Tailscale Reviews

I use Tailscale to connect from outside my local network. I set it up on my server and on multiple clients, including my smartphone (iPhone), laptop, MacBook, and TVs, as well as my parents' TVs which are far from my home. Basically, all the devices that I use to connect to my server.

For the most part, I use it to connect to my media server, which contains a collection of media. I also use it as a DNS server. Since my server has DNS, it spreads to all the devices which I am connected to.

I also use it to connect via SSH to start other clients via Wake-on-LAN. I have been using it every day since June 2025, and it has never given me a problem. I also contacted support for some questions, and the support was great. I am actually really impressed by the product and its support.

The features that I love the most are the simplicity of setting it up. I can do it in about two minutes. I just download the app on the client, use a QR code or a key, and set it up. Another feature is Tailnet, which allows me to manage the devices and organize them.

Because I have been using it since June 2025 and never used it before, coming from a very basic level of knowledge, it was really simple to learn and set up. For me, using Tailscale on all my devices is a definite choice.

I do not think there is anything that I wish would have been better because, honestly, for my use case, it has everything I need. I read that people complain about the maximum number of users that can use it under one account, but that is not my use case. For my use case, it has nothing more that I need. It has everything, and it is perfect for my use case.

I have been using Tailscale since I built my home server, which was in June 2025.

Tailscale is really stable.

Until now, with 20 devices, I still have not encountered any limitation. There is no limitation for now.

I only used customer support one time to ask a question that I do not remember, honestly, but the customer support is really great since they responded really quickly and provided very explanatory answers.

At my home, I never used any other service, but in my previous job, I used OpenVPN. However, it was already set up. I did not know how to set it up. It was a bit more problematic because it had connection problems, but I do not have much experience to analyze and talk about it.

Setting up a Tailscale environment took me maybe 10 minutes on the server and two minutes for every device. With about 20 devices, I set up all my environments in about an hour. If I had to use another VPN service, for example WireGuard, I can assume that it would have taken me far more than an hour, something like two hours at least. That is double the time, and Tailscale takes half the time to set up.

We were really engaged with this product. We talked about everything in my opinion, so I do not think there is anything that I would like to add to Tailscale.

As I said, I only use the basic license, so I cannot give any metrics on ROI. But if I had to think about a company or an organization that uses it, I would think that it surely gives a good ROI since it is really a good application and a good service.

Until now, all costs have been free. I never used a license. I never purchased or bought anything more than the basic free license.

I evaluated WireGuard, which I know is the base of Tailscale, but I chose Tailscale since it is more simple, as I said during this interview. That is the main and only reason I chose Tailscale over WireGuard bare metal.

For my use case, these are the main features that I use and have discovered so far. I do not think I have anything more to add in this area.

I would say to use it because, in my case, it really helped my organization with my setup. I would really suggest people use Tailscale if they ask me. I rate this product a 9.

On-premises

We have been using Tailscale for about four or five months, and we have been using it from the beginning.

For our main use case, we use Tailscale because it creates a peer-to-peer VPN mesh where we host our AWS infrastructure behind it, so the general web cannot directly access it. It is only accessible from authorized systems, such as the one that I have.

A specific example of how we use Tailscale for this peer-to-peer VPN mesh in my daily work is that the entirety of our AWS infrastructure and systems that we use to build at Flyra are behind a private VPN that is accessible using Tailscale. The general web cannot access it, so we ensure that there is nothing unauthorized accessing our servers. Authorized and recognized systems are only able to access the infrastructure and the resources that we want restricted, and that is where Tailscale comes in.

About my main use case, I am fully aware that it is end-to-end encrypted. We maintain access using ACLs, which allows us to fine-tune the fine-grained rules for who can connect and to what.

The best features Tailscale offers are highlighted by the fact that setting up Tailscale was straightforward, at least once you are following the documentation and the guides. The security is valuable, as there are many providers available, but Tailscale fulfills the requirements that we had, allowing us to access and expose internal apps without exposing them to the general internet. The complex site-to-site connections are replaced using VPNs, and we can SSH into our remote desktops or SSH into our EC2 machines in our AWS regions in a secure way.

