Small businesses face a different VPN challenge than individuals or enterprises. Individuals need personal privacy; enterprises have dedicated IT teams. Small businesses of 5-50 people need something in between: easy to deploy, manageable without a full-time IT person, and secure enough to comply with basic data protection requirements.
Consumer VPNs vs. Business VPNs
Consumer VPNs (NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Mullvad) are designed for individual use. They are not built for team account management, centralized billing, or per-user policy enforcement. A team of 10 using NordVPN means 10 separate accounts, 10 separate billing relationships, and no way for an admin to disable a former employee's access.
Business VPNs solve these problems. The main options at the small business price point:
NordLayer (formerly NordVPN Teams): team account with centralized admin panel, per-user management, fixed IP option, and two-factor authentication enforcement. Pricing from $7/user/month. Best for: 5-50 users who want consumer-grade ease with business controls.
Perimeter 81: more feature-rich than NordLayer, with network segmentation (different team members access different resources), device posture checks, and integration with identity providers like Okta. Pricing from $8/user/month. Best for: teams with compliance requirements or mixed-device environments.
Tailscale: a mesh VPN built on WireGuard. Each device connects directly to every other authorized device without a central server. Free for up to 3 users with 100 devices; $6/user/month for teams. Excellent for developers and remote access to office infrastructure. Requires some technical setup but is the lowest-latency option.
What You Actually Need
For most small businesses, the core requirements are: all remote staff connecting through VPN when accessing company systems, ability to revoke a departed employee's access immediately, and simple enough for non-technical staff to use daily. NordLayer or Perimeter 81 cover all three without requiring an IT department.