Netmaker vs tinc
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?
Netmaker
WireGuard-based virtual networks with a management server
VS
tinc
VPN daemon that builds an encrypted mesh network
| Feature | Netmaker | tinc |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,740 | ★ 2,233 |
| First released | 2021 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Tailscale, ZeroTier | Hamachi, ZeroTier |
Why pick each one
Choose Netmaker if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.7k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose tinc if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Netmaker or tinc better?
Neither is universally better. Netmaker has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Netmaker and tinc free and open-source?
Yes. Netmaker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tinc under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Netmaker and tinc with Docker?
Netmaker: yes. tinc: check the project docs for container support.