Headscale vs OpenZiti
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
OpenZiti
Programmable zero-trust networking platform
| Feature | Headscale | OpenZiti |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42,612 | ★ 4,336 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Cloudflare Access |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenZiti if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (4.3k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or OpenZiti better?
Headscale is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenZiti if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Headscale and OpenZiti free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and OpenZiti under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and OpenZiti with Docker?
Headscale: yes. OpenZiti: yes.