Headscale vs Cloudflare Mesh: privacy compared
Headscale and Cloudflare Mesh are both rated in mesh VPNs and private networks against the same 7 public criteria. Headscale does better on open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, keys stay on devices and self-hosted coordination server. Cloudflare Mesh does better on independent audit.
| Criterion | Headscale Our pick | Cloudflare Mesh |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade B B (82/100) | Grade F F (18/100) |
| Jurisdiction | Unknown | United States Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Yes source | No |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | Yes source | No source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | No | Partial source |
| Keys stay on devices Is traffic encrypted between devices with private keys created on each device, so the coordination server and relays cannot read it? | Yes source | No source |
| Self-hosted coordination server Can the coordination or control server be self-hosted with open-source software? | Yes source | No |
| No connection logs by default Are connection logs and client diagnostic logs kept off the vendor's servers unless a user or admin turns them on? | Partial source | Partial source |
Summaries
Headscale. Headscale scores 82 out of 100 (grade B) on the mesh VPNs and private networks criteria. It meets 5 of 7 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, keys stay on devices and self-hosted coordination server. It partly meets no connection logs by default. It does not meet independent audit.
Cloudflare Mesh. Cloudflare Mesh scores 18 out of 100 (grade F) on the mesh VPNs and private networks criteria. It partly meets no ads or data sales, independent audit and no connection logs by default. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, keys stay on devices and self-hosted coordination server. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.