Headscale vs Netmaker
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
Netmaker
WireGuard-based virtual networks with a management server
| Feature | Headscale | Netmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 44,077 | ★ 11,800 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Tailscale, ZeroTier |
What are Headscale and Netmaker?
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
Netmaker
Netmaker is an open-source platform for building and managing fast WireGuard-based virtual networks. It provides a self-hosted server and dashboard for connecting devices across locations.
- WireGuard mesh networks
- Self-hosted control server
- Web dashboard
- Site-to-site VPN
Headscale vs Netmaker: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Headscale versus Apache-2.0 for Netmaker. Headscale is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Netmaker. Headscale has the considerably larger community, at 44,077 GitHub stars versus 11,800.
Why pick each one
Choose Headscale if…
- Full control of coordination
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No official GUI
Choose Netmaker if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or Netmaker 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 Netmaker free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Netmaker under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and Netmaker with Docker?
Headscale: yes. Netmaker: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Headscale or Netmaker?
Headscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Netmaker. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.