# headscale vs nginx-proxy

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

| | headscale | nginx-proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #3 of 24 in Reverse Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 45 143 ✓ | 19 937 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 073 ✓ | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | 1.11.6 · 16 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 76/100 for nginx-proxy, so it is the safer default.

nginx-proxy ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

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

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

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [nginx-proxy](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-nginx-proxy