Tailscale Alternatives (2025)

You're not an enterprise. You don't need SAML integration, SOC 2 compliance, or a sales call to get pricing. You need your devices to connect reliably without complexity or surprise bills.

This guide compares mesh VPN options for personal users and small teams. We'll be honest about trade-offs, including our own product.^*

What Matters for Personal and Small Team Use

Enterprise comparisons focus on the wrong things. Here's what actually matters when you're connecting a handful of devices or a small team:

• Free tier limits - How many devices before you pay?
• Pricing at small scale - What does 5-20 users actually cost?
• Setup without IT - Can you get running in minutes, not hours?
• NAT traversal - Does it work through home routers and CGNAT?
• Reliability - Does it just work, or require babysitting?

The Options

Tailscale

The standard that others are compared against. Tailscale made mesh VPNs accessible with excellent UX and WireGuard encryption.

Good:

• Polished experience, great documentation
• Reliable NAT traversal
• MagicDNS makes device naming easy
• Strong community

Less good for personal/small teams:

• Free tier limited to 3 users
• Pricing jumps to $6/user/month for Starter
• A 10-person team costs $60/month
• Growing feature complexity for simple use cases

Pricing: Free (3 users, 100 devices). Starter $6/user/month.

Verdict: Excellent product, but the free tier squeeze and per-user pricing can add up fast for small teams.

ZeroTier

One of the original software-defined networking tools. More established than Tailscale but feels more DIY.

Good:

• Mature, proven codebase
• Works at large scale
• Self-hosted controller option
• Free tier available (10 devices)

Less good for personal/small teams:

• Interface feels dated
• Steeper learning curve
• NAT traversal less reliable in edge cases
• More configuration required

Pricing: Free (10 devices). Essential $18/month for 10 devices.

Verdict: Solid choice if you're technical and don't mind a rougher experience. The 10-device free limit is restrictive.

Headscale

Open-source, self-hosted Tailscale control server. Uses official Tailscale clients.

Good:

• Full control of your infrastructure
• No per-user fees
• Active community
• Tailscale client compatibility

Less good for personal/small teams:

• You maintain the server
• Setup requires technical expertise
• Some features lag official Tailscale
• No support when things break

Pricing: Free (you host it).

Verdict: Great for technical hobbyists who enjoy the project. Most small teams don't want to maintain infrastructure.

Also-Rans for Personal/Small Team Use

The following tools appear in "Tailscale alternatives" searches but target different audiences. We include them for completeness, but they're not ideal for personal or small team use.

Netmaker

Self-hosted mesh VPN with more enterprise features than Headscale.

Good:

• Full WireGuard configuration control
• Egress gateways and relay servers
• Kubernetes integration
• Active development

Less good for personal/small teams:

• Significant setup complexity
• Requires ongoing maintenance
• Documentation can be sparse
• Overkill for simple networking

Pricing: Free community edition. Pro from $99/month.

Verdict: Built for organizations with dedicated IT. Too much complexity for personal use or small teams without infrastructure expertise.

Twingate

Zero-trust network access focused on replacing enterprise VPNs.

Good:

• Strong identity integration
• Per-resource access controls
• Agentless option for some resources

Less good for personal/small teams:

• Resource/Connector model adds complexity
• Designed for IT departments, not individuals
• Overkill for peer-to-peer mesh networking
• Different mental model than simple mesh

Pricing: Free (5 users). Teams $5/user/month, Business $10/user/month.

Verdict: Usually not a fit for personal or small team use. Built for enterprise zero-trust, not simple device connectivity.

Cloudflare Tunnel

Not a mesh VPN. Exposes services through Cloudflare's network without opening ports.

Good:

• Free tier available
• No client needed for web access
• DDoS protection included

Less good for personal/small teams:

• Not a mesh network (devices don't connect to each other)
• Traffic routes through Cloudflare
• Limited to HTTP/S without client
• Different use case entirely

Pricing: Free tier available.

Verdict: Useful for exposing a web service, but doesn't solve the "connect my devices together" problem.

Our Recommendation

Netrinos

Mesh VPN built specifically for personal use and small teams. Full disclosure: this is our product.

Good:

• 100 devices free for personal use
• Setup in minutes, zero configuration
• Simple pricing: $1/user/month ($10 minimum) for Pro
• 10-person team costs $10/month, not $60
• Direct P2P connections with WireGuard encryption
• Reliable NAT traversal including CGNAT
• Traffic stays between your devices (relay fallback is encrypted end-to-end)

Less good:

• Smaller community than Tailscale
• No SSO integration (yet)
• Fewer platform integrations
• Documentation still growing

Pricing: Free for personal (100 devices). Pro $1/user/month, $10 minimum.

Verdict: Built for the audience this guide targets. If you want simplicity and predictable pricing without enterprise complexity, worth a look.

Quick Comparison

Which Should You Choose?

Personal use / homelab

• Netrinos - 100 devices free, simple setup
• Tailscale - If 3 users is enough and you want the polish
• Headscale - If self-hosting is part of the fun

Small team (5-20 people)

• Netrinos - $10/month flat vs. $30-120/month elsewhere
• Tailscale - If you need SSO or specific integrations worth the premium
• ZeroTier - If your team is technical and prefers DIY

Just want it to work

• Netrinos or Tailscale - Both prioritize simplicity over configuration

^*Pricing verified December 2025. Vendors change limits frequently.