About the features that make Tailscale stand out for me, with access control lists, we can fine-grain what can be accessed and by whom. It solved our base use case, which is keeping our secured infrastructure behind a private VPN, and that is why we started using it in the first place.

Tailscale has had more positive impacts on my organization regarding security.

Regarding how Tailscale can be improved, I think for free users, there are some limited options. However, we have a paid policy, so we pay Tailscale every month. At some point, we may want to host our own coordination servers, which Tailscale does not have right now. However, it is just a general consideration, and I doubt that we will have that problem soon.

Regarding the needed improvements for paid users, I think things are acceptable. The limits could be higher for free users, and that is all.

I have been a software developer for about two years, and that represents full-time experience.

My advice to others looking into using Tailscale is that if there is a use case where you want to secure your private EC2 instances, the workflows, your Git repositories, and sensitive data, Docker images, Maven builds, Gradle builds, and so forth, behind and away from the general internet and onto your private cloud, Tailscale can act as that link, allowing you access to that private information from authorized systems while also fine-graining that control. I would rate this product a nine out of ten.

I use Tailscale to securely access remote Linux servers for tasks like SSH and system management without exposing services to the public internet. I also access a Linux server with the help of the RDP protocol.

I mainly use Tailscale to securely connect device to device, and it provides authentication and access control between multiple machines, which I found very helpful.

When I mention authentication and access control, it allowed me to access servers from anywhere without worrying about network restrictions and reduced the time spent on setup and troubleshooting.

The biggest benefit of Tailscale is simplicity; it is quick to set up and provides a stable and secure connection. I can set it up with only one command without any manual configuration, which is where I think it is very helpful.

Tailscale has improved remote access efficiency and reduced the complexity of managing secure connections across systems, which is the main point from my perspective.

The only drawback I found is that the subnet routing option in Tailscale is too advanced and sometimes requires advanced networking concepts. A person needs to fully understand it to configure it properly.

I have been using Tailscale for several months from a different account to access remote servers and to test connectivity between systems.

I chose Tailscale because it simplifies VPN setup, and I did not have to deal with port forwarding or complex firewall configurations, which saved a lot of time for me.

When I needed to access a remote Linux server from a different network, instead of configuring port forwarding or a traditional VPN, I used Tailscale to connect securely and directly. It allowed me to perform tasks like SSH access and system checks without exposing the server publicly. I would rate this product a 10 out of 10.

On-premises

Other

My main use case of Tailscale is for creating a VPN between Kubernetes services in Oracle Cloud, other servers, and my PC to connect with them, and I also use it to expose some services, so instead of port forwarding some services of Kubernetes, I use Tailscale, which makes things very easy and usable.

Regarding exposing services, I use Grafana and for Tailscale, I expose that service so I can access it through the VPN instead of port forwarding the service. I also use it to expose a Kafka UI service, and I use Kafka in my job.

The best feature I like in Tailscale is the Tailscale operator, which is a very intelligent way to connect your Kubernetes cluster with any other device.

In my job, Tailscale has reduced the amount of work and headache of having a VPN between servers and cloud, so instead of following a longer and complex process of having a site-to-site VPN and a device with a fixed public IP to connect with the cloud and other spots in Morocco, especially in Tangier, Tailscale simplifies all of that.

It reduces work, so I was supposed to have a complex job that requires technical knowledge to do some networking tasks, but Tailscale provides a very straightforward solution to avoid a lot of work.

I still do not have any issues in mind that need improvement, but if I think about a new feature or something to be improved in the future, I may share it with you.

I have been using the solution for about seven months.

Tailscale is very stable in my experience.

Tailscale's scalability is actually so good; I have not faced any downtime or issues, so every time I use Tailscale, I get what I expect.

Before Tailscale, I used Headscale, which is an open-source implementation of Tailscale. I deployed Headscale to avoid dependencies, but it had many downsides; it did not have an operator for Kubernetes and needed many features, so Headscale was not enough. I also used OpenVPN, but it does not have the integrations and intelligence that Tailscale has, so I am satisfied with Tailscale and I will continue to use it for many months.

I evaluated Headscale, but it was not enough compared to Tailscale.

I think it is a very good solution; however, I think a ten is something very perfect, and I feel Tailscale has many things to do in the future, such as getting more integrations into other things.

