Our take
Pick Tailscale if individuals who will stay on Personal at $0 (up to 6 users) while they open a first Machines list, then Standard at $8/user/month when they need unlimited users / SCIM — not Premium $18 unless they need flow logs or 10,000 ephemeral minutes. Pick ZeroTier if hobby / lab operators who will stay on Personal (Free, 10 devices, non-commercial) while they open a first Member Devices list, then Essential
hosted Member Devices desk
Best for
Tailscale A tailnet table you start at a public $
ZeroTier A member table you start at a public $
Free plan
Tailscale $0 · free forever. Unlimited user devices. Up to 6 users. Up to 3 ACL groups. 50 tagged resources to start. 1,000 mins/month for ephemeral resources
ZeroTier No free plan
Lowest paid
Tailscale Extra tagged resources $1/mo
ZeroTier Essential $18/mo, monthly only
Next step up
Tailscale Mullvad add-on $5/mo
ZeroTier Scale $179/mo
Runs where
Tailscale Hosted
ZeroTier Hosted
Watch out
Tailscale Personal stops at 6 users and 3 ACL groups
ZeroTier Personal is non-commercial and 10 devices / 1 network
Last checked
Tailscale 2026-10-23 · tailscale.com/pricing
ZeroTier 2026-10-23 · zerotier.com/pricing
individuals who will stay on Personal at $0 (up to 6 users) while they open a first Machines list, then Standard at $8/user/month when they need unlimited users / SCIM — not Premium $18 unless they need flow logs or 10,000 ephemeral minutes.
Read the Tailscale pagehobby / lab operators who will stay on Personal (Free, 10 devices, non-commercial) while they open a first Member Devices list, then Essential at $18/month when they need a commercial license and $2/extra device.
Read the ZeroTier page