What is the best alternative to Tailscale on Mac?

Little Snitch is our top pick. It shares Security & privacy with Tailscale and has 116 upvotes from the community. OverSight and Raycast are close behind.

What is the best free alternative to Tailscale on Mac?

OverSight is the best-ranked free alternative to Tailscale. 8 of the alternatives listed here are completely free.

Is there an open-source alternative to Tailscale?

Yes. 13 alternatives are open source, including OverSight, Proton Pass and Zed.

How many alternatives to Tailscale are there for Mac?

Mac App Index lists 24 apps that share a category with Tailscale: 8 completely free, 10 free to start and 13 open source.

Best Tailscale alternatives for Mac

Tailscale is a free-to-start app in Developer tools and Security & privacy. We found 24 Mac apps that cover the same ground. Of those, 8 are completely free, 10 are free to start and 13 are open source. Little Snitch leads on overlap and community votes, followed by OverSight and Raycast.

The app you want to replace

Tailscale

Private network across your devices

Free + in-app · Developer tools and Security & privacy

View Tailscale

24 alternatives to Tailscale

How we picked: every app here shares at least one category with Tailscale. Apps that also share features rank higher, and community upvotes break ties. Price and licence never buy a better spot. How we rank apps

1
Little Snitch
See and control outgoing connections
116PaidMenu bar
- Also in Security & privacy
- Menu bar
- One-time purchase
2
OverSight
Alerts when your mic or camera turns on
25FreeMenu bar
- Also in Security & privacy
- Menu bar
- Free
- Open source
3
Hot
Raycast
A faster launcher with superpowers
140Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
4
Proton Pass
End-to-end encrypted password manager
101Free + in-appSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Open source
5
Postico 2
PostgreSQL client for Mac
85$69.99Developer tools
- Also in Developer tools
- One-time purchase
6
Transmit 5
File transfer for servers and cloud storage
84SubscriptionDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
7
Zed
Code editor built for speed and collaboration
83Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Open source
8
Proxyman
Inspect and debug HTTP traffic
82Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
9
Signal
Private messaging with end-to-end encryption
78FreeCommunication
- Also in Security & privacy
- Free
- Open source
10
Strongbox
Password manager for KeePass files
75Free + in-appSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Open source
11
Proton VPN
VPN with a free plan
59Free + in-appSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Open source
12
Sublime Text
Fast text editor for code and prose
54$99Developer tools
- Also in Developer tools
- One-time purchase
13
Xcode
Apple's IDE for every Apple platform
43FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Free
14
Cryptomator
Encrypt files before they reach the cloud
42FreeSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Free
- Open source
15
iTerm2
Terminal replacement for macOS
38FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Free
- Open source
16
Bitwarden
Open-source password manager
36Free + in-appSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Open source
17
KeePassXC
Offline password manager
29FreeSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Free
- Open source
18
Cyberduck
Open-source browser for servers and cloud storage
28$23.99Developer tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Open source
- One-time purchase
19
Ghostty
Fast, native terminal emulator
26FreeDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
- Free
- Open source
20
BBEdit
Professional text and code editor
25Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
21
Wipr 2
Simple ad blocker for Safari
21$4.99Security & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- One-time purchase
22
TablePlus
Native client for many databases
20Free + in-appDeveloper tools
- Also in Developer tools
23
1Blocker
Ad and tracker blocker for Safari
18Free + in-appSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
24
LuLu
Free open-source firewall
17FreeSecurity & privacy
- Also in Security & privacy
- Free
- Open source

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Tailscale on Mac?: Little Snitch is our top pick. It shares Security & privacy with Tailscale and has 116 upvotes from the community. OverSight and Raycast are close behind.
What is the best free alternative to Tailscale on Mac?: OverSight is the best-ranked free alternative to Tailscale. 8 of the alternatives listed here are completely free.
Is there an open-source alternative to Tailscale?: Yes. 13 alternatives are open source, including OverSight, Proton Pass and Zed.
How many alternatives to Tailscale are there for Mac?: Mac App Index lists 24 apps that share a category with Tailscale: 8 completely free, 10 free to start and 13 open source.