Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

TailScale VS ZeroTier

Compare TailScale VS ZeroTier and see what are their differences

TailScale logo 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.

ZeroTier logo ZeroTier

Extremely simple P2P Encrypted VPN
  • TailScale Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-17
  • ZeroTier Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-29

TailScale

$ Details
Release Date
2019 January
Startup details
Country
Canada
State
Ontario
City
Toronto
Founder(s)
Avery Pennarun
Employees
10 - 19

TailScale features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    TailScale is easy to set up and configure. It provides a user-friendly interface and automates many complex networking tasks, making it accessible even for those with limited networking knowledge.
  • Security
    TailScale uses WireGuard for its underlying encryption, providing strong security for data transmitted across the network. End-to-end encryption ensures that your data remains safe from interception.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    TailScale supports a wide range of operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, allowing for seamless integration across various devices and platforms.
  • Scalability
    TailScale can easily scale from small to large networks, making it suitable for both individual use and enterprise-level deployments.
  • NAT Traversal
    TailScale provides automatic NAT traversal, which simplifies the process of connecting devices behind different routers and firewalls without requiring complex port forwarding rules.

Possible disadvantages of TailScale

  • Dependency on TailScale's Infrastructure
    Using TailScale requires reliance on their central coordination servers for initial connection setup and identity management. This could be a concern if the service experiences downtime or other issues.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Since TailScale routes initial connection metadata through their servers, some users may have privacy concerns, especially in highly sensitive environments.
  • Cost
    While TailScale offers a free tier, advanced features and larger-scale deployment options can be costly, potentially making it less suitable for budget-conscious users.
  • Limited Advanced Configuration
    TailScale's simplicity can be a downside for advanced users who require granular control and configuration options that go beyond what TailScale's interface offers.
  • Proprietary Software
    TailScale is a commercial product with proprietary elements, which might not appeal to open-source enthusiasts or organizations that prefer fully open-source solutions.

ZeroTier features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    ZeroTier is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, enabling connectivity across devices with different operating systems.
  • Ease of Use
    Setting up a ZeroTier network is relatively simple, often requiring just a few clicks to get devices connected securely.
  • High Performance
    ZeroTier offers low latency and high throughput, making it suitable for a variety of applications including gaming, file sharing, and real-time communications.
  • Security
    ZeroTier provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring that data transmitted over the network is secure from interception and unauthorized access.
  • Scalability
    The service scales well from small home networks to large enterprise environments, allowing for flexible network size and complexity.
  • Cost-Effective
    ZeroTier offers a free tier with robust features along with affordable paid plans, making it accessible for personal use and small to medium-sized businesses.

Possible disadvantages of ZeroTier

  • Complexity for Advanced Configurations
    While basic setup is straightforward, advanced configurations may require more technical expertise and understanding of networking principles.
  • Dependency on Cloud Service
    ZeroTier's functionality partially relies on its cloud service components, which could be a potential point of failure or concern for those requiring full on-premises solutions.
  • Usage Limits on Free Tier
    The free tier has limitations on the number of nodes and network configurations, which may not be suitable for larger networks or advanced use cases.
  • Potential Privacy Concerns
    As with any cloud-based service, there could be concerns regarding data privacy and control, despite ZeroTier's use of end-to-end encryption.
  • Limited Official Support for Free Users
    Users on the free plan have limited access to official support, which could be an issue if they encounter complex problems or need timely assistance.

TailScale videos

The Byte - Tailscale Private networks made easy

ZeroTier videos

ZeroTier VS VPN and A Look At The Data Stream With Wireshark

More videos:

  • Review - Introducing the ZeroTier Edge
  • Review - Talking about ZeroTier VPN!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to TailScale and ZeroTier)
VPN
67 67%
33% 33
Security & Privacy
57 57%
43% 43
Cloud VPN
51 51%
49% 49
Cloud Storage
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare TailScale and ZeroTier

TailScale Reviews

  1. Raoul Steadman

    They make the already great wireguard even better! Installation and configuration is a breeze, can easily connect to machines behind firewall(s) without altering anything.

    Definitely made life easier.


