The main difference between Tailscale and WireGuard is that WireGuard is a self-hosted VPN server, while Tailscale adds user authentication and device management to the WireGuard VPN Protocol. Tailscale also relies on cloud servers for authentication and connection, while WireGuard is fully self-hosted and only relies on your private server.

Before looking at Tailscale vs. WireGuard more in-depth below, I want to explain exactly what they both are and how they function.

What is Tailscale?
Tailscale is a VPN service that utilizes the WireGuard Protocol. Tailscale allows you to easily create a VPN tunnel with absolutely no port forwarding. For users who have a CGNAT or simply do not feel comfortable port forwarding, Tailscale is one of the easiest ways to configure a VPN tunnel.

It’s also important to know that while Tailscale utilizes the WireGuard Protocol, it does not function the same way that WireGuard does. While they utilize the exact same point-to-point encryption, using Tailscale requires the Tailscale network to be accessible.