Headscale

Open-source alternative · mapped from 1 paid tool. Fit is not feature parity.

Facts

License

BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License A permissive license similar to the <a href="/licenses/bsd-2-clause/">BSD 2-Clause License</a>, but with a 3rd clause that prohibits others from using the name of the copyright holder or its contributors to promote derived products without written consent. May Commercial useModificationDistributionPrivate use Must License and copyright notice No LiabilityWarranty Summary from GitHub's choosealicense.com

Paid-feature tier A

Self-host

Paid-feature limitsNone established

Tier A: BSD-3-Clause self-hosted control server with no commercial edition or paid software gate found in official project docs. A applies to this narrow server, not enterprise Tailscale platform parity. No built-in web interface; clients are separate. License source. Repository: juanfont/headscale. Self-host: server; hosted offer from the project: no.

Replaces

TailscaleEntry price USD 8 / seat / month

Fit:

Use compatible Tailscale clients configured for a new Headscale control-server URL; re-register nodes and recreate policy, DNS and routes. One tailnet, small-organisation focus; no built-in web UI or promised enterprise-service parity.

Sources: headscale.net, headscale.net, headscale.net, tailscale.com · checked 2026-10-21
Full comparison: Tailscale vs Headscale

Selected by OSSHunt

Headscale is listed as an open-source alternative to Tailscale, with partial fit or better. Maintainers can show this in a README; the badge links back to this page.

Markdown

[![OSSHunt: replaces Tailscale](https://osshunt.com/badge/headscale.svg)](https://osshunt.com/alternatives/headscale/)

HTML

<a href="https://osshunt.com/alternatives/headscale/"><img src="https://osshunt.com/badge/headscale.svg" alt="OSSHunt: replaces Tailscale"></a>

reStructuredText

.. image:: https://osshunt.com/badge/headscale.svg
   :target: https://osshunt.com/alternatives/headscale/
   :alt: OSSHunt: replaces Tailscale

Shields users: https://img.shields.io/endpoint?url=https%3A%2F%2Fosshunt.com%2Fbadge%2Fheadscale.json. Styles: add ?style=flat-square, plastic or for-the-badge. What the badge means and how to remove it.