headscalevsZealot
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | Zealot | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 55/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #17 of 28 in CI/CD |
| GitHub stars | 45 172 | 1 368 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 065 | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 3 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | 6.2.2 · 25 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 55/100 for Zealot, so it is the safer default.
headscale ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Zealot.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 065 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →Zealot details →