awlvsheadscale
Two self-hosted Tailscale alternatives, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| awl | headscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #31 of 56 in VPN | #1 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 716 | 45 140 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +1 070 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 7 |
| Latest release | v0.20.0 · 24 Oct 2026 | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 52/100 for awl, so it is the safer default.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 070 stars in 30 days).
awl details →headscale details → All Tailscale alternatives →