# Tailscale vs unleash

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

| | Tailscale | unleash |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 56 in VPN | #1 of 8 in Feature Flags |
| GitHub stars | 38 275 ✓ | 13 914 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 433 ✓ | +88 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 15 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 | v8.3.0 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Tailscale scores 84/100 against 75/100 for unleash, so it is the safer default.

unleash ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Tailscale.

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

Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 433 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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