVPN Access Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Menlo Secure
Ranking in ZTNA
25th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (26th), Firewalls (52nd), Cloud Security Remediation (9th)
OpenVPN Access Server
Ranking in ZTNA
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the ZTNA category, the mindshare of Menlo Secure is 2.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenVPN Access Server is 3.3%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ZTNA Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenVPN Access Server3.3%
Menlo Secure2.1%
Other94.6%
ZTNA
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701794 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Bluechip Enterprise at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Provides strong protection and multiple use cases but struggles with market recognition
There aren't specific areas for improvement; however, they're not as well known as the big vendors such as Palo Alto. Menlo Secure is a smaller company with limited resources and funding, which makes it challenging to compete with larger companies such as Palo and Cisco. What can be improved is market awareness and adoption of the technology. When selling it in the channel, regardless of how good the technology might be, success depends more on market adoption and awareness.
Fedir Plotnikov - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Globant
User management has simplified internal VPN access and now provides clear visibility and control
I do not use any role defining features because it is a really small organization, so it wasn't required, but it is there if needed. I have seen OpenVPN Access Server integrations such as LDAP, RADIUS, PAM, and SAML, but again, due to the size of the company, it wasn't necessary and we didn't have it inside the company. However, it was nice that it is already embedded inside. We haven't used much in terms of integrations with OpenVPN Access Server, so it's hard to say. We only used basic features there. My advice for others looking to implement OpenVPN Access Server is that it is at least worth trying if you need a fast and easy implementation solution without technical overhead and you just need VPN access, which is supported by all operating systems and mobile operating system vendors. It is definitely worth a try. OpenVPN Access Server was purchased directly from the website, not on the AWS marketplace or through a partner purchase. I would rate this product an overall eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The fact that it is a cloud proxy solution is another feature we like. For example, if you acquire a new company, you can use it to protect that new company without the need to install anything physically on their networks."
"The solution is invisible to our end users, so it doesn't have any impact on their work or performance."
"It has reduced security events to follow up on. While it is not 100%, there has been probably a 90% or more reduction. We were getting hit left, right, and center constantly from people browsing the Internet and hitting bad websites. It was not just bad websites that were stood up to be malicious, but good sites that were compromised."
"For us, the primary goal is protection on the web, and that's extremely important. We're not using any of the other services at this time. The web part is key to the success of the organization. It gives us the ability to protect. It can isolate. It opens the session in an isolated format so that the code isn't running locally. It is running over in the Menlo environment, not in ours. It is not running on the local computer, whereas if you were to go to a normal website, it would run Java or something else on the local machine and potentially execute the malicious code locally. So, it does give us that level of protection."
"Either you have access to something or don't have access to it, and if you do, we can ensure, 100 percent of the time, that there is nothing malicious that is going to impact our system in any way."
"Accessing the internet with a proxy from anywhere is the most valuable feature. It ensures that users are only able to browse legitimate websites. If they happen to go to a legitimate website with a malicious payload, the isolation feature will take care of that."
"This security technology addresses risk and enables people to conduct business without that risk, which is where the ROI is realized."
"We are not aware of a single compromise from the web since implementing the solution."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to implement."
"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."
"I would recommend this solution to other people."
"We use the solution to access remote services."
"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."
"It was very easy to set up users."
"Provides privacy and cryptography for my network communication."
"What I appreciate the most about OpenVPN Access Server is that it's very easy to set up."
 

Cons

"We are now transitioning to another solution. The main reason for that is that managing all of the exceptions and troubleshooting all of the issues our users have had connecting to the internet has become too significant in terms of workload, compared to what we hope we will have with another solution."
"The user monitoring could still be improved."
"In the best of all worlds, we wouldn't have to make any exceptions. However, that is a big ask because a lot of that depends on how websites are constructed. For example, there are some very complex, application-oriented sites that we end up making exceptions for. It is really not that big an issue for us to make the exceptions. We feel like we are doing that without a huge impact on our security posture, but we do have to make some exceptions for complex sites, e.g., mostly SaaS-type sites and applications."
"Menlo Secure is a smaller company with limited resources and funding, which makes it challenging to compete with larger companies such as Palo and Cisco."
"Currently, I don't have a good way to see which of my rules are being used in the access control lists. I have numerous entries, but are they all still needed? A report that would show me my list of who is allowed and whether we're actually using it would be useful because I can then go clean up my list. It would be easier to manage. We would eliminate the vulnerability of unused services."
"Currently, I don't have a good way to see which of my rules are being used in the access control lists."
"The interface could be a little bit better in future iterations."
"Needs a better GUI."
"OpenVPN does not have the ability to selectively terminate connections."
"There is always room for more security features."
"I would like to see continued advanced security implementation."
"Working on a faster connection might be a good idea for the product's next release."
"It would be nice with all these features, if they could send some examples of each one; just small sample scripts to look at and say, "Oh okay, I could expand on this." That would help us a lot."
"Regarding scalability, I find OpenVPN Access Server scalable with some caveats. However, sometimes your license disappears or gets wiped out when you scale the infrastructure, which can be quite annoying and requires reaching out to support to get set up again."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We save a ton of money and time. Previously, the numerous hits that we were receiving from our security tools, prior to implementing them, had to all be chased down, dispositioned, and endpoints had to be reimaged. It was just a ton of effort to do all that. That is where the savings from time and money come in."
"It is appropriately priced for what they're doing for us. Considering the protection provided, I feel their pricing is spot-on."
"The solution is expensive. It's more expensive than the solution I previously used. Compared with the other cloud-based solutions, it's very competitive."
"OpenVPN Access Server was free for students. I don't know if you have to pay for an advanced version."
"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."
"It is free, you buy support."
"At one point I had to purchase addition connection licenses. I was very pleased with the pricing and licensing; so much easier than navigating the confusing jungle of Microsoft and Cisco licensing and pricing. That alone made the product a delight to manage."
"Open VPN Access Server is open-source and free of charge."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Construction Company
9%
Retailer
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Menlo Security Secure Web Gateway?
There aren't specific areas for improvement; however, they're not as well known as the big vendors such as Palo Alto. Menlo Secure is a smaller company with limited resources and funding, which mak...
What is your primary use case for Menlo Security Secure Web Gateway?
People are mainly using it for zero trust web access. Menlo Secure is built from the ground up to provide zero basic access, and by doing it that way, it has multiple use cases. For example, it man...
What advice do you have for others considering Menlo Security Secure Web Gateway?
Secure file sharing and data protection is not exactly what Menlo Secure is designed to do. While it can handle some of these functions, people typically choose another technology for those specifi...
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?
Do not assume the pricing or purchasing path will be straightforward, especially through AWS Marketplace. Confirm in writing whether your intended setup requires PAYG, BYOL, a Marketplace amendment...
What needs improvement with OpenVPN Access Server?
The licensing and purchasing workflow needs serious improvement. OpenVPN should provide clear documentation for customers who need multiple Access Server instances, different connection counts, AWS...
 

Also Known As

Menlo Security Web Security, Menlo Web Security
OpenVPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Verizon, Amazon, Disney, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Tailscale, Check Point Software Technologies and others in ZTNA. Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.