Tailscale vs Twingate (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Tailscale if

• Fits if you want to reach a home computer, NAS or server from outside without opening ports
• Works for a small team that needs a private link between laptops and servers

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to see and control a remote screen, because it only connects devices and needs a separate remote desktop tool
• Not for you if the network is for work and you want it free, as Personal is non-commercial only
• Tight if you need more than 3 ACL groups on the free plan, since Standard at $8 a user raises that to 10
• Pricey if you need just-in-time access or flow logs, which start on Premium at $18 per user a month
• Watch out: the coordination server is closed source, per Tailscale's own open source page

Pick Twingate if

• Fits if you are a small team that wants to retire a company VPN
• Works for homelabs, where the Home plan costs $15 a month for up to 7 users

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you grow past 5 users, as the free Starter plan stops there
• Watch out: Teams is capped at 100 users and Business at 500, then it's Enterprise through sales
• Watch out: the Home plan is limited to non-commercial use
• Watch out: only one set of prices is shown, and the monthly-billing prices aren't displayed

Tailscale

• Tailscale connects devices into a network; it does not show a remote screen by itself, so desktop access still needs a remote desktop or VNC program running over it.
• The Personal plan is for non-commercial use only, and a tailnet on a company domain is treated as business use.
• Just-in-time access, network flow logs and log streaming need Premium at $18 per user / month.
• Tailscale's open source page says the clients and relay servers are open source but the coordination server is closed source; Headscale is a separate community-built alternative.

Twingate

• The free Starter plan stops at 5 users and 50 resources.
• Teams is capped at 100 users and Business at 500; larger accounts need Enterprise through sales.
• The Home plan is limited to non-commercial use.
• Only one set of prices is shown; the monthly-billing prices behind the yearly view are not displayed.

Tailscale

Private network between devices

Each signed-in device joins a tailnet and can connect to the others directly, so a personal computer or a server can be reached from outside without public-facing ports.

Subnet routers and exit nodes

A subnet router lets devices that cannot run Tailscale be reached through one that can, and an exit node sends internet traffic out through a chosen device.

Tailscale SSH

SSH access to servers is authorized by the same identity and access rules as the rest of the tailnet. Advanced SSH features are on Premium.

Access control with ACL groups

Rules decide which users and tagged resources can reach each other. The number of ACL groups rises from 3 on Personal to 10 on Standard and 300 on Premium.

Admin and identity controls

Paid plans add SCIM user provisioning, MDM configuration and device posture checks; Premium adds just-in-time access, flow logs and log streaming.

Free tier for home use

The Personal plan covers unlimited devices for up to 6 users at no charge, for non-commercial use such as a homelab or a home network.

Twingate

VPN replacement

Staff reach office networks, cloud VPCs and other private resources through Twingate clients instead of a VPN gateway.

Least-privilege access rules

Access is granted per resource and per user or group, and the Teams plan adds automated least-privilege policies.

Device and identity checks

Conditional access is on every plan, with native device posture checks and endpoint integrations on higher plans.

Identity provider sign-in

Teams supports SSO through Google Workspace; Business adds Okta, Entra ID and automatic user provisioning from the IdP.

Privileged access to infrastructure

The Business plan lists privileged access for Kubernetes, SSH, databases and web apps, marked with an asterisk on the pricing page.

Apps for most platforms

The download page lists Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and a Chrome client.

Tailscale

• Personal$0

  Non-commercial use only. Unlimited user devices, up to 6 users, up to 3 ACL groups, up to 50 tagged resources and 1,000 minutes a month for ephemeral resources.

• Standard$8

  per user / month

  Unlimited users, SCIM, up to 10 ACL groups, MDM configuration, device posture integrations and advanced user roles.

• Premium$18

  per user / month

  Up to 300 ACL groups, 10,000 ephemeral minutes a month, just-in-time access, advanced Tailscale SSH, network flow logs and log streaming.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom device limits, a custom MSA, custom tailnet subdomains, solutions engineer help and invoice payment. Sold through sales.

Twingate

• Starter$0

  Up to 5 users and 50 resources, with peer-to-peer connections, split tunneling and conditional access.

• Home$15

  per month for up to 7 users

  For homelabs, adds service accounts, exit networks and device posture checks. Non-commercial use only.

• Teams$5

  per user / month (page's yearly view; monthly not shown)

  Up to 100 users, SSO via Google Workspace, SaaS app gating and automated least-privilege policies.

• Business$10

  per user / month (page's yearly view; monthly not shown)

  Up to 500 users, IdP provisioning, SSO via Okta or Entra ID, endpoint integrations and just-in-time access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom account sizes, custom MSA and SLAs, invoice payment, geoblocking and static IPs. Sold through sales.

Tailscale

• Other savings

  Free for open-source projects

  Tailscale's about page says the service is free for open-source projects.

Twingate

• Annual discount

  15% off with yearly billing

  The pricing page labels yearly billing on Teams and Business as 15% off.