Best VPN tools for healthcare IT in 2026

AWS Client VPN

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.

Cato Networks

Custom quote · Cloud

Cato delivers SD-WAN, firewall, CASB and ZTNA from a single cloud fabric, which means the platform displaces several things at once. Buyers are usually retiring MPLS circuits, firewall appliances and VPN infrastructure in the same project. This is not an addition to an existing stack. That shapes the commercial side, because the numbers only work when network and security budgets are reviewed together.

Cisco AnyConnect

Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem

Remote access here is rarely a standalone purchase. The client tends to come attached to the network estate, in organizations already running Cisco firewalls and ASA appliances. The license conversation happens with the rest of the infrastructure, not separately from it. Buyers shopping specifically for remote access in isolation generally find cloud-delivered alternatives cheaper per seat.

Cisco Meraki

Custom quote · Cloud · Free trial

Meraki keeps network devices under one cloud dashboard, with licensing attached to the hardware itself. Network administrators get centralized visibility and policy control and skip running management infrastructure on site. Cost is the trade-off: hardware and subscription bundling pushes total cost of ownership above comparable functionality assembled from separately licensed vendor components.

Cloudflare One

Usage-based pricing · Cloud · Free trial

Built on Cloudflare's global edge network, Cloudflare One pulls Zero Trust access, CASB, DLP and gateway functions into one usage-based platform. The breadth of capability at accessible price points keeps it competitive with SMB and enterprise buyers alike. A functional free tier changes the entry path. Many teams start there and expand once their requirements get clearer.

Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

Custom quote · Cloud / On-prem

Existing Fortinet security infrastructure is the context this makes sense in: the SD-WAN functions run on FortiGate next-gen firewalls, and there is no extra box to deploy or manage. Evaluated as a standalone SD-WAN platform, the full FortiGate licensing model belongs in the total cost analysis from the start, well before the WAN design is settled.

NordLayer

Per-user · Cloud · Free trial

Secure remote access with no network infrastructure of its own to sit on is the case NordLayer addresses, pairing a business VPN with Zero Trust network access under the Nord Security name. Per-user pricing and a short path to first deployment make it a practical replacement for basic consumer VPN setups that were never meant to be supported at SMB or mid-market scale.

OpenVPN Access Server

Per-user · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial

Running on hardware or cloud accounts the team already controls, OpenVPN Access Server keeps complete control of VPN endpoint data in house rather than at a hosted provider. Above the free two-user tier, licensing is per user. Client devices connect over the OpenVPN protocol, which most of them support natively with no extra software installed.

OpenVPN CloudConnexa

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.

Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN

Custom quote · Cloud

Part of Palo Alto's SASE portfolio, this SD-WAN platform is bought with its security controls instead of in front of them. The organizations evaluating it are usually retiring MPLS circuits and several security appliances at once, not adding one capability to an otherwise settled network. At that scale procurement is vendor-led and the quote follows the design.

Perimeter 81

Per-user · Cloud · Free trial

Now part of Check Point, Perimeter 81 delivers remote access from the cloud at per-user pricing, with automatic Wi-Fi security and split tunneling handled on the user's behalf. Its usual role is transitional: a step for teams leaving appliance-based perimeter security that are not yet ready to commit to a full SASE platform.

Proton Business VPN

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.

Tailscale

Per-user · Cloud · Free trial

Authentication comes from existing identity providers and the mesh itself runs on WireGuard, so no network configuration expertise is needed to stand it up. Most teams are operational in under an hour, a genuinely different setup experience from traditional VPN. Engineering teams hitting friction with OpenVPN or Cisco alternatives are the usual arrivals, licensed per user.

WireGuard

Open source · Cloud / On-prem · Free trial

WireGuard is a protocol first and a product second. The codebase is deliberately minimal, performance is high, and configuration is far less involved than IPsec or OpenVPN demand. Most teams encounter it indirectly, through a managed service such as Tailscale or an appliance that uses WireGuard as its transport, instead of running the implementation themselves.

Zscaler Private Access

Custom quote · Cloud

Identity and context decide access, application by application, so users never get a route to a full network segment the way legacy VPN hands them one. Delivery runs from Zscaler's global cloud infrastructure under a custom quote. Enterprise organizations retiring older remote access infrastructure typically evaluate it next to Cloudflare One and Palo Alto Prisma Access.