Dropbear vs Tailscale
Dropbear
matt.ucc.asn.au
Tailscale
tailscale.comSide by side
| Figure | Dropbear | Tailscale |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $1/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 8 |
| Spec score · SSH Server Software | 8.3 (#9) | 8.8 (#4) |
| Intended use | The maker says Dropbear is particularly useful for embedded Linux or other Unix systems, such as wireless routers. | The Personal plan is for individuals and is only suitable for non-commercial use; the pricing page gives homelabs and home VPNs as examples. |
| Support | The maker offers a low-volume mailing list for release notifications and general discussion. | Tailscale provides documentation, a support request form, community channels, and plan-dependent support levels; Premium lists priority support. |
Plans
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
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.