Tailscale vs WireGuard: Evaluating the best Cybersecurity VPN Vendor in 2025
Do you want to evaluate the cybersecurity solutions tailscale or Wireguard on identity and access management, secure remote access, or least privileged access? Are you confused between whether to try Tailscale or Wireguard for next remote access solution? If the answer is yes, you’re at the right place.
WireGuard and Tailscale are popular options for secure connectivity, each with distinct strengths. WireGuard is a high-performance VPN protocol, while Tailscale builds on it to offer a user-friendly, managed service. This comparison from Kitecyber evaluates them across performance, ease of use, security, scalability, and cost. We also introduce one of the modern VPN alternatives to Tailscale and Wireguard that combines the best of both with enhanced security and cost efficiency.
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1. No More VPN Hassles
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2. Granular Access Control
- Least-privilege policies ensure users only access what they need. No lateral movement!
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3. Built for Modern Work
- Seamless SaaS/on-prem access plus secure connections to any app, anywhere. No performance lag! Unlike VPNs, ZTNA doesn’t route traffic through bottlenecks.
- Still unconvinced? Scroll down to read our comparison on Wireguard vs Tailscale.
A Quick Overview on Wireguard vs Tailscale
To help you learn about the difference between tailscale and wireguard, we’ve included a general overview about them in order to make things clear. We’ve also included Kitecyber Infra Shield for good measure,
What is Wireguard?
WireGuard is a modern, secure, and high-performance virtual private network (VPN) protocol that uses state-of-the-art cryptography to establish encrypted network tunnels between devices. It is designed to be simple, fast, and more efficient than traditional VPN protocols, with a focus on lean code and strong security. WireGuard works by creating secure point-to-point connections over which data can be transmitted privately and securely. It utilizes advanced cryptographic techniques to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. As an open-source solution, WireGuard is transparent and has been widely reviewed by the security community, contributing to its reputation as one of the safest VPN protocols available
What is Tailscale?
Tailscale is a secure, private, identity-based, and infrastructure-agnostic virtual private network (VPN) with a flexible topology, resilient networking, and streamlined setup. It is built on the WireGuard protocol and functions as a peer-to-peer mesh network, enabling direct device-to-device connections across various NAT gateways. Tailscale allows users to securely access devices and self-hosted services on their home or private networks from anywhere. One of its key features is automatic configuration and key distribution, which simplifies the process for both technical and non-technical users.
What is Kitecyber Infra Shield?
Kitecyber Infra Shield is a secure, private, user context-aware, passwordless Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution and tailscale alternative that focuses on device trust. It allows users and devices to securely access cloud resources from anywhere while ensuring robust protection. Kitecyber Infra Shield is part of Kitecyber’s suite of endpoint-based security solutions designed to protect users, software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, and sensitive data. As a hyper-converged endpoint security solution, it supports comprehensive security and helps organizations meet compliance requirements. It seamlessly integrates with existing systems such as Single Sign-On (SSO) platforms and provides unified security, compliance, and endpoint management. The solution is AI-enabled and built to secure modern work environments, including SaaS applications and cloud APIs.
Comparing Wireguard and Tailscale for Performance and Speed
WireGuard
WireGuard is renowned for its exceptional performance, driven by its lightweight protocol and minimal overhead. Its Linux kernel module ensures near-native speeds, making it ideal for high-bandwidth applications like video streaming or large file transfers. Independent tests, such as those by Netmaker, confirm WireGuard achieves up to 8Gb/s in high-performance scenarios, outperforming older VPN protocols like OpenVPN.
Tailscale
Tailscale leverages WireGuard’s protocol but operates in user-space, introducing slight performance overhead. Its DERP relay servers, used for NAT traversal, can add latency, with speeds dropping to as low as 35.6 Mbits/sec in stress tests when fallback routing occurs (Netmaker). However, Tailscale’s optimizations, such as UDP segmentation, have pushed throughput beyond 10Gb/s on Linux (Tailscale Blog), making it competitive for most use cases.
Kitecyber Infra Shield
Kitecyber Infra Shield adopts an endpoint-based ZTNA approach, eliminating cloud gateways to deliver low-latency connections. By leveraging edge compute, it ensures consistent performance across distributed networks, avoiding the bottlenecks of relayed traffic. Kitecyber Infra Shield’s endpoint-based architecture is better performing as compared to Tailscale in scenarios requiring direct, secure access.
Comparison Table
| Feature | WireGuard | Tailscale | Kitecyber Infra Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
Speed | Up to 8Gb/s | Up to 10Gb/s (Linux), variable with relays | Low-latency, endpoint-based |
Overhead | Minimal | Moderate (user-space, DERP) | Minimal (no gateways) |
NAT Traversal | Manual | Automatic (DERP servers) | Endpoint-driven |
Tailscale vs Wireguard: Who’s better in terms of performance?
When comparing Tailscale and WireGuard in terms of performance, it’s important to understand that Tailscale is built on top of WireGuard and adds features like automatic NAT traversal, identity-based access control, and centralized management. While Wireguard is known for its good performance, minimal latency, and efficient cryptographic operations, Tailscale, on-the-other-hand, may introduce slightly lower speeds due to additional layers like DERP (Distributed End Relay Protocol) relays, which are used when direct peer-to-peer connections aren’t possible. In some benchmarks, Tailscale’s speed has dropped significantly, down to 35.6 Mbps in certain scenarios, depending on network conditions and relay usage.
