The short answer: NordLayer is the best all-round business VPN for small and mid-sized teams, from $8 per user per month on annual billing with a 5-user minimum. Proton VPN for Business is the privacy-first pick from $6.99 per user per month. Tailscale suits engineering teams that want a WireGuard mesh network, free for up to 6 users on its Personal plan and $8 per user per month on Standard. Twingate and Cloudflare One are the easiest ways to replace a legacy VPN with zero-trust access, and Cloudflare’s free plan covers up to 50 users. OpenVPN, Check Point SASE and Cisco Secure Client cover self-hosted and enterprise needs.
Every price below is vendor-published, checked September 2026 on each vendor’s own pricing page, in US dollars. Where a vendor only quotes on request, we say so.
Best business VPNs in 2026 at a glance
| Rank | Tool | Best for | Starting price (vendor-published) | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NordLayer | SMBs wanting a managed business VPN with dedicated IPs | $8 per user per month (Lite, annual), 5-user minimum | No; 14-day money-back guarantee |
| 2 | Proton VPN for Business | Privacy-focused teams on a budget | $6.99 per user per month (VPN Essentials, annual), 2-user minimum | No; 30-day money-back guarantee |
| 3 | Tailscale | Engineering and DevOps teams | $8 per user per month (Standard) | Yes: Personal plan, up to 6 users, personal use |
| 4 | Twingate | Replacing a legacy VPN with zero-trust access | $5 per user per month (Teams) | Yes: Starter, up to 5 users |
| 5 | Cloudflare One (Zero Trust) | Free zero-trust access for small teams | $0 up to 50 users; $7 per user per month pay-as-you-go | Yes: up to 50 users |
| 6 | OpenVPN (CloudConnexa and Access Server) | Self-hosted or cloud VPN on open standards | $7 per seat or connection per month, billed yearly | Yes: 5 seats (CloudConnexa), 2 connections (Access Server) |
| 7 | Check Point SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) | Mid-market teams moving to SASE | Quote-based | No; demo on request |
| 8 | Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) | Enterprises with Cisco firewalls | Quote-based, through Cisco and partners | No |
Compare ratings, reviews and more options in the VPN software category on Spotsaas.
How to choose a VPN for your business
A business VPN buys central control over who connects to what. Check these eight points before any trial:
- Protocol. WireGuard-based protocols (NordLayer’s NordLynx, Tailscale) are fast and light on battery. IPsec (IKEv2) matters if you need to connect to existing firewalls or site-to-site tunnels; CloudConnexa adds IPsec support from its Essential plan. OpenVPN remains the most widely supported fallback.
- SSO and SCIM. Users should sign in with your identity provider (Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace), and SCIM should remove access automatically when someone leaves. Check which plan tier includes each: Proton puts SSO and SCIM on VPN Professional, Twingate puts Okta and Entra ID SSO on Business, and CloudConnexa puts SCIM on Premium.
- Dedicated IPs and gateways. If you allowlist your office IP on AWS, a CRM or a bank portal, you need a dedicated server or static IP. NordLayer charges $40 per month for a server with a dedicated IP on Core and Premium; Proton includes dedicated IPs in 20+ countries on VPN Professional.
- Split tunnelling. Route only company traffic through the VPN and let video calls and general browsing go direct.
- Device posture. Block connections from laptops that are unencrypted, unpatched or missing your endpoint agent. Look for integrations with your MDM or EDR (Tailscale Standard and Twingate Business both list them).
- Logging and audits. For SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA evidence you need connection logs, admin audit trails and ideally log streaming to your SIEM. Free tiers keep logs briefly: Cloudflare’s free plan stores Zero Trust logs for up to 24 hours.
- Per-user pricing and minimums. Multiply the per-user price by your real headcount, then add minimums (5 users on NordLayer, 2 or 3 on Proton), server fees and the monthly-versus-annual gap.
- VPN or ZTNA. A classic VPN puts a user on the network. Zero-trust network access (ZTNA) grants access to specific apps or hosts per user and device. Few on-premises resources points to ZTNA (Twingate, Cloudflare One, Tailscale); a need for a fixed exit IP points to a business VPN (NordLayer, Proton).
The best business VPNs in 2026, reviewed
1. NordLayer: best all-round business VPN for SMBs
NordLayer is the business product from the company behind NordVPN. Admins set up teams, private gateways with dedicated IPs and access policies from one control panel. It supports three protocols (NordLynx, its WireGuard-based protocol, plus OpenVPN over UDP and TCP), SSO with Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, Google and JumpCloud, device posture checks and site-to-site connections.
- Best for: small and mid-sized companies that want a conventional business VPN with shared and dedicated gateways, set up by a generalist IT admin.
- Pricing: Lite $8, Core $11 and Premium $14 per user per month on annual billing (the page shows 20% to 22% savings against monthly). Core and Premium require a server with a dedicated IP at +$40 per month. All plans have a 5-user minimum and a 14-day money-back guarantee. The Enterprise offer, for 200 or more seats, starts from $6 per user per month.
