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Tailscale vs Tinc Mesh VPN: catalog facts
Tailscale	Tinc Mesh VPN
Freemium The Personal plan is free forever with unlimited devices for up to 6 users. Paid plans…	Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0; donations are accepted.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Command line	Android
Devices reach each other through NAT and firewalls without port forwarding or a public IP Free Personal plan with unlimited user devices for up to 6 users	Works without root Uses standard tinc configuration files
Sign-in goes through an identity provider, so an account is required The coordination server is a hosted service; running your own means using a separate project such as Headscale	Router mode only Connects to only one tinc network at a time
Downloadable app, Hosted service	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: GPL-3.0-only
Account needed	No account needed
Needs internet	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.