# headscale vs MCSManager

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

| | headscale | MCSManager |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 68/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #8 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 45 151 ✓ | 5 004 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 044 ✓ | +35 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 20 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v10.22.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 68/100 for MCSManager, so it is the safer default.

MCSManager ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

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

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 044 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [MCSManager](https://selfhost.directory/project/mcsmanager) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mcsmanager.md)

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