# headscale vs Portainer

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

| | headscale | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 45 148 ✓ | 38 738 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 078 ✓ | +189 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Zlib |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

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

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 078 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [Portainer](https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-portainer