# headscale vs swarm-cronjob

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

| | headscale | swarm-cronjob |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 51/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #20 of 26 in Automation |
| GitHub stars | 45 166 ✓ | 888 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 059 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v1.16.1 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 51/100 for swarm-cronjob, so it is the safer default.

headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for swarm-cronjob.

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

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 059 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [swarm-cronjob](https://selfhost.directory/project/swarm-cronjob) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/swarm-cronjob.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-swarm-cronjob