# Private and open-source alternatives to Tailscale

1. [Headscale](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/headscale/) (our pick): B (82/100). Self-hosted, open-source implementation of the Tailscale coordination server, letting official Tailscale clients join a private network without using Tailscale's hosted service.
2. [innernet](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/innernet/): B (88/100). Open-source private network system built on WireGuard, with a self-hosted server that manages peers, CIDR-based groups and access rules.
3. [tinc](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/tinc/): B (88/100). Long-running open-source VPN daemon that builds an encrypted mesh between nodes, sending traffic directly to its destination where possible, with no central server.
4. [Defguard](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/defguard/): B (82/100). Self-hosted WireGuard VPN platform with multi-factor authentication on every connection, identity management and access rules, from a company in Poland.
5. [ionscale](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/ionscale/): B (76/100). Open-source, self-hosted Tailscale control server with support for multiple tailnets, OIDC login, ACLs and DNS, used with the official Tailscale clients.
6. [Nebula](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/nebula/): C (71/100). Overlay networking tool originally built at Slack that connects hosts over mutually authenticated, encrypted tunnels using its own certificate authority and firewall rules, with self-hosted lighthouse nodes for discovery.
7. [NetBird](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/netbird/): C (71/100). WireGuard-based mesh VPN and zero-trust access platform with open-source clients and a management server that can be self-hosted or used as NetBird's hosted service.
8. [Firezone](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/firezone/): D (59/100). Zero-trust remote access platform built on WireGuard, with clients, gateways and a control plane for group-based access policies. Mostly offered as a hosted service; self-hosting the control plane is not officially supported.
9. [OpenZiti](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/openziti/): D (59/100). Open-source zero-trust networking platform from NetFoundry that connects apps and devices through an overlay of self-hosted routers and a controller, with tunneler apps and SDKs.
10. [Netmaker](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/netmaker/): D (50/100). WireGuard-based platform for building mesh and site-to-site networks, with an open-source server that can be self-hosted and a hosted cloud version.
11. [Husarnet](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/husarnet/): D (44/100). Peer-to-peer VPN from a company in Poland, built for robotics and IoT, that gives each device an IPv6 address derived from its public key, with a hosted dashboard and relay servers.
12. [ZeroTier](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/zerotier/): F (38/100). Peer-to-peer virtual network platform that joins devices into encrypted virtual Ethernet networks, managed through ZeroTier's hosted controller or a self-hosted one.
13. [NordVPN Meshnet](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/nordvpn-meshnet/): F (29/100). Free mesh networking feature of the NordVPN apps that links devices directly over NordLynx, a WireGuard-based protocol. Meshnet is free to use.
14. [Twingate](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/twingate/): F (24/100). Hosted zero-trust remote access service that connects devices to private resources through connectors on the customer's network, managed from Twingate's cloud controller.
15. [Cloudflare Mesh](https://privacyratings.com/mesh-vpns/cloudflare-mesh/): F (18/100). Private networking in Cloudflare One that gives devices and servers running the WARP client or connector private addresses, with all traffic passing through Cloudflare's network.

Source: https://privacyratings.com/alternatives/tailscale/