Headscale vs ZeroTier
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
ZeroTier
Global virtual network for connecting devices anywhere
| Feature | Headscale | ZeroTier |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSL-1.1 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42,612 | ★ 16,988 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Tailscale |
Why pick each one
Choose ZeroTier if…
- Released under the BSL-1.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 17k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Headscale or ZeroTier 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 ZeroTier free and open-source?
Yes. Headscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and ZeroTier under BSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headscale and ZeroTier with Docker?
Headscale: yes. ZeroTier: yes.