Tailscale
Secure Connectivity & Mesh VPN
How much does Tailscale cost?
Prices are current as of 11 Sept 2026.
Tailscale has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to Tailscale
| Tailscale |   Decibel X:dB Sound Level Meter |   Decibel : dB sound level meter |   3d Scanner App™ |   AdGuard Ad Blocker for Safari |   Opensignal Speed Test Ad Free |   Remote, Mouse and Keyboard |   Wifi Analizer Signal Strength |   UGREEN NAS |   NetSpot WiFi Analyzer |   Screens 5: VNC Remote Desktop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Reviews | 2.4K | 555K | 120K | 108K | 108K | 50K | 46K | 36K | 2.2K | 1.1K | 1.1K |
| Released | 2019 | 2011 | 2017 | 2020 | 2015 | 2013 | 2013 | 2018 | 2024 | 2020 | 2023 |
| Weekly price | — | $1.99 | $1.99 | $2.99 | — | — | $4.99 | $0.99 | — | — | — |
| Monthly price | — | $5.99 | $7.99 | — | $1.99 | — | $3.99 | $9.99 | — | $8.99 | $3.99 |
| Annual price | — | $49.99 | $29.99 | $29.99 | $4.99 | — | $9.99 | $19.99 | — | — | $29.49 |
| One-time price | — | $1.99 | $19.99 | — | $14.99 | — | $19.99 | $5.99 | — | $6.99 | $199.99 |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest.
Tailscale reviews
4.6 out of 5, based on 2,388 reviews.
What people like
- Accesses home network securely from anywhere
- Works perfectly across all Apple devices
- Completely free to use
What they complain about
- Battery drain is terrible on iOS
- Forces third party login accounts
- VPN on demand settings get buggy
Masterpiece
Masterpiece
Trash
Wouldn’t work with home assistant!
Great, except…
This is a pretty good app and I appreciate it being available. Two things keep it from being great. First, the battery drain is bothersome. Fixing that would be a great leap forward. Second, the fact that all non-Tailscale network data leaks out unprotected to the Internet creates difficulty for those who cannot safely use an exit node on our Tailscale network. Thus, if I connect to my Tailscale network on a “unsafe“ Wi-Fi, I lose all the protective benefits of the VPN for the majority of my data flow. Having a setting that says that the only data that can flow to and from my device must go through Tailscale would solve this vulnerability and make this a much more useful app.
Battery issues have returned with a vengeance
Tailscale is incredible and I love it, but battery issues are a chronic problem on iOS - even without an exit node activated. Overnight, with nothing but TS running, my battery was drained over 70%. Hoping to get some TLC on this issue as it makes the service nearly unusable.
VPN on demand not working
With iOS 26.6 the VPN on demand feature is not working any more. Even after recreation of the VPN configuration.
Great
I use it every day to connect my devices, it’s the most important app on my phone. The battery drain issue also seems to have been fixed, it uses less battery than a competing solution, and it’s free!
Aweful
They dont allow you to use an email address to create an account. They force you to use a third party authenticator. This is a highly unsecure process. I recommend you pass, and use a different app.
Really useful! But vpn on demand does not work
I have been using this app for a year now and I really appreciate the core features. It’s really nice to be able to access local services without exposing them to the World Wide Web. However, there are times when I don’t want to have the app on, and I have found that the VPN on demand using the “except on” option I will either be stuck in VPN on all the time, ignoring the on-demand setup- or stuck in VPN off all the time, again ignoring VPN on demand. Not sure what the deal is, or if there’s a certain sequence of it of events that need to be done to make the feature work, but it’s the only blemish in an otherwise great app.
VPN on demand broken
All of a sudden someone they're broke the VPN On Demand. It never Automatically connects. I have to go in and manually do it. What's more, the widget That it is disconnected. I used to believe in this product to look elsewhere. I think the developers are slacking off.
Cannot work under cellular
Tailscale works perfectly on WiFi but cannot work under cellular at all. Shows connected but can't reach any node and every request just times out. Switch from WiFi to cellular and the tunnel is completely dead. Useless when you actually need it outside the house.
Love this so much!!!
This is my first ever app store review. It solved a major problem I have, I am able to use my home IP address while traveling.
Unusable on latest iOS
Creating connection crashes and lands back on onboarding home screen
Good app
Love it very much,but why can’t I sign in on iPad ?Are there some bugs?
Battery drain
Love tailscale, but the battery drain is insane on iOS. Charge the phone to full at night, leave it doing nothing and less than 8 hours later it’s at half change. Disable tailscale and this doesn’t happen
Great app, crazy battery drain
My iPhone’s battery life is significantly worse when connected.
Хорошо
На удивление работает очень даже хорошо, но на iOS сильно не хватает раздельного туннелирования трафика, которое есть на android. Очень нужно.
“Identity provider” system sucks
Tailscale won’t let you simply sign up with your email address and a password. They want you to link one of your personal accounts to them.
Love it but the battery drain is insane
Super useful app/service, connect to your pc from anywhere as if you were on the same network, main issue is battery drains like crazy when it's on. Workaround is to use shortcuts, have it turn tailscale on when the apps you use with it are open, turn it off after the app is closed. Issue with that is no server monitoring widgets work, you have to have the app open.
