headscalevsNova Server
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | Nova Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #20 of 25 in Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 45 148 | 354 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 078 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 9 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v1.92.2 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Other |
| Main language | Go | Shell |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 46/100 for Nova Server, so it is the safer default.
Nova Server ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 078 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →Nova Server details →