Headscale vs innernet
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
VS
innernet
Private network system using WireGuard
| Feature | Headscale | innernet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 44,077 | ★ 5,553 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Tailscale |
What are Headscale and innernet?
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
innernet
innernet is a private mesh network system built on WireGuard with a focus on simplicity and security. It uses a server to coordinate peers organized into networks and CIDRs.
- WireGuard-based mesh
- CIDR-organized peers
- Simple coordination server
- Lightweight Rust implementation
Headscale vs innernet: key differences
Headscale is written in Go, while innernet is built with Rust. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Headscale versus MIT for innernet. Innernet is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Headscale. Headscale has the considerably larger community, at 44,077 GitHub stars versus 5,553. Headscale lists first-class Docker deployment; innernet does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Headscale if…
- Full control of coordination
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No official GUI
Choose innernet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or innernet better?
Headscale is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider innernet if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Headscale and innernet free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and innernet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and innernet with Docker?
Headscale: yes. innernet: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Headscale or innernet?
innernet has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Headscale. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.