1. Free and Open Source
- SoftEther VPN is completely free under the GPL license.
- You don’t have to pay for licensing like with Cisco AnyConnect or traditional VPN appliances.
2. Cross-Platform Compatibility
- Works on Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Solaris.
- VPN clients are available for major platforms.
3. Supports Multiple VPN Protocols
- Acts not just as its own SoftEther VPN protocol, but also supports:
- OpenVPN
- L2TP/IPsec
- SSTP (Microsoft Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol)
- EtherIP / L2TPv3 (for Layer 2 tunnels)
- Benefit: It can replace multiple different VPN servers with one solution.
4. High Performance
- Very fast — it uses optimized parallel transmission and low latency algorithms.
- Often faster than traditional OpenVPN setups.
5. Strong Encryption
- Uses industry-standard encryption:
- SSL-VPN over HTTPS (very hard to block/firewall)
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Secure against eavesdropping and tampering.
6. Firewall and NAT Traversal
- Works behind NATs and Firewalls using SSL over port 443.
- This is huge for bypassing corporate firewalls, hotel networks, or strict ISPs.
7. VPN Over HTTPS
- Because it tunnels traffic over HTTPS, it is hard to detect and block.
- Good for countries or networks with VPN blocking (like China, UAE).
8. Flexible Site-to-Site VPN
- Can create LAN-to-LAN bridges easily, even across NATed environments.
- Useful for linking branch offices without expensive MPLS circuits.
9. Management and Configuration
- Has a GUI admin console for Windows.
- Also has command-line tools for Linux, automations, and scripting.
10. Layer 2 VPN Support
- You can create full Layer 2 tunnels (not just Layer 3 IP tunnels).
- Supports DHCP bridging, broadcast traffic, VLANs across VPN.
11. Extensibility
- Supports dynamic DNS (DDNS).
- Supports clustered failover setups.
- Advanced features like packet filtering, access control, and two-factor authentication.