Twingate vs NetBird
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Twingate and NetBird built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Twingate if…
Retiring a legacy VPN on a budget, at a known headcount. $5 a user to 100 people is the cheapest commercial seat of the three, and device posture checks and least-privilege policies arrive at that tier rather than above it.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose NetBird if…
Running it yourself, or wanting idle machines not to cost anything. It is open source with a self-hosted path, and both users and machines are counted only if they actually connected during the billing period.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Twingate: You are relying on the free plan for work, or you do not know your headcount. Starter is limited to NON-COMMERCIAL use, which neither of the others restricts, and every paid tier caps users as well as charging per user — so growth changes the plan and not just the invoice.
- NetBird: Your fleet is large relative to your team. Machines are metered separately at EUR 0.50 a month beyond 100 plus ten per user, so a handful of engineers managing hundreds of devices pays for the devices — the opposite of how Tailscale counts. Prices are in euros.
4 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Twingate 0
NetBird 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Twingate | NetBird |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Kind of free offer | Free tier | Free tier |
| What the free plan includes | Up to 5 users, with peer-to-peer connections, split tunnelling and conditional access controls — but limited to non-commercial use, which the other two do not restrict. | Up to 5 users and 100 machines, with peer-to-peer encryption, social SSO and MFA, access controls, private DNS and network routes — no commercial-use restriction stated. |
| Entry paid plan | $5 per user per month for Teams, capped at 100 users; Business is $10 to 500 users. A separate $15 a month Home plan covers up to 7 users for a homelab. | €6 per active user per month for Team, which lifts the user cap and includes 100 machines plus 10 per user. Business is €12. Converted for comparison at the ECB reference rate of 1 EUR = 1.1539 USD (2026-09-15, api.frankfurter.dev), which puts Team at about $6.92/month and Business at about $13.85. NetBird publishes no USD price; the conversion is ours and moves with the rate. |
| Pricing model | Per user per month AND capped by user count at every tier: Starter is free to 5 users, Teams is $5 to 100, Business is $10 to 500. You pay per head and the plan still runs out of heads, which is a different shape from a per-seat price with no ceiling. | Per active user per month in euros, with MACHINES METERED SEPARATELY — 100 included plus 10 per user, then €0.50 a month each. Both are counted only if they connected or logged in during the billing period, so an idle device is not billed. Self-hosting is offered as the alternative to any of it. |
| Auth | ||
| Multi-factor authentication | Limited | Supported |
Where they differ.
What the free plan includes
- Twingate
- Up to 5 users, with peer-to-peer connections, split tunnelling and conditional access controls — but limited to non-commercial use, which the other two do not restrict.
- NetBird
- Up to 5 users and 100 machines, with peer-to-peer encryption, social SSO and MFA, access controls, private DNS and network routes — no commercial-use restriction stated.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Twingate Pricing ↗
“up to 5 users broad os compatibility including macos, windows, linux, and ios, android, and more enterprise peer-to-peer connections split tunneling conditional access controls”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
- NetBird Pricing ↗
“€0 user / month up to 5 users 100 machines Get started P2P connections & encryption NetBird Networks Social SSO & MFA Access controls Private DNS Network Routes”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
Entry paid plan
- Twingate
- $5 per user per month for Teams, capped at 100 users; Business is $10 to 500 users. A separate $15 a month Home plan covers up to 7 users for a homelab.
- NetBird
- €6 per active user per month for Team, which lifts the user cap and includes 100 machines plus 10 per user. Business is €12. Converted for comparison at the ECB reference rate of 1 EUR = 1.1539 USD (2026-09-15, api.frankfurter.dev), which puts Team at about $6.92/month and Business at about $13.85. NetBird publishes no USD price; the conversion is ours and moves with the rate.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Twingate Pricing ↗
“$5 per user per month [...] everything in starter, plus: up to 100 users sso via”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
- NetBird Pricing ↗
“€6 user / month unlimited users 100 machines + 10 per user Try for free Everything in Free, plus: Unlimited admin & regu”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Twingate
- Per user per month AND capped by user count at every tier: Starter is free to 5 users, Teams is $5 to 100, Business is $10 to 500. You pay per head and the plan still runs out of heads, which is a different shape from a per-seat price with no ceiling.
- NetBird
- Per active user per month in euros, with MACHINES METERED SEPARATELY — 100 included plus 10 per user, then €0.50 a month each. Both are counted only if they connected or logged in during the billing period, so an idle device is not billed. Self-hosting is offered as the alternative to any of it.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Twingate Pricing ↗
“teams modern network access for teams looking to retire their legacy vpn. $5 per user per month [...] everything in starter, plus: up to 100 users sso via”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
- NetBird Pricing ↗
“€6 user / month unlimited users 100 machines + 10 per user [...] Additional Machine: €0.50 / month”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
Multi-factor authentication
- Twingate
- Limited
- NetBird
- Supported
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Twingate Pricing ↗
“native device posture checks mfa for bastion host, ssh, and more automated least privilege policies”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
- NetBird Pricing ↗
“up to 5 users 100 machines Get started P2P connections & encryption NetBird Networks Social SSO & MFA Access controls”
Read 2026-09-16 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Twingate or NetBird?
Twingate: $5 per user per month for Teams, capped at 100 users; Business is $10 to 500 users. A separate $15 a month Home plan covers up to 7 users for a homelab.
NetBird: €6 per active user per month for Team, which lifts the user cap and includes 100 machines plus 10 per user. Business is €12. Converted for comparison at the ECB reference rate of 1 EUR = 1.1539 USD (2026-09-15, api.frankfurter.dev), which puts Team at about $6.92/month and Business at about $13.85. NetBird publishes no USD price; the conversion is ours and moves with the rate.
Should I choose Twingate or NetBird?
Pick Twingate if Retiring a legacy VPN on a budget, at a known headcount. $5 a user to 100 people is the cheapest commercial seat of the three, and device posture checks and least-privilege policies arrive at that tier rather than above it.
Pick NetBird if Running it yourself, or wanting idle machines not to cost anything. It is open source with a self-hosted path, and both users and machines are counted only if they actually connected during the billing period.