Self-Hosted Tailscale Alternatives

Tailscale is not available as a self-hosted solution but there are plenty of alternatives for power users and business that want to host a solution on-premise. The best Self-Hosted alternative is OpenVPN Connect, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Tailscale and 16 are available as a self-hosted solution so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Self-Hosted alternatives to Tailscale are WireGuard, Headscale, ZeroTier and NetBird.

filter to find the best alternatives

Tailscale alternatives are mainly VPN Services, but if you're looking for Virtual LAN Software or Localhost Tunnel Services you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Tailscale.
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Alternatives list

  1. OpenVPN Connect icon

    OpenVPN Connect

     772 likes

    OpenVPN Connect provides flexible VPN solutions to secure your data communications, whether it's for Internet privacy, remote access for employees, securing IoT, or for networking Cloud data centers.

    58 OpenVPN Connect alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    OpenVPN Connect screenshot 1
     
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    3
    OpenVPN Connect vs Tailscale Comments
    dess
    Negative
    5

    Tailscale is a VPN-based mes SDN, while OpenVPN is just VPN and nothing more.

    mzs_47
    1

    This uses the hub-spoke or centralized setup, now with decentralized VPNs using wireguard,there is no reason to continue with this.

    Persons
    Positive
    0

    Openvpn has a very different use case than tailscale. Tailscale is for multiple services and openvpn is used for 3 different services at ounce. Well tailscale is for multiple services at ounce.

    • OpenVPN Connect is Freemium and Open SourceTailscale is Freemium and Proprietary
    • OpenVPN Connect is Security-focused and LightweightTailscale is not according to our users
  2. WireGuard icon

    WireGuard

     260 likes

    Implements modern cryptographic standards, maintains a small codebase for security auditing, ensures fast cross-platform VPN performance, supports embedded and enterprise environments, offers easy deployment, IPv4/IPv6, secure key exchange, and mobile app support.

    58 WireGuard alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenWrt
    • Termux
    WireGuard screenshot 1
     
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    2
    WireGuard vs Tailscale Comments
    dess
    Negative
    5

    Tailscale is a VPN-based mesh SDN (which relies on Wireguard as VPN tech), while Wireguard is just VPN and nothing more.

    ikaz
    2

    Tailscale is built on top of WireGuard.

    • WireGuard is Free and Open SourceTailscale is Freemium and Proprietary
    • WireGuard is LightweightTailscale is not according to our users
  4. Headscale icon

    Headscale

     26 likes

    An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. HeadScale-ui is a complementary project to have a Web UI for this.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
    • OpenBSD
    • BSD
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Fedora
     
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    1
    Headscale vs Tailscale Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    Headscale is basically open source server implementation of Tailscale

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Headscale is Free and Open SourceTailscale is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Headscale is Security-focusedTailscale is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    OpenVPN Connect icon
    OpenVPN Connect

    OpenVPN Connect provides flexible VPN solutions to secure your data communications, whether it's for Internet privacy, remote access for employees, securing IoT, or for networking Cloud data centers.

    https://openvpn.net
    Learn More
  6. ZeroTier icon

    ZeroTier

     97 likes

    Enables encrypted peer-to-peer virtual Ethernet networks across platforms for remote device access, secure virtual LANs, gaming, private or public network creation, and seamless setup without port forwarding or complex configuration, suitable for personal or business use.

    60 ZeroTier alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
    ZeroTier screenshot 1
     
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    1
    ZeroTier vs Tailscale Comments
    markopaasila
    Positive
    1

    Creates a secure and private (or public if you choose to) mesh network - extremely easily. It is of high quality, and is free and open source.

    • ZeroTier is Freemium and ProprietaryTailscale is also Freemium and Proprietary
  7. NetBird icon

    NetBird

     31 likes

    NetBird is an open-source Zero Trust networking platform that makes it easy for engineers to create fast, secure, and private networks with simple, decentralized management.

    34 NetBird alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Homebrew
    • Docker Hub
    List of connected machines (peers)
     
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    1
    NetBird vs Tailscale Comments
    mzs_47
    Positive
    1

    Completely FLOSS project, and has the whole shebang - server, UI and clients. Mobile clients are on the roadmap.

    • NetBird is Freemium and Open SourceTailscale is Freemium and Proprietary
    • NetBird is LightweightTailscale is not according to our users
  8. Fossorial Pangolin icon

    Fossorial Pangolin

     12 likes

    Open-source platform enabling secure, seamless remote access via WireGuard tunnels with identity-based controls, a unified dashboard for monitoring and configuration, automatic SSL management, granular policy enforcement, and exposure of private resources behind firewalls.

    59 Fossorial Pangolin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    Fossorial Pangolin screenshot 1
     
  10. Amnezia VPN icon

    Amnezia VPN

     19 likes

    Combines classic VPN, free regional access, and easy self-hosted setup inside one open-source app. Built for censorship-heavy environments, it uses an enhanced WireGuard protocol, supports many platforms, offers region switching, and passed 7ASecurity audits.

    59 Amnezia VPN alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    Amnezia VPN screenshot 1
     
  11. Netmaker icon

    Netmaker

     9 likes

    Netmaker is a tool for creating and managing virtual networks. Netmaker consists of a server, an agent, and a UI. You spin up the Netmaker server and then install netclient (the agent) on your computers. Netmaker will do the rest.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Netmaker screenshot 1
     
  12. defguard icon

    defguard

     1 like

    defguard is an SSO & VPN Server based on OpenID and WireGuard VPN with unique secure & private architecture for building secure and privacy-aware organizations.

    39 defguard alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Docker
    • Kubernetes
    defguard screenshot 1
     
  13. NextZero icon

    NextZero

     6 likes

    Say goodbye to vulnerable legacy VPNs and complex firewall rules. NextZero is a modern ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) platform designed to secure your infrastructure with radical simplicity. Built on the principles of Google’s BeyondCorp and powered by WireGuard®...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    Agent UI
     
  14. wireport icon

    wireport

     2 likes

    Self-hosted ingress proxy & VPN tunnel. Securely exposes private local & Docker-based services to the Internet, with free, automatically renewable SSL certificates and docker container hostname resolution.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Hostname resolution (hostname = docker container name)
     
  15. Husarnet icon

    Husarnet

     1 like

    Husarnet is a Peer-to-Peer VPN to connect your laptops, servers and microcontrollers over the Internet with zero configuration.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Docker Hub
    List of all Husarnet networks associated with user account.
     
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