How Much Does a VPN Cost for a Company? (2026 Pricing Guide)

For companies with remote employees, distributed offices, or cloud infrastructure, a VPN is no longer optional—it’s a core security control (and not one you want to improvise). But how can cost affect these teams? One of the most common questions IT leaders and finance teams ask is how much does a VPN cost for a company?

The short answer: the cost of a VPN for a company typically ranges from a few dollars per user per month to several thousand dollars per year, depending on deployment model, number of users, and security requirements. The long answer—and the one that actually matters to budgets, teams, and long-term planning—is below.

This guide explains how much a VPN costs for a company, what drives business VPN pricing, and how organizations choose between OpenVPN Access Server and OpenVPN CloudConnexa.

Quick answer: average business VPN costs

Most companies can expect the cost of a VPN for a company to fall into these ranges:

• Small teams (5–10 users):
  Low monthly VPN cost with predictable per-user pricing and minimal infrastructure requirements, with fewer surprise line items later. These companies often prioritize ease of setup and fast deployment, ideally without needing a crash course in VPN administration.

• Growing businesses (25–100 users):
  Per-user VPN pricing becomes the primary cost driver as headcount increases, something finance teams tend to notice quickly. Additional costs may come from identity integrations, access controls, or multi-region access—features that start sounding essential once teams scale.

• Larger or distributed teams:
  The VPN cost for a company is driven more by scalability, centralized management, global performance, and security controls than by user count alone.

With OpenVPN’s business VPN solutions, pricing is primarily influenced by:

• Number of users requiring secure access

• Deployment model (self-hosted vs cloud-delivered VPN)

• Operational responsibility and management overhead

How business VPN pricing works

Per-user pricing (most common)

Most business VPNs calculate cost per active user. This model makes it easier to estimate how much a VPN costs for a company as teams grow, while keeping monthly expenses predictable enough to avoid budget surprises.

Both OpenVPN Access Server and OpenVPN CloudConnexa use business-focused, user-based or usage-based licensing rather than flat consumer subscriptions.

Infrastructure vs service costs

When calculating how much a VPN costs for a company, it’s important to separate direct and indirect expenses:

• Licensing fees: Per-user or usage-based VPN licenses

• Infrastructure costs: Cloud hosting, bandwidth, or on-prem hardware

• IT administration time: Setup, monitoring, troubleshooting, and access management

• Maintenance and upgrades: Security patches, performance tuning, and version updates

Lower license costs can be offset by higher operational overhead, especially with self-hosted VPNs—a familiar tradeoff for many IT teams.

What affects the cost of a company VPN?

Number of users and devices

The more employees, contractors, or systems that need access, the higher the VPN cost for a company; secure access scales faster than most plans anticipate. Organizations with BYOD policies or multiple devices per user should account for this early.

Security features and encryption standards

Business VPN pricing reflects built-in security capabilities, including: 

• Strong encryption for data in transit

• Certificate-based authentication instead of shared credentials

• Granular access controls to limit user permissions

These features are standard in OpenVPN solutions, but the cost impact varies by deployment model.

Compliance and regulatory requirements

Industries such as healthcare, finance, and SaaS often require:

• Auditable VPN access logs

• Centralized policy enforcement

• Integration with identity providers and SSO

Meeting compliance requirements directly influences how much a VPN costs for a company, since compliance rarely rewards shortcuts.

Support and operational responsibility

Whether your internal team manages the VPN or relies on a managed service affects total cost, even if it doesn’t appear directly on the invoice (or gets noticed only after hours are logged).

Business VPN cost by deployment model

Access Server (Self-Hosted)

Access Server is a self-hosted business VPN that runs in your own cloud or on-prem environment.

Cost considerations include:

• Licensing based on concurrent or connected users

• Cloud or on-prem infrastructure expenses

• IT time for setup, updates, monitoring, and backups

Best fit for:

• Companies that require full infrastructure control

• Organizations with established IT or DevOps teams

• Environments with strict data residency requirements

Access Server can offer a lower upfront VPN cost for a company, but total cost depends on internal operational effort and available expertise.

CloudConnexa (cloud-delivered VPN)

OpenVPN CloudConnexa is a fully managed, cloud-delivered secure access solution.

Cost considerations include:

• Simple per-user subscription pricing

• No hosting or infrastructure costs

• Minimal IT administration and maintenance

Best fit for:

• Remote-first and hybrid organizations

• Teams without dedicated VPN administrators

• Companies seeking predictable VPN costs and rapid deployment

While CloudConnexa may appear higher per user, it often lowers total cost of ownership when infrastructure and staffing time are considered.

Hidden VPN costs most companies overlook

When evaluating how much a VPN costs for a company, many organizations overlook some less obvious (and often more expensive) factors:

• IT time spent maintaining VPN servers

• Scaling challenges as teams grow

• Downtime caused by misconfiguration

• Security risks from unpatched systems

Cloud-delivered VPNs reduce many of these hidden costs by design, largely by making them someone else’s problem.

How much does a VPN cost per month for different business sizes?

• Small teams: Entry-level VPN cost with minimal infrastructure impact

• SMBs: Monthly costs scale with users, devices, and security requirements

• Distributed teams: Performance, reliability, and centralized management become primary cost drivers

Company size matters less than the balance between control and simplicity—and how much operational complexity the team wants to own.

Is a business VPN worth the cost?

For most organizations, the cost of a VPN for a company is small compared to:

• Data breach recovery expenses

• Unauthorized access incidents

• Productivity loss from insecure remote access

A business VPN consistently delivers strong ROI when aligned with operational needs—especially when compared to the alternatives.

How to choose the right VPN for your company

Centralized user management

Look for fast onboarding, easy access revocation, and role-based permissions.

Security and access controls

Modern encryption, strong authentication, and enforceable policies are essential.

Performance and reliability

Global teams require consistent performance regardless of location.

Ease of deployment and use

Complex VPNs increase operational cost and user friction.

Scalability and pricing transparency

Choose a VPN with predictable pricing as your company grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a VPN cost per employee?
Most business VPNs price per user, so the VPN cost for a company increases with headcount and access needs.

Is a VPN cheaper than other security tools?
Yes. A VPN is often one of the most cost-effective ways to secure remote access.

Do small businesses need a VPN?
Any company with remote access benefits from VPN protection.

Can a consumer VPN be used for business?
No. Consumer VPNs lack the management, security, and compliance features required for companies.

Final takeaway: know the real cost before you commit

The true cost of a VPN for a company includes licensing, infrastructure, management time, scalability, and risk.

• OpenVPN Access Server provides control and flexibility for teams managing their own environment.

• OpenVPN CloudConnexa delivers simplicity, speed, and predictable costs with minimal overhead.

The best choice depends on how your business balances control, cost, and complexity—not just the sticker price.