Pangolin

Pangolin is a hybrid security and networking platform for teams that need to control access to internal resources and manage AI API use. It is strongest for organizations that want identity-based access policies alongside an AI Gateway; those needing only a basic VPN may find its breadth unnecessary.

Overview

Pangolin combines a WireGuard-based VPN, reverse proxy, privileged access management, and identity-aware AI Gateway. Administrators grant users access to selected apps, hosts, and network ranges through identity and resource-level policies rather than opening up a whole network. WireGuard tunnels and NAT traversal let sites keep inbound firewall ports closed, which suits distributed teams that need controlled site connectivity.

The combination is useful where network access and AI request governance are both priorities. It is less compelling for organizations that need only straightforward remote connectivity or already have a separate way to govern model API use.

Key features

Scoped network access

Resource-level permissions let administrators limit what each user can reach. That is a meaningful security advantage for teams with different access needs across sites, hosts, or apps. Pangolin also supports branch connectivity and clients for major desktop and mobile platforms, but the published plans cap users, sites, domains, resources, and machine clients, so growing deployments need to watch capacity.

AI Gateway

The gateway routes provider-native API requests to cloud and self-hosted models, with identity controls, budgets, session history, and usage analytics. Support for services and endpoints including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Amazon Bedrock, Vertex AI, Microsoft Foundry, OpenRouter, Vercel AI Gateway, Ollama, and vLLM makes it relevant to teams using a mix of model providers. Its strongest case is central oversight of AI requests; readers without that governance need may not benefit from this added scope.

Identity, security, and support

Pangolin supports OAuth2/OIDC providers such as Authentik and Keycloak. Google and Microsoft Entra ID integrations are available on Cloud and Enterprise Edition. The maker says it maintains ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications. Community users can seek help through Slack or Discord; paid Cloud and Enterprise plans include vendor support, while Enterprise adds priority support and an SLA.

Pricing

Pangolin offers free and per-user options, with paid plans from $4/user/mo and a 10-day trial. The free Basic plan costs nothing and caps usage at 5 users, 5 sites, 5 domains, 15 public resources, 15 private resources, and 5 machine clients. Those limits make it a practical starting point for a small deployment, but leave little headroom for a growing team.

Community Edition also costs nothing and provides a free self-hosted core for sites, resources, and users, with community support under AGPLv3. It fits teams prepared to self-host and work within that license and support model. Self-hosted Enterprise Edition is free for personal non-commercial use and small-scale commercial use when annual gross revenue is under $100,000 USD.

Team costs $4 a month, billed $4/user/mo, and raises caps to 50 users, 50 sites, 50 domains, 150 public resources, 150 private resources, and 25 machine clients. It is the modest expansion from Basic for teams that need more capacity. Business costs $9 a month, billed $9/user/mo, and allows up to 250 users, 250 sites, 100 domains, 750 public resources, 750 private resources, and 100 machine clients. It is better suited to larger deployments, though the higher caps still make it a bounded tier rather than an unlimited option.

Enterprise has custom pricing and custom limits, with log streaming (SIEM), premium relay nodes, priority support, and an SLA. It is the relevant choice when fixed tier caps or support requirements are a poor fit. Community Edition uses AGPLv3; Enterprise Edition uses the Fossorial Commercial License. Both are self-hostable.

Platforms

Pangolin lists clients for macOS Sonoma 14.0+, Windows 10+, iOS 17.0+, and Android 7.0+, as well as Linux. The product also offers API and web access and supports self-hosting, giving teams options across managed and self-managed deployments.

Who it's for

Pangolin suits small and mid-sized teams that need to grant narrowly scoped access across sites, especially when they also want controls over requests to cloud or self-hosted AI models. Its free options can serve personal, small-scale, or self-hosting use, while the per-user tiers offer defined growth steps. It is not the natural choice for buyers who want a simple VPN without resource policies or AI governance, or whose expected deployment exceeds the published caps without Enterprise terms.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Identity and resource-level access policies help limit users to specific apps, hosts, and network ranges rather than broad network access.
• Pros: WireGuard tunnels and NAT traversal let sites keep inbound firewall ports closed.
• Pros: The AI Gateway combines identity controls, budgets, session history, and analytics across a broad set of model endpoints.
• Pros: Free Basic and Community Edition options, plus per-user paid tiers, provide multiple entry points.
• Cons: Basic's caps of 5 users and 5 machine clients are restrictive for teams expanding beyond a small deployment.
• Cons: Team and Business impose explicit caps across sites, domains, resources, and clients; larger or support-sensitive deployments may need custom-priced Enterprise.
• Cons: Community Edition uses AGPLv3 and community support, which may not suit teams seeking vendor support or different licensing terms.

Alternatives

Secure Access Service Edge Software is the broader category to explore when comparing products across secure access service edge needs.

Choose Cloudflare One instead if a freemium alternative with a free plan for up to 50 users and up to 24 hours of standard log retention better matches your requirements. Consider Arista NG Firewall if you want a free web-based option focused on basic security and connectivity features, with limited capabilities.

Fortinet Unified SASE is another option. Sangfor EasyConnect is another paid alternative. Zscaler Private Access is another paid option without a free plan. Cato SASE Platform is another paid option with pricing by request. Skyhigh Private Access is another paid alternative. Broadcom Symantec SASE is another paid option.

Verdict

Choose Pangolin if your team needs fine-grained network access and wants AI API governance in the same hybrid platform, with a free starting point and defined per-user tiers. Its main trade-off is capacity: Basic is tightly capped, paid tiers remain bounded, and Enterprise moves to custom pricing. Look elsewhere if you only need a basic VPN or want to avoid those limits and licensing considerations.