Tailscale and Narrowlink are both open-source solutions for secure remote access and connectivity, but they have different architectures and features. Tailscale is a SaaS platform that offers a zero-config VPN using the WireGuard protocol. It uses a peer-to-peer mesh architecture and aims to be easy to use out of the box. Narrowlink, on the other hand, is a self-hosted platform that uses a client-agent-gateway model to facilitate connectivity. It is designed to be flexible, transparent, and secure.
Both solutions are secure and private, but they have different approaches. Tailscale uses end-to-end encryption between devices, while Narrowlink encrypts data between agents and the gateway. Tailscale devices connect directly to each other, while Narrowlink connects devices through the gateway.
Narrowlink is fully open source, while Tailscale is partially open source. In terms of access control, Narrowlink supports more granular ACLs compared to Tailscale. Narrowlink can be deployed behind a content delivery network (CDN), while Tailscale is not compatible with CDNs.
In terms of publishing services, Tailscale offers a feature called “Funnel” for publishing HTTPS services, while Narrowlink offers
https://narrowlink.com/docs/comparisons/tailscale