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Best / Mesh VPN

Best open-source Mesh VPN

The best self-hosted mesh VPN in the c17.io catalog is Headscale (Tailscale-compatible control server — the published stack), with NetBird for their own clients and UI, wg-easy for a WireGuard admin UI, and Firezone for an Apache-2.0 WireGuard access platform. RustDesk is remote desktop, not a mesh — /stacks/rustdesk-remote. Public tunnels stay on /stacks/frp-tunnel.

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Ranked picks

  1. 1

    Headscale

    BSD-3-Clause Tailscale-compatible control server — the c17 Tailscale stack.

    When to pick it: Official Tailscale clients pointed at a server you run.

    44,763 stars in the catalog

  2. 2

    NetBird

    WireGuard mesh with NetBird clients. Management/signal/relay are AGPL-3.0 from v0.53.0 — /compare/headscale-vs-netbird.

    When to pick it: A WireGuard mesh with NetBird's own UI.

    30,050 stars in the catalog

  3. 3

    wg-easy

    AGPL-3.0 WireGuard plus a web admin UI.

    When to pick it: A single WireGuard box, not a mesh coordination server.

    27,163 stars in the catalog

  4. 4

    Firezone

    Apache-2.0 WireGuard access platform you can self-host.

    When to pick it: Zero-trust style access if Headscale is not the shape.

    9,121 stars in the catalog

How they compare

ToolLicenseSelf-hostBest for
HeadscaleBSD-3-ClauseMediumOfficial Tailscale clients pointed at a server you run.
NetBirdBSD-3-ClauseMediumA WireGuard mesh with NetBird's own UI.
wg-easyGNU Affero General Public License v3.0EasyA single WireGuard box, not a mesh coordination server.
FirezoneApache-2.0MediumZero-trust style access if Headscale is not the shape.

Related pages

FAQ

Headscale or NetBird?
Headscale if you keep official Tailscale clients (the published stack). NetBird if you want their clients and UI — /compare/headscale-vs-netbird.
Is this ngrok?
No. frp is a public tunnel (/replace/ngrok). This page is private mesh networking.
Where is RustDesk?
Remote desktop, not a mesh — /stacks/rustdesk-remote and /replace/teamviewer.
Are these free?
Licenses as listed. You pay the coordination box. Template users never pay c17.
How do I deploy Headscale?
Open /stacks/headscale-vpn. Persist the database, issue a preauth key, join one client.

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