AWS Client VPN
Business VPN software
Network security software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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Pay-as-you-go
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- Information technology and software
- Energy and utilities
- Healthcare and life sciences
What is AWS Client VPN
AWS Client VPN is a managed, cloud-based remote access VPN service that lets users connect securely to resources in Amazon VPCs and, optionally, on-premises networks. It targets organizations that want to provide employee or contractor access without operating their own VPN concentrators. The service uses OpenVPN-based clients and integrates with AWS networking constructs such as VPC subnets, route tables, and security groups. It is typically used for remote workforce access to private applications and administrative access to cloud environments.
Fully managed VPN service
AWS operates the VPN control plane and scaling, reducing the need to deploy and maintain VPN gateway appliances or virtual routers. Administrators provision endpoints, associations, and authorization rules through AWS consoles and APIs. This model can simplify operations compared with self-managed VPN servers where patching, capacity planning, and high availability are customer responsibilities.
Deep AWS network integration
Client VPN integrates with VPC subnets, security groups, and routing, enabling access control and traffic segmentation using familiar AWS primitives. It supports authorization rules that can be scoped to specific network ranges and can be combined with security group policies on target resources. This is useful for organizations standardizing network security controls within AWS.
Multiple authentication options
The service supports mutual certificate authentication and can integrate with AWS-managed identity options such as AWS Directory Service (Microsoft AD) and SAML 2.0-based federated authentication. These options allow alignment with enterprise identity and MFA strategies without building custom authentication layers. Centralized authentication can reduce reliance on shared VPN credentials.
AWS-centric deployment model
AWS Client VPN is designed primarily for access into AWS VPCs, with on-premises connectivity typically requiring additional AWS networking components and configuration. Organizations seeking a single control plane spanning multiple clouds and diverse edge environments may find the model less flexible than vendor-neutral overlay approaches. This can increase architectural complexity in heterogeneous environments.
Per-connection cost considerations
Pricing is based on endpoint association hours and active client connections, which can become material for large remote workforces or always-on VPN policies. Cost predictability may be harder than fixed-capacity licensing models used by some self-hosted solutions. Organizations often need usage monitoring and connection management to control spend.
Limited advanced access features
Client VPN focuses on network-level remote access rather than broader zero-trust application access capabilities such as per-application connectors, continuous device posture checks, or integrated secure web gateway functions. Achieving those controls typically requires additional services and tooling. Teams looking for a unified SASE-style feature set may need complementary products.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (hourly)
Pricing (official AWS):
- Client VPN endpoint (per subnet association / endpoint hourly fee): $0.10 per hour (example shown for US East (Ohio) on AWS pricing page).
- Client VPN connection (active client connection hourly fee): $0.05 per hour per active client connection (example shown for US East (Ohio) on AWS pricing page).
- Public IPv4 address: Standard public IPv4 address charges apply to the IPv4 address used by each Client VPN connection (see VPC pricing).
- Data transfer: Standard Amazon EC2/AWS data transfer out charges apply for data leaving EC2/VPC through the VPN.
- Logging/CloudWatch: If you enable connection logging, CloudWatch Logs charges apply.
Notes & region variability: The pricing page provides the above amounts as an example for the US East (Ohio) Region and states region-specific rates may apply. Always check the AWS VPN pricing page for the target region.
Seller details
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
Seattle, Washington, USA
2006
Subsidiary
https://aws.amazon.com/
https://x.com/awscloud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon-web-services/
