# headscale vs Mastodon

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

| | headscale | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 45 144 | 50 456 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 074 ✓ | +137 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 38 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale and Mastodon score the same (82/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

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

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 074 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [Mastodon](https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon.md)

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