headscalevsrsyslog
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | rsyslog | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #2 of 8 in Logging |
| GitHub stars | 45 144 | 2 344 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 074 | +8 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 4 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v8.2610.0 · 20 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | C |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 67/100 for rsyslog, so it is the safer default.
headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 4 for rsyslog.
If you want the quickest setup, headscale is easier to run; rsyslog needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 074 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →rsyslog details →