openpencilvsTailscale
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| openpencil | Tailscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 84/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 7 in Design | #1 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 9 424 | 38 286 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +823 | +1 444 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 14 |
| Latest release | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Tailscale scores 84/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; Tailscale needs more configuration.
openpencil details →Tailscale details →
Swap a project
Keep openpencil, compare it with
Keep Tailscale, compare it with