Latest update drains battery
I love tailscale but now, with latest update, my iPhone runs hot and drains the battery. Disabling tailscale and my battery drain issues are gone. Please try to address this.
Can not login on ios16.6
It cannot visit the internet
Tailscale working great on Mac, iPad and iPhone
Installed this on my Mac, four iPads and iPhone and it’s working perfect. Great app and software
Login issue
Can’t log in
Great with some minor issues
Tailscale is an amazing service for securely accessing services on my home network while on the go. I use it on both my phone and laptop. I have a few small issues with the app. The battery drain is a little ridiculous which deters me from using it on my phone. Additionally the VPN on demand settings are fantastic, except for when I have a one off use case where I want to ignore them. I should be able to turn the VPN on and off as I please and have it override the VPN on demand settings. And when I turn off VPN on demand for these one off situations, my settings should be saved. It’s very frustrating that they are lost as soon as the app isn’t the primary one open. If these issues could be resolved, easy 5/5.
Works when it wants to.
It’s okay…I didn’t expect it to stop working randomly.
Works great, eats my battery
For some reason this app is using 10-40% of my iPhone’s battery per day and I cannot figure out why. It only seems to use 1% of my iPads battery though. Similar reports on Reddit for the past few years without any solution released it seems. Maybe an issue on my end but it’s setup the same on iPhone as iPad…
Works for China
Perfect vpn! Thank you!
Unusable
Latest version crashes immediately on Apple TV
Works well
Only option I would like to see is push notifications for when Machines disconnect and connect.
Still drains battery
Still drains battery and not an actual working VPN like Nord VPN
Drains battery a lot
All working flawlessly. Just my battery drainage is too high for using it constantly.
Deployed to a docker-only env
Was a monster to initially setup but with a solid Traefik layer it works a treat both on and off Tailnet while at home.
Can’t login in computer
I installed on my computer and it never came the login page. Useless app
A lot better
App gets better day by day
Destroys battery
iPhone 15 Pro Max on iOS 26 with 98% battery health and this app uses about 30% of my battery while it’s doing nothing when I’m sleeping at night. When using my phone normally, I gotta charge it twice a day. With this app removed, I get a day and a half of battery life again. This app is great for ease of use and function but it absolutely destroys battery life. There are posts on Reddit from two years ago about how they were working on fixing this issue but it clearly still exists.
Horrible battery drain
Tailscale is indispensable for communicating between trusted devices. However, the battery drain on iPhone and iPad is so bad that I only turn it on when I absolutely need to which somewhat limits its usefulness and enjoyment.
Amazing
Simply the best, thank you for remaining free <3
HOW DO I EVEN LOG IN??
I just cannot log in. At all. every time I try to add an account it just goes back to the welcome to tailscale intro until it infinite loops.
Simple to use
Great also for linking the boyfriend’s homes so we can all use jellyfin easily and other services . Would love it if the app had a built in ssh client.
Keeps getting stuck starting and slow
It keeps getting stuck starting when turning on the VPN so keep having to toggle for it to activate. It also doesn't play well with mobile data and seems to keep taking the longest possible route and get huge ping times and slow.
V1.88.1 broken
An amazing service, but it appears that the most recent 1.88.1 version has a bad bug that hides the settings access icon (top right) - making it impossible to switch accounts or configure. This has taken my iPadOS device effectively out of access to my Tailnet. Hoping for a fix asap.
Interesting
Still new but I gid it
Terrible UI
Ridiculously annoying login pop-up pops up repeatedly every three seconds as you are trying to find out how to enter an alternate coordination URL making this app infuriating to use.
Latest update has problems
I’m a big fan of the Tailscale ecosystem and use it extensively. Unfortunately this latest iOS app gets stuck with the icon loading animation after connecting to my tailnet. It worked fine before I regrettably “upgraded” the app today. EDIT: It started working again a few hours later. Fingers crossed for future stability.
I don’t know how to change my location
I don’t know how to change my location
Great but latest update killing battery
Since the latest update yesterday my battery is dropping like a stone. I’ve had to charge it twice and another top up in one day (iPhone 15 pro). Now supports Controld DNS which makes this a must use app for me. So despite the battery issues it is great. If that could be fixed it would be five stars.
Absolutely amazing
Absolutely amazing
无法登录
陷入登录引导死循环
It’s great but it drains battery
It’s an amazing product but you have to be careful with usage as it drains battery a lot, especially if you use exit node.
Super frustrating
Can't use this without a google or Microsoft account. Why not support sign in with apple?
Great but battery
Tailscale is generally awesome. I use it every day. Considering WireGuard isn’t supposed to be a ‘chatty’ VPN this app destroys my battery with background activity, making it almost unviable.
Tailscale FAQ
- Is Tailscale free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 172 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does Tailscale have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to Tailscale?
- Decibel X:dB Sound Level Meter (4.6 from 555,415 reviews, premium from $1.99), Decibel : dB sound level meter (4.6 from 120,112 reviews, premium from $1.99) and 3d Scanner App™ (4.6 from 108,488 reviews, premium from $2.99).
Tailscale download
Last updated 1 month ago.
Tailscale sells in 172 countries. It was released 7 years and 1 month ago, on 16 Aug 2019. It holds a 4.6 rating from 2,388 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.
How much does Tailscale make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.