Headscale vs OpenVPN
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
OpenVPN
Robust and flexible open-source VPN solution
| Feature | Headscale | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42,612 | ★ 14,345 |
| First released | 2020 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Cisco AnyConnect |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenVPN if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.3k GitHub stars
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or OpenVPN better?
Headscale is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenVPN if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Headscale and OpenVPN free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and OpenVPN under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and OpenVPN with Docker?
Headscale: yes. OpenVPN: yes.