# ActivityWatch vs Tailscale

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | ActivityWatch | Tailscale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 84/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in Time Tracking | #1 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 19 421 | 38 291 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +445 | +1 449 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 13 | 14 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.14.1 · 10 Oct 2026 | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Python | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Tailscale scores 84/100 against 80/100 for ActivityWatch, so it is the safer default.

Tailscale ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 13 for ActivityWatch.

Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 449 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [ActivityWatch](https://selfhost.directory/project/activitywatch) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/activitywatch.md)
- [Tailscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/tailscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/tailscale.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/activitywatch-vs-tailscale