# headscale vs socks5-proxy-server

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

| | headscale | socks5-proxy-server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 43/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #5 of 10 in Network |
| GitHub stars | 45 144 ✓ | 145 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 074 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.20.0 · 29 Nov 2025 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 43/100 for socks5-proxy-server, so it is the safer default.

headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for socks5-proxy-server.

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 074 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [socks5-proxy-server](https://selfhost.directory/project/socks5-proxy-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/socks5-proxy-server.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-socks5-proxy-server