head to head · open source
Tailscale vs Tracecat
Tailscale has 36,587 GitHub stars, 3,218 forks, 4,569 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tracecat has 3,804 stars, 416 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tailscale leads on adoption by 862% (36,587 vs 3,804 stars). Tailscale is written in Go under BSD-3-Clause; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Tailscale has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Tracecat 11%. Tailscale was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Tailscale | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 416 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Tailscale if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tracecat if
- You want the Tracecat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Tracecat fits your workflow better
About Tailscale
Tailscale is an open source implementation of a zero configuration VPN built on WireGuard, designed to simplify secure network connectivity across devices. It lives in the network security ecosystem and provides private, encrypted networks without manual firewall or IP management. The project delivers both a daemon ( tailscaled ) and CLI tool ( tailscale ) that enable peer to peer connectivity using WireGuard, augmented with identity based access controls and optional cloud managed features.
read the full Tailscale overview →
About Tracecat
Tracecat is an open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. It lives in the security operations and incident response ecosystem, combining agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management in one Python application. The project is licensed under AGPL 3.0, with a separate paid Enterprise Edition directory and feature gates.
read the full Tracecat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tailscale or Tracecat more popular?
Tailscale has 36,587 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,804. Tailscale has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tailscale and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. Tailscale is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Tailscale and Tracecat?
Tailscale is written in Go and Tracecat in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Tailscale or Tracecat?
Choose Tailscale if you want the larger community (36,587 stars) or its BSD-3-Clause licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.