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Should I use OpenZiti?

We value your privacy - openziti.io

Depends. Choose it if you're a self-hoster or developer who wants free, self-hosted zero-trust networking and will invest in learning it. Skip it if you want VPN-in-minutes — Tailscale or Nebula fit better.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; review snippets were truncated, so user-quote extraction was limited.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support quality evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

OpenZiti (self-hosted)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
NetFoundry CloudNot publicly listed

Best for

  • Self-hosters replacing VPNs
  • Developers embedding zero trust via SDKs
  • Homelab remote access
  • Network engineers building ZTNA

Not for

  • Teams wanting plug-and-play VPN in minutes
  • Non-technical buyers needing managed support
  • Anyone without time to learn controllers and policies
  • Small teams a hosted mesh already covers

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Self-hosting means running controllers and routers yourself; NetFoundry Cloud pricing isn't public

medium

Keep the admin console off the public internet; two 2025 console CVEs

medium

Identities, services, and policies take real setup time before anything works

medium

Community support via Discourse; commercial support only through paid NetFoundry Cloud

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open-source; no license fees for the full overlay
  • SDKs embed zero-trust connectivity directly into your apps, not just the perimeter
  • Ranked #1 open-source zero trust tool in a 2025 roundup
  • Self-hostable, with managed NetFoundry Cloud if you'd rather not run it
  • Reached stable 1.0 in April 2024; actively developed since

Cons

  • Steep learning curve; users report confusion over core concepts
  • Admin console had XSS and SSRF CVEs disclosed in 2025
  • Some users report slow connections through the overlay
  • Thin independent review footprint; only 8 G2 reviews for NetFoundry
  • Simple VPN-style use cases are easier with Tailscale or Nebula

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/25/2026 - 13 sources - Active project with a security page; two 2025 admin-console CVEs (XSS, SSRF) — patch promptly and keep the console private.

official x4review x5security x2news x2
  • CVE-2025-27500 — Admin panel XSS, Cross-site scripting vulnerability in the OpenZiti admin panel, disclosed 2025.
  • CVE-2025-27501 — Admin panel SSRF, Server-side request forgery in Ziti Console; tracked as GitHub advisory GHSA-fqxh-vfv5-8qjp (Mar 2025).

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free, full-featured open source
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Users struggle; confusion threads common
  • Feature depth: 4/5. SDKs, tunnelers, full zero-trust model
  • Support quality. No support quality evidence found
  • Security posture: 3/5. Strong design; two 2025 console CVEs
  • Free Price Open source; NetFoundry Cloud sold separately
  • v1.0, Apr 2024 Stable release Announced Apr 11, 2024
  • 8 G2 reviews (NetFoundry) Seller-level reviews; thin footprint
  • New venture round Funding NetFoundry raise, Apr 2025

Pricing

OpenZiti (self-hosted)

Free

  • Full open-source overlay network
  • Community support via Discourse/GitHub

NetFoundry Cloud

Not publicly listed

  • Managed OpenZiti controllers
  • Commercial support

Security

Active project with a security page; two 2025 admin-console CVEs (XSS, SSRF) — patch promptly and keep the console private.

  • CVE-2025-27500 — Admin panel XSSCross-site scripting vulnerability in the OpenZiti admin panel, disclosed 2025.11
  • CVE-2025-27501 — Admin panel SSRFServer-side request forgery in Ziti Console; tracked as GitHub advisory GHSA-fqxh-vfv5-8qjp (Mar 2025).10

What users say

Reddit and Hacker News users find OpenZiti powerful and enticing but frequently struggle with its complexity and compare it to Tailscale, Nebula, and ZeroTier.

“HELP! I still don't understand what is OpenZiti”
Reddit, r/openziti

Companies that use it

  • Rhapsody
  • Digibee
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; review snippets were truncated, so user-quote extraction was limited.

Free, powerful zero-trust overlay — but setup is complex. Great for network tinkerers; overkill for a simple VPN.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; review snippets were truncated, so user-quote extraction was limited.

Sources

  1. OpenZiti: Zero Trust Networking, Secured by Identitynetfoundry.io
    official
  2. openziti/ziti: The parent projectgithub.com
    official
  3. Announcing OpenZiti v1.0blog.openziti.io
    official
  4. NetFoundry Cloud for OpenZitinetfoundry.io
    official
  5. Has anyone tried OpenZiti? (r/selfhosted)reddit.com
    review
  6. HELP! I still don't understand what is OpenZiti (r/openziti)reddit.com
    review
  7. OpenZiti looks so enticing... (Hacker News)news.ycombinator.com
    review
  8. Slow connection using Ziti (Discourse)openziti.discourse.group
    review
  9. NetFoundry seller reviews (G2)g2.com
    review
  10. CVE-2025-27501 (NVD)nvd.nist.gov
    security
  11. CVE-2025-27500 (SentinelOne)sentinelone.com
    security
  12. NetFoundry raises new venture roundopenziti.discourse.group
    news
  13. OpenZiti Ranked #1 Open-Source Zero Trust Toollinkedin.com
    news

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