# OpenWA vs Tailscale

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

| | OpenWA | Tailscale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 84/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 19 in API Management | #1 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 16 343 | 38 231 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +337 | +1 426 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 14 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Tailscale scores 84/100 against 77/100 for OpenWA, so it is the safer default.

Tailscale ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for OpenWA.

If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; Tailscale needs more configuration.

Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 426 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [OpenWA](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa.md)
- [Tailscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/tailscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/tailscale.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/openwa-vs-tailscale