EasyTier vs Headscale
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Headscale
Open-source self-hosted Tailscale control server
| Feature | EasyTier | Headscale |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,772 | ★ 44,052 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Tailscale, ZeroTier | Tailscale |
What are EasyTier and Headscale?
EasyTier
EasyTier is an open-source, decentralized mesh VPN that connects devices across NATs without a central server. It supports multiple protocols and is fully self-hosted for private networking.
- Decentralized mesh
- NAT traversal
- Multi-protocol transport
- No central server
Headscale
Headscale is an open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. It lets you run your own coordination server while using official Tailscale clients.
- Self-hosted Tailscale coordination
- Works with official clients
- Single binary server
- ACL support
EasyTier vs Headscale: key differences
EasyTier is written in Rust, while Headscale is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for EasyTier versus BSD-3-Clause for Headscale. Headscale is the more established project (first released 2020), while EasyTier arrived in 2024. Headscale has the considerably larger community, at 44,052 GitHub stars versus 13,772.
Why pick each one
Choose EasyTier if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 13.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Choose Headscale if…
- Full control of coordination
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No official GUI
Frequently asked questions
Is EasyTier or Headscale better?
Neither is universally better. Headscale has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are EasyTier and Headscale free and open-source?
Yes. EasyTier is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Headscale under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EasyTier and Headscale with Docker?
EasyTier: yes. Headscale: yes.