- Limitations: no free plan; the dedicated-IP server fee adds $480 a year on Core and Premium; network segmentation and site interconnection are reserved for Premium.
See the NordLayer profile on Spotsaas.
2. Proton VPN for Business: best for privacy-focused teams
Proton VPN for Business comes from Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail. VPN Essentials gives teams access to shared servers in 140+ countries, NetShield malware and ad blocking, a kill switch, always-on VPN, split tunnelling and organisation-wide 2FA enforcement. VPN Professional adds SSO, SCIM, dedicated IPs in 20+ countries, private gateways, network segmentation, monitoring and audit trails.
- Best for: small teams that want a privacy-first provider and a low per-user price, and companies already using Proton Mail or Proton Pass.
- Pricing: VPN Essentials $6.99 and VPN Professional $9.99 per user per month on yearly billing (2-user minimum); VPN and Pass Professional $10.99 (3-user minimum); Workspace Standard, with every Proton business app, $12.99 per user per month. 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Limitations: SSO, SCIM and dedicated IPs start at VPN Professional; SIEM integration and a CLI start at the VPN and Pass Professional tier.
See the Proton VPN profile on Spotsaas.
3. Tailscale: best for engineering and DevOps teams
Tailscale builds a private mesh network (a “tailnet”) on WireGuard, so devices connect directly to each other with no central VPN concentrator to run. It is widely used to give developers access to servers, databases, Kubernetes clusters and CI/CD runners. User devices are unlimited on every plan.
- Best for: technical teams connecting people to infrastructure across clouds and offices.
- Pricing: Personal is $0 for up to 6 users; Standard is $8 per user per month (SCIM, MDM configuration, device posture integrations with MDM, EDR and XDR); Premium is $18 per user per month (just-in-time access, network flow logs, log streaming, priority support); Enterprise is custom. Seats are billed monthly. 50 tagged resources are included, with more at $1 per month each.
- Limitations: the free plan is meant for personal use; Tailscale treats tailnets created with Gmail, Apple or personal GitHub accounts as personal, and work-domain sign-ups start on a trial. Log streaming and flow logs need Premium.
See the Tailscale profile on Spotsaas, or read our guide to Tailscale’s mesh VPN.
4. Twingate: best for replacing a legacy VPN with zero-trust access
Twingate is a zero-trust network access tool that connects users to specific resources through lightweight connectors, instead of putting them on the whole network. The free Starter plan already includes split tunnelling and conditional access; paid plans add device posture checks and MFA for SSH.
- Best for: teams of 5 to 500 retiring a firewall VPN and wanting per-resource access without re-architecting.
- Pricing: Starter is free for up to 5 users. Teams is $5 per user per month (up to 100 users, SSO via Google Workspace) and Business is $10 per user per month (up to 500 users, SSO via Okta and Entra ID, IdP provisioning, endpoint integrations). The pricing page flags yearly billing at 15% off, so confirm the term at checkout. Enterprise is custom. 14-day trial on paid plans.
- Limitations: Okta and Entra ID SSO start at Business; DNS filtering and static IPs are add-ons; user caps apply on Teams (100) and Business (500).
See the Twingate profile on Spotsaas.
5. Cloudflare One (Zero Trust): best free option for small teams
Cloudflare One bundles ZTNA, a secure web gateway, CASB and digital experience monitoring on Cloudflare’s global network. The device client sends traffic to Cloudflare and enforces posture rules; an application connector publishes internal apps without a public IP.
- Best for: small teams that want zero-trust access and web filtering at no cost, and larger teams that already use Cloudflare.
- Pricing: Free Plan $0 forever (50-user limit, community support, logs kept up to 24 hours); Pay-as-you-go $7 per user per month (no user limit, 100% uptime SLA, logs up to 30 days); Contract Plan with an annual custom price per user (logs up to 6 months, Logpush to SIEM).
- Limitations: the free plan has no SLA and 24-hour log retention; expect more policy design up front than a plug-in VPN.
6. OpenVPN CloudConnexa and Access Server: best for open-standard VPN, cloud or self-hosted
OpenVPN sells two business products. CloudConnexa is a cloud-delivered service with zero-trust access policies, DNS filtering, IDS/IPS and connectors for your networks. Access Server is the self-hosted VPN you run on your own cloud, hardware or data centre, including air-gapped setups.
- Best for: teams that want OpenVPN-compatible clients everywhere, need IPsec, or must host the VPN themselves.
- Pricing: CloudConnexa Starter is free with 5 seats; Essential is $7 per seat per month and Premium $9.50 per seat per month, billed yearly (a seat is a user or a connector). Access Server is free for 2 simultaneous connections; paid plans are priced per connection, shown as $7 per connection per month billed yearly for 10 connections. Both have 14-day free trials.
- Limitations: CloudConnexa counts connectors as seats; SCIM needs Premium; Access Server licenses cap simultaneous connections, and you patch and run the server yourself.
