# headscale vs Zealot

> 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 | 45 171 ✓ | 1 368 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 064 ✓ | +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 (+1 064 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [Zealot](https://selfhost.directory/project/zealot) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/zealot.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-zealot