7 Ngrok Alternatives & Competitors for App Tunneling, Free & Paid
Tailscale allows you to create a secure virtual private network between your servers, computers, and cloud instances using the WireGuard protocol from a binary executable.
Source: onboardbase.com

ZeroTier Reviews

Top Hamachi Alternatives for Virtual LAN Gaming in 2023
ZeroTier has fewer restrictions on this app. Also, it supports almost all operating systems. It has its own Android and iOS mobile applications. It not just offers VPN services but also provides SDN. The community of ZeroTier is huge; if you ever get stuck with your app or the LAN party, a community will always be able to help you out.
Best Free Hamachi Alternatives For You To Try in 2022
ZeroTier is the close second of the hamachi alternatives. The best trait of the tool is that instead of Windows, you can use ZeroTier on Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux devices. Single software to meet all your VPN needs on different devices and platforms. The tool is quite smart and is not at all like the traditional VPN tools.
15 Best Hamachi Alternatives for Gaming in Virtual LAN (Latest 2021)
ZeroTier creates a safe & secure network between computers, cloud, and mobile devices through its P2P functionality.
Source: growtechy.com
The 10 Best Open Source VPN Apps
According to the makers themselves, ZeroTier is a network hypervisor that allows users to create a virtual network. Accordingly, referring to ZeroTier as simply a VPN client would be an injustice to it. Users who are just looking for a VPN can also opt for this open-source software. Using this software, you won’t have to worry about different websites accessing your location...
11 Best Hamachi Alternatives for Virtual LAN Gaming
ZeroTier also supports almost all operating systems and also has its own Android and iOS mobile applications. It not just offers VPN services but also provides SDN. ZeroTier has a huge community and you won’t have to worry if you get into any trouble while setting up your LAN party. It offers low ping and even though it’s a VPN client it’s useful to setup Virtual LAN parties.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, TailScale seems to be a lot more popular than ZeroTier. While we know about 518 links to TailScale, we've tracked only 35 mentions of ZeroTier. 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.

TailScale mentions (518)

  • Optimizing My Dev Workflow in 2025
    I had 2 old laptops sitting around, both 10 years old. I turned both into a home server. Installed Ubuntu Server, set up Docker, and now I run all my containers remotely. With Tailscale, I can securely connect to it like it's on the same network. This way, my MacBook doesn't have to run MongoDB, Redis, or RabbitMQ anymore. That alone freed up a lot of memory. I can even run other services like HomeAssistant,... - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • Again self-hosting! on k3s
    Then I wanted to add Tailscle which besides being a "best in class VPN" for the homelabbers, allows you to add k8s services directly into your tailnet. What does it mean? The Tailscale operator allows you to access your k8s applications only when you are logged into your private Network (tailnet), with the usage of your domain for ended with ts.net. You can configure it in two ways on the resource side, with... - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • Ask HN: What is the most secure way of baby monitoring?
    I dunno if the CIA would trust them but I like Amcrest cameras https://amcrest.com/ because they have a wide range of different price points and capabilities. Use these with software like https://zoneminder.com/ which you could run on a cheap Linux box. For secure access use https://tailscale.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • 3 Best Ngrok Alternatives
    Tailscale is a tunneling platform built on open-source code. DevZero and other companies leverage a handful of Tailscale’s source components in their own development environments. Why? Because being open-source means that Tailscale’s software/code is much easier to understand and manipulate, more cost-efficient, and more transparent. Tailscale takes pride in this. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • How I Use Home Assistant in 2025
    Just put tailscale [1] on all of your devices and forget about the problem. It may be technically a vpn but it's much easier to use. [1] https://tailscale.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
View more

ZeroTier mentions (35)

  • Setup a Local Wifi Lan
    If you just want to connect between your devices, you don't need any hardware. Just install zerotier on them. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Father and Son family time not working :( LAN or Portforwarding hosting server on same network not working
    Hi there, I've tried hosting a server on my computer and then both my Dad and I try to play together. However, it's only worked once or twice when I hosted from playtogether.gg or when it worked once with the zerotier.com method. I've portforwarded, I've made sure both our firewalls were allowing 10578, nothing seems to work. We both have Skyrim Together fully installed on our SSE, and we just want it to work :(... Source: over 2 years ago
  • I'm speechless for services like Tailscale, what's the downside?
    I lived under a rock, and only today I found a service called Tailscale.com . I think other provider offers the same thing, one alternative seems to be zerotier.com. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Lab simulators
    I set up EVE-ng on a google cloud VM. Then immediately the question was how do I get access to the lab equip? I found this video explaining how to set up a virtual nic on the eve-ng VM, connect that to a cloud network in eve-ng, then connect mgmt interfaces from your devices to that. Then he used zerotier.com to setup a quick ssl vpn. Now I can turn off all inbound access to the VM and access all my lab... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Cheap and cheerful router with block list?
    I prefer Routerboard with arm cpu, because it support running ZeroTier and docker containers. Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing TailScale and ZeroTier, you can also consider the following products

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

Hamachi - Hamachi is a VPN service scaled to the unique needs of business owners.

WireGuard - Fast, Modern, Secure VPN Tunnel

Freelan - You are in control. Why would you trust a closed, proprietary software with your most-sensitive data ? Freelan is open-source and completely free. You know everything about its internals and its source-code.

ngrok - ngrok enables secure introspectable tunnels to localhost webhook development tool and debugging tool.

Tunnello VPN - Fast VPN that unblocks internet and protects your privacy