innernet 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.
| Feature | innernet | Netmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,553 | ★ 11,800 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Tailscale | Tailscale, ZeroTier |
What are innernet and Netmaker?
innernet
innernet is a private mesh network system built on WireGuard with a focus on simplicity and security. It uses a server to coordinate peers organized into networks and CIDRs.
- WireGuard-based mesh
- CIDR-organized peers
- Simple coordination server
- Lightweight Rust implementation
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
innernet vs Netmaker: key differences
Innernet is written in Rust, while Netmaker is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for innernet versus Apache-2.0 for Netmaker. Innernet is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Netmaker. Netmaker has the considerably larger community, at 11,800 GitHub stars versus 5,553. Netmaker lists first-class Docker deployment; innernet does not.
Why pick each one
Choose innernet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
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 innernet or Netmaker better?
Netmaker is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider innernet if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are innernet and Netmaker free and open-source?
Yes. innernet is licensed under MIT and Netmaker under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run innernet and Netmaker with Docker?
innernet: check the project docs for container support. Netmaker: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, innernet or Netmaker?
innernet has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Netmaker. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.