CasaOSvsheadscale
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| CasaOS | headscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 22 in Home Server | #1 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 37 393 | 45 162 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +134 | +1 055 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 7 |
| Latest release | — | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 76/100 for CasaOS, so it is the safer default.
headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for CasaOS.
If you want the quickest setup, CasaOS is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 055 stars in 30 days).
CasaOS details →headscale details →
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