6 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Tailscale
The best open-source alternative to Tailscale is Headscale (BSD-3-Clause, 45,047 GitHub stars, Docker image). NetBird is the runner-up, and wg-easy stands out for the most recent release (v15.5.0, October 2026).
About Tailscale: A mesh VPN built on WireGuard for connecting devices and servers.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Headscale
juanfont/headscale
Open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Proxy & VPNGoDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars.
- Rank 2:
NetBird
netbirdio/netbird
Zero-config WireGuard-based mesh VPN and secure network access platform.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Proxy & VPNGoDocker - Rank 3:
wg-easy
wg-easy/wg-easy
The easiest way to run WireGuard VPN with a web UI.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Proxy & VPNTypeScriptDockerStands out for the most recent release (v15.5.0, October 2026).
At a glance
Tailscale alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headscale | the most GitHub stars | BSD-3-Clause | 45,047 | 1,196 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| NetBird | – | BSD-3-Clause / AGPL-3.0 | 30,226 | 1,150 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| wg-easy | the most recent release (v15.5.0, October 2026) | AGPL-3.0 | 27,270 | 255 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Pangolin | the most commits in the last 12 months (5,856) | AGPL-3.0 | 23,224 | 5,856 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Firezone | a permissive Apache-2.0 license | Apache-2.0 | 9,127 | 3,877 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| OpenZiti | – | Apache-2.0 | 4,446 | 902 | Oct 23, 2026 | No |
Full list
All 6 Tailscale alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Headscale
Open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server.
Proxy & VPNDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Headscale has 45,047 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 1,196 commits in the last year.
- 2
NetBird
Zero-config WireGuard-based mesh VPN and secure network access platform.
Proxy & VPNDockerNetBird has 30,226 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause / AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,150 commits in the last year.
- 3
wg-easy
The easiest way to run WireGuard VPN with a web UI.
Proxy & VPNDockerStands out for the most recent release (v15.5.0, October 2026). wg-easy has 27,270 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 255 commits in the last year.
- 4
Pangolin
Identity-aware tunneled reverse proxy with dashboard UI, access control, and WireGuard-based tunnels (alternative to Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale).
Web Servers & Reverse ProxiesDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,856). Pangolin has 23,224 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,856 commits in the last year.
- 5
Firezone
Secure remote access gateway that supports the WireGuard protocol. It offers a Web GUI, 1-line install script, multi-factor auth (MFA), and SSO.
Remote AccessDockerStands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Firezone has 9,127 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,877 commits in the last year.
- 6
OpenZiti
Fully-featured, zero trust, full mesh overlay network. Includes a 2FA support out of the box, clients for all major desktop/mobile OS'es.
UtilitiesOpenZiti has 4,446 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 902 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Tailscale?
Yes. All 6 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace Tailscale without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.
Can I self-host an alternative to Tailscale with Docker?
Yes. 5 of the 6 apps here publish a Docker image, including Headscale, NetBird and wg-easy, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Tailscale alternative is the most actively developed?
Pangolin (AGPL-3.0), with 5,856 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.