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Headscale VS NetBird

Compare Headscale VS NetBird and see what are their differences

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Headscale logo Headscale

An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server

NetBird logo NetBird

Connect your devices into a single secure private WireGuard®-based mesh network with SSO/MFA and manage access with just a few clicks.
  • Headscale Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20
  • NetBird Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20

Headscale features and specs

  • Open Source
    Headscale is open-source, meaning it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This promotes transparency and encourages community collaboration.
  • Tailscale Compatibility
    Headscale is designed to be compatible with the Tailscale client, allowing users to leverage their existing Tailscale configurations in an alternative backend.
  • Self-Hosted
    Headscale allows users to self-host their own coordination server, providing greater control over their network and data privacy.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, Headscale benefits from community-driven support and contributions, which may lead to rapid feature development and issue resolution.
  • Scalability
    Users can scale their deployments according to their needs without being restricted by commercial licensing models.

Possible disadvantages of Headscale

  • Technical Expertise Required
    Implementing and maintaining a self-hosted solution like Headscale requires a certain level of technical knowledge and expertise, potentially limiting its accessibility to less technical users.
  • Limited Official Support
    Being a community-driven project, Headscale may not have the same level of official support or comprehensive documentation as some commercial alternatives.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Configuring and managing a self-hosted Headscale server can be more complex compared to using managed solutions like Tailscale, potentially posing a challenge for some users.
  • Feature Parity
    While Headscale aims to be compatible with Tailscale, there may be some features or updates that are not immediately available or fully supported.
  • Development Reliance
    As an independent project, Headscale's development relies heavily on community contributions, which can affect the speed of updates or new feature integrations.

NetBird features and specs

  • Easy Setup
    NetBird offers a straightforward setup process, which allows users to quickly configure and deploy a secure network without needing extensive technical knowledge.
  • Enhanced Security
    The platform provides robust security features, such as end-to-end encryption and zero-trust architecture, to ensure safe and secure communications across devices and networks.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    NetBird is designed to work across various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and more, providing flexibility and interoperability for users with different devices.
  • Scalability
    NetBird allows for easy scaling to accommodate growing networks or expanding user bases, making it suitable for both small teams and larger enterprises.
  • Open-Source
    As an open-source solution, NetBird invites contributions from the community, which can lead to continuous improvements and transparency of its code base.

Possible disadvantages of NetBird

  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    The performance of NetBird can be hindered by poor or unstable internet connections, potentially impacting network speed and reliability.
  • Potential Learning Curve
    While the setup is generally user-friendly, users without prior experience in networking may encounter a learning curve when navigating certain advanced features or integrations.
  • Limited Support Resources
    As a relatively new or niche solution, NetBird might not have an extensive library of support resources, tutorials, or community forums compared to more established networking tools.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Although NetBird is cross-platform, there could be occasional compatibility issues with specific hardware or software configurations that require troubleshooting.
  • Resource Intensity
    Running NetBird's security protocols can consume considerable system resources, which might be a concern for users with older or less powerful devices.

Headscale videos

+ Add

Testing out headscale locally for homelab setup

More videos:

  • Review - Tutorial: Using Tailscale Overlay Network VPN with the Self Hosted Headscale Controller

NetBird videos

No NetBird videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Headscale and NetBird)

Headscale

NetBird

VPN
60 60%
VPN
40% 40
Cloud VPN
61 61%
Cloud VPN
39% 39
Security & Privacy
62 62%
Security & Privacy
38% 38
Localhost Tools
57 57%
Localhost Tools
43% 43

User comments

Share your experience with using Headscale and NetBird. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Headscale should be more popular than NetBird. It has been mentiond 45 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Headscale mentions (45)

  • Set up: VPN - Part 1
    Root@hz-headscale-tmp-1:~# export HEADSCALE_VERSION="0.23.0" \ && export HEADSCALE_ARCH="arm64" \ && wget --output-document=headscale.deb "https://github.com/juanfont/headscale/releases/download/v${HEADSCALE_VERSION}/headscale_${HEADSCALE_VERSION}_linux_${HEADSCALE_ARCH}.deb" <...redacted for brevity..> 2024-09-28 12:24:54 (189 MB/s) - ‘headscale.deb’ saved [17022910/17022910]. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • The New Internet
    > I still have to rely on a landlord. This is a very good point. Counterpoint is self-hosting Headscale which I mentioned in another comment here: https://github.com/juanfont/headscale Works with native Tailscale clients with a few config changes. I use it myself. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • SSH has become our universal (Unix) external access protocol
    Tailscale is just a commercial service that builds upon wireguard. It automatically generates certificates for each of your devices, ensures they're rotated and up to date, automatically configures routing and DNS between your devices and offers some additional functionality. Tailscale has open source clients but a proprietary server to do this, but you can use the open source alternative headscale instead: - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • List of ngrok/Cloudflare Tunnel alternatives and other tunneling software and services. Focus on self-hosting.
    Headscale - Open source implementation of Tailscale control server. Can be used with Tailscale's official open source client. Written in Go. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Securely Accessing Private AWS Resources from GitHub Actions with TailScale
    One more thing, you can host Tailscale Control Server yourself if you want, which is a plus. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

NetBird mentions (10)

  • Accessing GitHub Action runners using Netbird
    Recently I've been looking at VPN solutions, specifically ones built around WireGuard, that take away some of the manual steps required to manage a large scale deployment. After building proof of concept solutions with several of these offers, I settled on NetBird. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • The New Internet
    Or https://netbird.io which is open-source. You can host the coordination server too :). - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • AWS Lambda Serverless Security. Mistakes, Oversights, and Potential Vulnerabilities
    The best way to securely connect your functions to your other resources is with an encrypted mesh network like NetBird. NetBird lets you link your infrastructure together using a zero-config private WireGuard network that works across cloud, serverless, and on-premise infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Using NetBird for Kubernetes Access
    NetBird simplifies Kubernetes access with its zero-configuration approach, leveraging WireGuard's simplicity and strength. It seamlessly integrates with various tools, offering transparency and high reliability as an open source solution. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • NetMaker: Connect Everything with a WireGuard VPN
    I'd add to that list Netbird, which is the one I ended up using after trying all of the above. https://netbird.io/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Headscale and NetBird, you can also consider the following products

TailScale - Private networks made easy Connect all your devices using WireGuard, without the hassle. Tailscale makes it as easy as installing an app and signing in.

zrok - Next-generation sharing platform built on top of OpenZiti

ZeroTier - Extremely simple P2P Encrypted VPN

Netmaker - Netmaker automates mesh VPN's and software-defined networks using WireGuard.

WireGuard - Fast, Modern, Secure VPN Tunnel

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

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