headscalevsNodeLink
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | NodeLink | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 50/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #7 of 14 in Audio Streaming |
| GitHub stars | 45 143 | 162 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 073 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 10 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v3.9.0 · 14 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 50/100 for NodeLink, so it is the safer default.
NodeLink ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 073 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →NodeLink details →