Is Headscale worth the price?
Headscale offers an incredibly generous pricing model, as it is entirely free.
This makes it an exceptionally fair and accessible option compared to any paid alternatives. It's best for individuals and organizations looking for a cost-free, self-hosted Tailscale control plane.
Pricing Plans
Free
Free
- BSD-3-Clause License
- Open source
- Self-hosted
- Tailscale control server
- Community support
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Requires your own infrastructure
Time for setup and maintenance
No official vendor support
Potential for custom development
Which Plan Do You Need?
Cost-conscious users
Self-hosting enthusiasts
Open-source advocates
How Headscale Compares to Competitors
Headscale, being free and self-hosted, directly competes with Tailscale's own free tier, which has user limits, and their paid plans starting at $5/user/month. Unlike Tailscale, Headscale has no user or device limits, offering significant savings for larger deployments at the cost of self-management.
Headscale Pricing FAQ
How much does Headscale cost?
Headscale is free to use. No subscription or one-time fee is required for the core product.
Does Headscale have a free plan?
Yes. Headscale offers a free plan called "Free". It includes: BSD-3-Clause License, Open source, Self-hosted.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Headscale?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Headscale include Tailscale, Nebula, Zerotier. Free alternatives include Tailscale, Nebula, Zerotier. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Headscale
3 of 3 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
