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🔐 VPN Solution Alternatives

📋 Overview

When choosing a Client VPN solution, companies generally evaluate between self-hosted options (e.g. Pritunl) and managed Cloud services (e.g. AWS Client VPN). This page compares the ones we typically implement for our Clients.

In case you are looking for a quick summary, here is a quick comparison table:

Aspect AWS Client VPN Pritunl
Setup Complexity Simple setup through AWS Console or IaC Requires EC2 instance setup, software installation, and configuration
Administration Managed through AWS Console, simple user management with SSO Web GUI interface, certificate management, more hands-on administration
Scalability Automatic scaling, managed by AWS Manual scaling, dependent on EC2 instance size
Reliability Built-in high availability Requires custom HA setup if needed

If you'd prefer a more detailed comparison, keep reading the sections below.

🔍 Detailed Comparison

☁️ AWS Client VPN Endpoint

✅ Pros

  • 🏗️ Fully managed AWS service - no infrastructure management required
  • 🔑 Native integration with AWS IAM and AWS SSO for authentication
  • 📈 Automatic scaling and high availability
  • 🛡️ Built-in security features and encryption
  • 🌐 Direct integration with VPC networking
  • 🔀 Supports split-tunnel VPN configurations
  • 📊 CloudWatch integration for monitoring and logging

❌ Cons

  • ⚙️ Limited customization options compared to self-managed solutions
  • 📱 Requires AWS VPN client software on end-user devices
  • 💰 Higher cost as you pay for:
    • Each VPN endpoint association per hour
    • Each client connection per hour
    • Data transfer fees

🖥️ Pritunl VPN Server on EC2

✅ Pros

  • ⚡ One-time EC2 instance configuration
  • 💵 Constant cost: One EC2 instance (plus storage)
  • 🎛️ Full control over the VPN server configuration
  • 🖱️ User-friendly web GUI for administration
  • 👥 Supports multiple organizations and users
  • 🔌 Compatible with standard OpenVPN clients
  • 🔐 Flexible authentication options (certificates, 2FA)
  • ⏰ Can be scheduled to start/stop to reduce costs
  • 🛣️ Custom routing and network configurations

❌ Cons

  • 🔧 Requires manual setup and maintenance
  • 🔄 Self-managed security updates and patches
  • 🏗️ High availability requires additional configuration
  • 📈 Scaling requires manual intervention
  • ⚙️ Infrastructure management overhead
  • 🖥️ Dependent on EC2 instance availability

🤔 Choosing between Pritunl and AWS Client VPN

Choose AWS Client VPN when:

  • 🏗️ You need a managed solution with minimal overhead
  • 🔑 Your organization uses AWS SSO
  • 📈 You require automatic scaling and high availability
  • 💰 Budget is not a primary concern

Choose Pritunl when:

  • 💵 Cost optimization is important
  • 🎛️ You need full control over the VPN configuration
  • 👨‍💻 You have technical expertise for maintenance
  • 🔌 You want to leverage existing OpenVPN clients
  • 🛣️ You need to implement custom routing or configurations