# awl vs Pangolin

> 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 | Pangolin |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52/100 | 76/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #31 of 56 in VPN | #1 of 23 in Remote Access |
| GitHub stars | 716 | 23 258 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +365 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 22 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.20.0 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | 1.25.3 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Pangolin scores 76/100 against 52/100 for awl, so it is the safer default.

Pangolin ships more often: 22 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for awl.

Pangolin is growing faster right now (+365 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [awl](https://selfhost.directory/project/awl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/awl.md)
- [Pangolin](https://selfhost.directory/project/pangolin) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pangolin.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/awl-vs-pangolin