For others looking to use Tailscale, I want to tell them you will not regret it ever; Tailscale is a very good and useful solution.

I think it saves me time and money since the current tier I use is the free one, so it saves money and time, and that is good. I give this review a rating of eight out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Other

I use Tailscale to connect to my home server for various tasks, such as checking its status and streaming movies or series from my media server. I also use it to monitor my home surveillance system and collaborate on projects with friends.

Recently, when my server encountered an issue while I was away from home, Tailscale made it incredibly easy to connect remotely, diagnose the problem, and fix it.

Currently, I use Tailscale for a small group of three to five people, and it works flawlessly. It handles our current setup perfectly, though expanding the user limit on the free tier would be a fantastic improvement

One of Tailscale's most valuable attributes is its incredibly straightforward setup. The absolute best feature for me is that it completely eliminates the need for port forwarding on my router, which simplifies network management significantly. The platform is also highly stable; I have been using it for a while now, and it has worked flawlessly.

I have also relied heavily on Tailscale’s official documentation for advanced configurations. For instance, it helped me easily understand and set up Tailscale Funnel, which allows me to share local services over the internet securely without exposing unnecessary network data.

Additionally, when I needed to create specific access rules (ACLs) to restrict which ports my three devices could access, the documentation guided me seamlessly through the configuration. Overall, I am incredibly impressed with their documentation; it is exceptionally detailed, informative, and user-friendly.

I would love to see two specific improvements brought to the Tailscale Android client, both of which are standard in several other VPN applications:

• The app currently lacks the ability to automatically disable the VPN when connected to a specific, trusted network (like a home Wi-Fi network). Having an automated toggle for this would prevent local traffic and local DNS queries from unnecessarily routing through the tailnet when you are already home.
• The current split-tunneling feature only allows you to exclude apps from the VPN. Because of this exclusive-only design, every newly installed app on the device defaults to routing through Tailscale. Introducing an "include" mode, where users can select only a few specific apps to use the VPN while leaving the rest to use the regular internet, would be a massive quality-of-life upgrade.

I have been using Tailscale for a little over a year.

Tailscale has been exceptionally stable. Throughout my entire time using the platform, I have personally experienced zero outages or downtime.

Because Tailscale orchestrates a peer-to-peer mesh network, my devices connect directly to one another. This architectural design provides massive peace of mind: once the initial connection is established, the data path doesn't rely on central infrastructure. Even if Tailscale's control plane faces minor maintenance or a brief degradation, my existing device links remain perfectly active and unaffected. For my home server, media streams, and surveillance setup, the reliability has been rock-solid.

I have not had any direct interactions with Tailscale's technical support team. Because the product is so stable and the official documentation is incredibly detailed, I have been able to handle everything on my own without running into any issues that required escalation.

Prior to adopting Tailscale, I was using a standard WireGuard setup over an IPv6 connection. However, because my home network sits behind Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT), I was entirely dependent on IPv6 to bypass it. This meant I couldn't access my VPN whenever I was on an external network that lacked IPv6 support—which, unfortunately, is still quite common. I ultimately switched to Tailscale because its native NAT traversal handles these environments seamlessly, providing the highly reliable, user-friendly, and maintenance-free alternative I needed.

The initial setup is exceptionally straightforward. On my home server, I deploy Tailscale inside a Docker container using their publicly available templates, which makes it virtually a copy-paste deployment. For my client machines, the process is as simple as downloading the application, logging into my account, and letting the devices connect automatically. The entire onboarding experience is frictionless.

Before choosing Tailscale, I evaluated a few other mesh VPN options, most notably Netbird.

• Pros: Netbird is a very capable, open-source product with a great user interface and a solid architecture.
• Cons: In my testing, Netbird simply wasn't fast enough for my requirements. I noticed a distinct difference in throughput and connection establishment speeds compared to Tailscale.

Ultimately, Tailscale won out because it offered superior performance, lower latency, and a much more mature ecosystem for my specific routing needs.

I am currently utilizing Tailscale's free tier, and it has performed flawlessly. For any individual, hobbyist, or small team looking for a seamless, secure way to remotely access home servers and local devices, I recommend Tailscale without hesitation. It completely eliminates the traditional complexities of remote configuration and networking, making it an absolute no-brainer to deploy.

On-premises