headscalevsWakapi
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | Wakapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 64/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #4 of 11 in Time Tracking |
| GitHub stars | 45 160 | 4 466 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 053 | +31 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 11 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | 2.18.2 · 14 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 64/100 for Wakapi, so it is the safer default.
Wakapi ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
If you want the quickest setup, Wakapi is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 053 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →Wakapi details →