headscalevsLAN-Orangutan
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | LAN-Orangutan | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 58/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #15 of 48 in Network Monitoring |
| GitHub stars | 45 162 | 1 140 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 055 | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 7 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v3.4.2 · 18 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 58/100 for LAN-Orangutan, so it is the safer default.
If you want the quickest setup, LAN-Orangutan is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 055 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →LAN-Orangutan details →