Headscale vs OpenVPN

Comparing two open source alternatives to ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Headscale

BSD-3-Clause license

Headscale is an open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. Build your own private WireGuard mesh VPN without a vendor lock-in.

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OpenVPN

GPL-2.0

OpenVPN is an open source VPN daemon

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Side-by-side comparison

	Headscale	OpenVPN
License	BSD-3-Clause license	GPL-2.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	44,515	14,661
Forks	2,624	3,407
Open Issues	133	225
Last Commit	Oct 10, 2026	Oct 10, 2026
First Released	Jun 21, 2020	Apr 26, 2012
Categories	Virtual Private Network	Virtual Private Network
Tags	#VPN #wireguard #tailscale	#security #VPN

GitHub stars over time

Headscale44,515

OpenVPN

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