Boundary vs Tailscale
Boundary
developer.hashicorp.com
Tailscale
tailscale.comSide by side
| Figure | Boundary | Tailscale |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $1/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 8 |
| Spec score · SSH Server Software | 9.0 (#1) | 8.8 (#4) |
| Access controls | Boundary supports just-in-time and least-privilege network access, role-based authorization, and single sign-on through OIDC and LDAP. | ACLs use users, groups, IPs, CIDRs, hosts and tags in directional default-deny policies to control which identities can connect. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation set covers CLI, API, domain model, HCP deployment, target connections, HCL configuration, permissions, data security, TLS connections, and filtering. | The documentation includes technical references for ACL policy syntax, CLI, API, OAuth clients and tsnet plus production, security and integration guides. |
| Founded | 2020 | 2019 |
| Identity integrations | Boundary supports identity providers including Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Auth0, and other OIDC-compatible providers, as well as LDAP authentication. | SSO and MFA can use existing providers including Google, Microsoft AD, GitHub, Okta and OneLogin. |
| Rating on Capterra | 0 out of 5 from 0 reviews | 4.9 out of 5 from 7 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 0 out of 5 from 0 reviews | 4.6 out of 5 from 31 reviews |
| Rating on Gartner Peer Insights | No rating shown from 0 reviews | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Self-hosting | Boundary Enterprise is self-managed, while HCP Boundary hosts the control plane and lets customers run private worker proxies. | Users can run the independent Headscale open-source coordination server or self-host DERP relays, but Headscale is community-maintained and outside Tailscale support. |
| System requirements | Production deployments require PostgreSQL with pgcrypto and citext modules, controller and worker network connectivity, and listener-specific load-balancing configuration. | The iOS app requires iOS 16.6 or later, iPadOS 16.6 or later, visionOS 1.0 or later, and tvOS 17.0 or later. |
| What it does | Boundary provides identity-based, authenticated access to servers, databases, applications, and cloud or on-premises infrastructure without direct network access. | Tailscale is an identity-based secure-connectivity platform built on WireGuard that links teams, clouds, CI/CD, IoT, Kubernetes, AI workloads and personal devices. |
Plans
Boundary
- Boundary Community EditionFree
- Boundary Community EditionFree
- HCP Boundary PlusFree
- HCP Boundary StandardFree
- Boundary EnterprisePriced on request
Tailscale
- PersonalFree
- Standard$8 a month
- Premium$18 a month
- Additional tagged resources$1 a month
- Add more tagged resources$1 a month
- Mullvad$5 a month
- Mullvad add-on$5 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Boundary
Boundary provides authenticated, identity-based access to infrastructure without requiring users to connect directly to its underlying network. It supports just-in-time and least-privilege access, role-based authorization, and single sign-on through OIDC or LDAP. Users can reach TCP, SSH, RDP, HTTPS, RDS, Kubernetes, and database targets through familiar clients such as SSH tools, PuTTY, Remote Desktop, database clients, and web browsers. Boundary can broker credentials and integrate with HashiCorp Vault for short-lived dynamic credentials and credential injection. Target discovery can be automated, with dynamic host catalogs for AWS, Azure, and GCP available in HCP Boundary. Deployment options include managed HCP Boundary, optionally with customer-run workers, and self-managed Boundary Enterprise. The Community Edition is listed at free. HCP Boundary Standard and Plus have usage-based billing, with monthly rates per user depending on edition; Standard includes Vault credential injection and audit-log streaming, while Plus adds session recording. Enterprise is self-managed and has full feature parity with HCP Boundary. Boundary supports Terraform, a REST API, CLI, and SDK.
Tailscale
Tailscale is a zero-config VPN for connecting users and devices across a network. It uses WireGuard to form low-latency peer-to-peer connections, which Tailscale says are end-to-end encrypted so it cannot read users’ traffic. Administrators can use access control lists to specify which users may connect to which devices. Supported identity providers handle authentication, and SCIM supports user and group provisioning. Monitoring features include configuration audit logs, network flow logs, webhooks, and log streaming to SIEM partners. Device posture information can be used in connectivity rules. Taildrop transfers files between devices, while node sharing lets users share a node without exposing it to the public internet. The service runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. Personal is free forever for non-commercial use and supports up to six users; Standard costs $8 per user per month. Premium costs $18 per user per month and includes priority support.