Small businesses need VPN for remote access to office resources and secure browsing on public networks. Tailscale is the simplest option — deploy in minutes with no server infrastructure. NordLayer and Proton VPN Business provide managed VPN with team management features. For on-premises VPN, a firewall with built-in VPN (Meraki, Fortinet) is often the simplest approach.
8 best for small business highlighted below, plus 7 more in this category.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
Cloudflare One is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
NordLayer is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
OpenVPN Access Server is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
OpenVPN CloudConnexa is the managed cloud service built on the OpenVPN protocol — simplifies deployment for teams that want OpenVPN reliability without self-hosting — but pricing per connection can exceed alternatives.
Best for: Organizations that trust the OpenVPN protocol and want managed cloud deployment without the infrastructure overhead of self-hosted OpenVPN Access Server.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Perimeter 81 is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Proton VPN Business is the privacy-first business VPN — Swiss jurisdiction, no-logs policy verified by audit, and open-source clients — strongest for organizations where privacy is a non-negotiable requirement.
Best for: Privacy-conscious organizations, journalism teams, and businesses operating in jurisdictions with surveillance concerns that need a verified no-logs VPN with Swiss legal protections.
Per-user · Cloud · Free trial
Tailscale is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial
WireGuard is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
These tools are part of the vpn tools category but may not match the for small business filter above. Worth reviewing if the primary options don't fit.
Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial
AWS Client VPN provides managed OpenVPN-based remote access to AWS VPCs — the natural choice for AWS-native architectures — but per-connection hourly pricing makes it expensive at scale.
Custom quote · Cloud
Cato Networks is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
Cisco AnyConnect is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud · Free trial
Cisco Meraki is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud
Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Custom quote · Cloud
Zscaler Private Access is positioned here as a SD-WAN software option for teams comparing rollout fit, operating model, pricing structure, and how much administrative effort the product is likely to create after implementation.
Tailscale deploys in minutes with no server — users install the client, authenticate with SSO, and connect. NordLayer ($8/user/month) provides managed VPN with a web dashboard. Both are simpler than configuring OpenVPN or IPsec on a firewall.
If employees access on-premises resources (file servers, internal apps) remotely, yes. If everything is cloud-based (Google Workspace, SaaS tools), VPN may be unnecessary — zero-trust access (Tailscale, Cloudflare Access) provides per-app access without full network VPN.
Tailscale is free for up to 100 devices. NordLayer starts at $8/user/month. Proton VPN Business is approximately $8/user/month. Firewall-based VPN (Meraki, Fortinet) has no per-user cost but requires hardware. For 10-50 users, expect $80-$400/month.
