# gateway-go vs headscale

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | gateway-go | headscale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 47/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #38 of 56 in VPN | #1 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 163 | 45 143 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +1 073 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 7 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.0.12 · 11 Jan 2026 | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | 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 gateway-go, so it is the safer default.

headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for gateway-go.

If you want the quickest setup, gateway-go is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.

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

## Details

- [gateway-go](https://selfhost.directory/project/gateway-go) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/gateway-go.md)
- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/gateway-go-vs-headscale