# Tailscale vs Zealot

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

| | Tailscale | Zealot |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 55/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 56 in VPN | #17 of 28 in CI/CD |
| GitHub stars | 38 296 ✓ | 1 368 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 454 ✓ | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | 6.2.2 · 25 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

Tailscale scores 84/100 against 55/100 for Zealot, so it is the safer default.

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

Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 454 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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