See the OpenVPN profile on Spotsaas.
7. Check Point SASE (formerly Perimeter 81): best for mid-market teams moving to SASE
Check Point bought Perimeter 81 and sold it as Harmony SASE; the product is now called Check Point SASE. It combines ZTNA, agentless access, firewall as a service, a secure web gateway, SD-WAN and a private global backbone.
- Best for: organisations that want VPN replacement, web security and branch networking from one vendor.
- Pricing: quote-based. The pricing page offers a TCO estimate based on your users, data centres and timeline, and a demo.
- Limitations: no published prices or free tier.
See the Perimeter 81 profile on Spotsaas.
8. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect): best for enterprises on Cisco
Cisco Secure Client is the current name for the AnyConnect remote access client. It connects users to Cisco Secure Firewall and ASA headends over TLS or IPsec IKEv2, and plugs into Cisco Secure Access, Cisco’s SSE and zero-trust service.
- Best for: large organisations with Cisco network infrastructure and in-house network engineers.
- Pricing: quote-based; licenses are sold through Cisco and its partners.
- Limitations: you need a Cisco headend or Cisco Secure Access subscription; licensing is complex and usually needs a partner.
See the Cisco AnyConnect profile on Spotsaas.
What is the best VPN for a small business?
For most small businesses, NordLayer or Proton VPN for Business is the best VPN: both are quick to deploy, priced per user ($8 and $6.99 per user per month on annual plans) and include central user management. Pick NordLayer if you need dedicated gateways and site-to-site links; pick Proton if privacy and the lowest price matter most.
If your team is under 50 people and mostly needs access to a few internal apps, start free with Cloudflare One or Twingate Starter (up to 5 users). If your team is technical and connecting to servers, Tailscale is the natural fit. For a broader view of consumer-style VPN apps, see our list of the top 10 VPN software in 2026.
Should I get a VPN for my business?
Yes, if staff work remotely and need to reach anything that is not on the public internet: a file server, an admin panel, a database, or a SaaS app that only accepts your office IP.
You may not need one if every app you use is SaaS with SSO and MFA, and nothing is allowlisted by IP. In that case, spend the budget on identity and device security first; our guide to cybersecurity software for small business covers where to start.
Can your company tell if you’re using a VPN?
Usually, yes. Network firewalls can see that a device is connecting to a known VPN server or protocol, even though they cannot read the encrypted traffic inside. On a company-managed laptop, MDM and endpoint agents can list installed VPN apps and running processes. And if you use the company’s own VPN, the company sees your connection logs, and on a full tunnel it can filter or log the sites you visit.
How much does a business VPN cost?
Published business VPN prices in September 2026 run from free (Cloudflare One up to 50 users, Twingate Starter up to 5 users, Tailscale Personal up to 6 users, CloudConnexa with 5 seats) to about $5 to $14 per user per month for paid tiers. Premium ZTNA tiers reach $18 per user per month (Tailscale Premium). Check Point SASE and Cisco quote on request.
| Team of 20, annual pricing | Monthly cost (vendor list prices) |
|---|---|
| Proton VPN Essentials | 20 x $6.99 = $139.80 |
| Cloudflare One | $0 (under the 50-user limit) |
| Twingate Teams | 20 x $5 = $100 |
| Tailscale Standard | 20 x $8 = $160 |
| NordLayer Lite | 20 x $8 = $160 |
| NordLayer Core with dedicated IP | 20 x $11 + $40 = $260 |
For access controls beyond the VPN, see the best identity and access management software.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of a VPN?
$5 to $14 per user per month for most business VPNs, based on published September 2026 prices: Twingate Teams $5, Proton VPN Essentials $6.99, Cloudflare One pay-as-you-go $7, NordLayer $8 to $14. Dedicated IPs cost extra with some vendors (NordLayer charges $40 per month per server).
Is there a downside to having a VPN?
A few:
- Routing traffic through a gateway can add latency, which split tunnelling reduces.
- A classic VPN gives network-wide access, so one stolen login can reach more than it should.
- Some sites block or challenge known VPN IP ranges.
- Self-hosted VPN servers need patching and monitoring.
What is the best VPN for corporate use?
It depends on size. Enterprises on Cisco firewalls usually standardise on Cisco Secure Client, and those moving to SASE compare Check Point SASE and Cloudflare One. Companies with under a few hundred staff get more for less from NordLayer, Twingate or Tailscale.
What is Perimeter 81 called now?
Check Point SASE. Check Point acquired Perimeter 81, sold it as Harmony SASE, and now brands it Check Point SASE; perimeter81.com redirects to sase.checkpoint.com.
Do I need a dedicated IP for a business VPN?
If you allowlist IP addresses on cloud consoles, databases or partner portals, then yes: a dedicated IP gives every employee the same, predictable exit address. If all your access runs through SSO and MFA, a shared-IP plan is enough.