headscalevsNPS Enhanced
Two self-hosted Networking projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | NPS Enhanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 56/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #10 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 45 140 | 1 094 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 070 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 10 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v0.34.10 · 20 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 56/100 for NPS Enhanced, so it is the safer default.
NPS Enhanced ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 070 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →NPS Enhanced details →All Networking projects →