Tailscale or WireGuard?

New to this? Read How Socketchat works first.

A private network, often called a VPN, links a few computers over the internet so they reach each other as if they shared one Wi-Fi network, and nobody else can reach them. Run the Socketchat server inside one, and your friends’ apps reach it there, so port 7444 never opens to the internet. WireGuard is free, open-source software that makes encrypted links between computers. Tailscale is a service built on WireGuard that does the setup for you: you sign in, and it hands out the keys and addresses. Its private network is called a tailnet. Two terms help with the table below. UDP is a simple way of sending data over the internet, which WireGuard uses. CGNAT (carrier-grade NAT) is when an internet provider puts many homes behind one shared public address, so nothing from outside can connect in to your home.

How they compare

	Tailscale	WireGuard
Setup effort	Low: install an app on each computer and sign in.	Medium: make keys and write a config file for the server and for each friend.
Accounts needed	A Tailscale account for you and for each friend, signed in through an existing account such as Google, Microsoft or GitHub.	None.
Who runs the coordination	Tailscale’s coordination server hands out keys and addresses. When two computers cannot connect directly, Tailscale’s relay servers carry the encrypted traffic.	You do. You write every config and hand it out yourself.
What needs a reachable port	None.	One UDP port on the server, 51820 by default.
Adding or removing a friend	Share the server computer from Tailscale’s admin console, or remove the share.	Add or delete the friend’s entry in the server’s config, then reload it. Adding one also means sending them a config file.
Cost	The Personal plan is free for non-commercial use, for up to 6 users.	Free. A cloud server to run it on costs a small monthly fee.
Works behind CGNAT	Yes, on both ends.	Friends behind CGNAT are fine. The server must not be behind it, so put it on a cloud server.
What friends install	The Tailscale app, signed in.	The WireGuard app and the config file you send them.
Best for	Groups who want it working in minutes, or already use Tailscale.	People who want no outside company and no accounts, and are at ease editing config files.

Pick Tailscale for the quickest setup; pick WireGuard when you want nothing between your friends and your server but software you run.

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Tailscale or WireGuard?

How they compare

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