Headscale vs Xpra
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
Xpra
Screen for X, persistent remote applications
| Feature | Headscale | Xpra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42,612 | ★ 2,923 |
| First released | 2020 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | NX, Citrix |
Why pick each one
Choose Xpra if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or Xpra 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 Xpra free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Xpra under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and Xpra with Docker?
Headscale: yes. Xpra: check the project docs for container support.