juanfont/headscale Alternatives

self-hosted VPN control plane / mesh VPN

An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server, which coordinates WireGuard mesh VPN nodes.

44.2kGoBSD-3-Clauseactive · last push 15d agoGitHub

Drop-in peers

Same problem, same approach. Swapping one for another is a config change, not a rewrite.

Choose as a lightweight, BSD-licensed Tailscale control server implementation when you don't need Headscale's full feature set.

A lightweight implementation of a Tailscale control server

: 453
: Go
: BSD-3-Clause

slowing1.4y ago

Same job, different approach

Solves the same problem with a different architecture or at a different layer. Expect to rewrite the integration.

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gravitational/teleportGitHub

Choose when you need identity-based access to SSH/Kubernetes/databases with audit logging, rather than a raw WireGuard mesh.

The easiest, and most secure way to access and protect all of your infrastructure.

: 20.9k
: Go
: AGPL-3.0

active1mo ago

OpenVPN/openvpnGitHub

Choose for a battle-tested TLS VPN with broad client support, at the cost of manual key management and no mesh NAT traversal.

OpenVPN is an open source VPN daemon

: 14.6k
: C
: NOASSERTION

active15d ago

EasyTier/EasyTierGitHub

Choose for a standalone decentralized mesh VPN in Rust with WireGuard support, but without Tailscale client compatibility.

A simple, decentralized mesh VPN with WireGuard support.

: 13.9k
: Rust
: LGPL-3.0

active20d ago

tonarino/innernetGitHub

Choose for a self-hosted WireGuard mesh with simple server/client setup, but without Tailscale's client ecosystem and ACLs.

A private network system that uses WireGuard under the hood.

: 5.6k
: Rust
: MIT

active3mo ago

octelium/octeliumGitHub

Choose when you need a broader zero-trust access platform (ZTNA, API gateway, PaaS) rather than just a Tailscale control server.

A next-gen FOSS self-hosted unified zero trust secure access platform that can operate as a remote access VPN, a ZTNA platform, API/AI/MCP gateway, a PaaS, an ngrok-alternative and a homelab infrastructure.

: 4.1k
: Go
: AGPL-3.0

active15d ago

Listed as an alternative to

These projects were analysed and named headscale among their alternatives. The relationship is not symmetric — how headscale rates them is a separate judgement, made when headscale is analysed in its own right.

tailscale/tailscaleGitHub

calls headscale “Choose it when you must own the coordination control plane instead of Tailscale's SaaS, at the cost of running and maintaining your own server.”

The easiest, most secure way to use WireGuard and 2FA.

37.0kGoactive