Kitecyber helped us with IT, security, and compliance as a unified solution. It saved us almost 50% in overall costs compared to our previous solutions, while significantly improving our security and compliance. The built-in device management and IAM integrations also optimized our onboarding and offboarding workflows.”
-Venkat Thiruvengadam, CEO, Duplocloud
Comparing Wireguard and Tailscale for Ease of Use
WireGuard
WireGuard’s setup involves manual configuration using tools like wg-quick, requiring users to generate keys, configure endpoints, and manage port forwarding. While straightforward for tech-savvy users, this process is time-consuming and error-prone for larger networks or non-technical teams.
Tailscale
Tailscale automates much of WireGuard’s complexity, offering a user-friendly interface, SSO integration, and zero-configuration deployment. It handles NAT traversal without port forwarding, making it ideal for users behind CGNAT or firewalls (GL.iNet). Its centralized management simplifies device onboarding and policy enforcement.
Kitecyber Infra Shield
Kitecyber Infra Shield prioritizes simplicity with zero-touch provisioning and a lightweight endpoint agent. Its centralized console streamlines policy management, and integration with SSO/IAM solutions reduces setup time. This makes it highly accessible for IT teams managing remote or BYOD environments.
Comparison Table
| Feature | WireGuard | Tailscale | Kitecyber Infra Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
Configuration | Manual | Automated | Zero-touch |
User Interface | CLI-based | Web-based, intuitive | Centralized console |
SSO Integration | No | Yes | Yes |
Tailscale vs Wireguard: Who’s better in terms of Ease of Use and Deployment?
How does Kitecyber compare?
Comparing Wireguard and Tailscale for Security
WireGuard
WireGuard uses state-of-the-art cryptography (e.g., ChaCha20, Curve25519) and a compact codebase (~4,000 lines), making it easy to audit and secure (Tailscale Docs). However, it lacks native access controls, requiring users to implement firewall rules or external tools for policy enforcement, which can introduce vulnerabilities if misconfigured.
Tailscale
Tailscale builds on WireGuard’s encryption, adding identity-based access, MFA via SSO, and centralized ACLs. Its control plane manages keys securely, reducing the risk of manual errors. However, reliance on DERP servers for NAT traversal raises potential data privacy concerns, though Tailscale ensures end-to-end encryption (Tailscale Why).
Kitecyber Infra Shield
Kitecyber Infra Shield employs a Zero Trust model, verifying device trust and user context for every access request. Its passwordless ZTNA, coupled with SSO/IAM integration, minimizes credential theft risks. By enforcing security at the endpoint, it avoids third-party routing, enhancing data sovereignty and offline protection (Kitecyber VPN).
Comparison Table
| Feature | WireGuard | Tailscale | Kitecyber Infra Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
Encryption | ManualChaCha20, Curve25519 | Same as WireGuard | End-to-end, ZTNA-based |
Access Control | Manual | Identity-based, ACLs | Device trust, granular |
Third-Party Routing | None | DERP servers | None |
Tailscale vs Wireguard: Who’s better in terms of security?
How does Kitecyber compare?
Comparing Wireguard and Tailscale for Scalability
WireGuard
WireGuard supports scalable networks, but its manual configuration leads to quadratic growth in setup complexity as devices increase. It’s best suited for small to medium-sized networks where direct control is preferred (E2Encrypted).
Tailscale
Tailscale is designed for scalability, supporting large teams with centralized management, SCIM integration, and dynamic network topologies. Its mesh network architecture adapts to changing environments, making it ideal for enterprises (StrongDM).
Kitecyber Infra Shield
Kitecyber Infra Shield excels in distributed environments, offering microsegmentation and device-level policy enforcement. It scales across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid setups without performance degradation, supporting BYOD and remote work scenarios (Kitecyber).
Comparison Table
| Feature | WireGuard | Tailscale | Kitecyber Infra Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
Network Size | Small-Medium | Large | Large, Distributed |
Management | Manual | Centralized | Centralized, Microsegmented |
Dynamic Support | Limited | High | High |
Tailscale vs Wireguard: Who’s better scalable in terms of users and devices?
How does Kitecyber compare?
Kitecyber has been a game changer for our IT and security teams. Now they don’t operate in silos and can see a unified dashboard. We feel much better in our security posture and are saving almost 20 hrs a week in dealing with issues and tickets related to previous solutions. We also saved 50% in our total cost of ownership.”
-Amit Verma, CEO, Codvo
Comparing Wireguard and Tailscale in terms of Pricing
WireGuard
WireGuard is free and open-source, with no licensing fees. However, setup and maintenance require technical expertise, which can incur indirect costs, especially for large deployments.
Tailscale
Tailscale offers a free tier for personal use, but business plans start at $18/user/month, with additional costs for advanced features. This can become expensive for large teams.
Kitecyber Infra Shield
Kitecyber Infra Shield uses a modular, pay-per-feature pricing model, claimed to be up to 60% cheaper than traditional VPN solutions. Its lack of hardware requirements and flexible pricing make it cost-effective for growing organizations.
Comparison Table
| Feature | WireGuard | Tailscale | Kitecyber Infra Shield |
|---|---|---|---|
Base Cost | Free | $18/user/month (business) | Modular, per-user/feature |
Hidden Costs | Setup time | Scaling costs | Minimal |
Hardware Needs | Optional | None | None |
