Headscale vs Kasm Workspaces
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Headscale
Open-source self-hosted Tailscale control server
VS
Kasm Workspaces
Containerized desktop and browser streaming platform
| Feature | Headscale | Kasm Workspaces |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Proprietary |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42,612 | ★ 1,210 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Citrix, Amazon WorkSpaces |
Why pick each one
Choose Kasm Workspaces if…
- Released under the Proprietary license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or Kasm Workspaces 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 Headscale and Kasm Workspaces free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Kasm Workspaces under Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and Kasm Workspaces with Docker?
Headscale: yes. Kasm Workspaces: yes.