crocvsTailscale
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| croc | Tailscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 84/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in File Transfer & Sync | #1 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 40 798 | 38 252 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +355 | +1 410 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 48 | 14 |
| Latest release | v11.5.5 · 19 Oct 2026 | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Tailscale scores 84/100 against 82/100 for croc, so it is the safer default.
croc ships more often: 48 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Tailscale.
If you want the quickest setup, croc is easier to run; Tailscale needs more configuration.
Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 410 stars in 30 days).
croc details →Tailscale details →