# D-NET vs headscale

> Two self-hosted [Networking projects](https://selfhost.directory/networking), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | D-NET | headscale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 47/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #20 of 31 in Networking | #1 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 191 | 45 143 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +1 073 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 ✓ | 7 |
| Latest release | v3.1.0 · 16 Sept 2026 | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 47/100 for D-NET, so it is the safer default.

D-NET ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 073 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [D-NET](https://selfhost.directory/project/dnet) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/dnet.md)
- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/dnet-vs-headscale