headscalevsopenpencil
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | openpencil | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 73/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #2 of 7 in Design |
| GitHub stars | 45 165 | 9 424 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 058 | +823 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 14 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
openpencil ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale details →openpencil details →