# awl vs Nostr VPN

> Two self-hosted [Tailscale alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/tailscale), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | awl | Nostr VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52/100 | 60/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #31 of 56 in VPN | #20 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 716 | 1 225 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +67 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 32 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.20.0 · 24 Oct 2026 | v4.1.19 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Nostr VPN scores 60/100 against 52/100 for awl, so it is the safer default.

Nostr VPN ships more often: 32 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for awl.

Nostr VPN is growing faster right now (+67 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [awl](https://selfhost.directory/project/awl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/awl.md)
- [Nostr VPN](https://selfhost.directory/project/nostr-vpn) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nostr-vpn.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/awl-vs-nostr-vpn