# headscale vs PrintGuard

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

| | headscale | PrintGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #11 of 22 in 3D Printing |
| GitHub stars | 45 165 ✓ | 367 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 058 ✓ | +2 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v2.6.4 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 52/100 for PrintGuard, so it is the safer default.

PrintGuard ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 058 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [PrintGuard](https://selfhost.directory/project/printguard) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/printguard.md)

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