Best Headscale Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 platforms from business VPN software ranked against Headscale on the same published basis.
- 1Headscale vs Cloudflare Access
- 2Headscale vs F5 BIG-IP APM
- 3Headscale vs ZeroTier
- 4Headscale vs Alibaba Cloud VPN Gateway
- 5Headscale vs Cato SASE Platform
- 6Headscale vs Netskope One Private Access
- 7Headscale vs SonicWall Cloud Secure Edge
- 8Headscale vs Octelium
- 9Headscale vs Pomerium
- 10Headscale vs Prisma Access
- 11Headscale vs WatchGuard FireCloud
- 12Headscale vs NetFoundry
- 13Headscale vs SoftEther VPN
- 14Headscale vs OpenVPN Access Server
- 15Headscale vs NetBird
- 16Headscale vs Barracuda Secure SD-WAN
- 17Headscale vs GoodAccess
- 18Headscale vs Outline VPN
- 19Headscale vs Tailscale
- 20Headscale vs OPNsense
Headscale alternatives compared
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloudflare Access | 8.7 | Free plan | $7/mo | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 2 | F5 BIG-IP APM | 8.3 | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows | ||
| 3 | ZeroTier | 8.2 | Free plan | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows | |
| 4 | Alibaba Cloud VPN Gateway | 8.1 | No | $0.05/mo | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Cato SASE Platform | 8.0 | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows | ||
| 6 | Netskope One Private Access | 7.9 | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows | ||
| 7 | SonicWall Cloud Secure Edge | 7.9 | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows | ||
| 8 | Octelium | 7.8 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 9 | Pomerium | 7.8 | Free plan | $7/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 10 | Prisma Access | 7.7 | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows | ||
| 11 | WatchGuard FireCloud | 7.7 | No | $8.15/mo | Android, API, iOS, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 12 | NetFoundry | 7.7 | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows | ||
| 13 | SoftEther VPN | 7.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 14 | OpenVPN Access Server | 7.5 | Free plan | $7/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 15 | NetBird | 7.5 | Free plan | €6/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 16 | Barracuda Secure SD-WAN | 7.5 | API, self-hosted | ||
| 17 | GoodAccess | 7.4 | Free plan | $9/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 18 | Outline VPN | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 19 | Tailscale | 7.3 | Free plan | $1/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 20 | OPNsense | 7.3 | Free plan | API, self-hosted, Web |
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Questions about Headscale alternatives
What is the best alternative to Headscale?
Cloudflare Access, number 1 in business VPN software with a score of 8.7 out of 10. The others here: F5 BIG-IP APM, ZeroTier, Alibaba Cloud VPN Gateway and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Headscale?
Cloudflare Access is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.