Tailscale alternatives for Mac
Tailscale — Mesh VPN based on WireGuard — is installed 20,253 times a month through Homebrew. These are hand-picked alternatives that occupy the same slot, ordered by how comparable their user base is.
Run
brew install --cask tailscale-app to install Tailscale itself.- Mullvad VPN41.6× smaller user base
- GPG Suite57.2× smaller user base
- KnockKnock30.6× smaller user base
- Do Not Disturb1557.9× smaller user base
- 1Password3.1× smaller user base
- LuLu10.3× smaller user base
- Wireshark4.9× smaller user base
- KeePassXC7.3× smaller user base
Full comparison
| Tailscale | Mullvad VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | GUI app | GUI app |
| Category | Security & Privacy | Security & Privacy |
| Open source | Not declared | Not declared |
| Licence | Not declared | Not declared |
| Apple silicon | Universal | Universal |
| Latest version | 1.104.2 | 2026.5 |
| Dependencies | 0 | 0 |
| Installs (30 days) | 20,253 | 487 |
| Install command | brew install --cask tailscale-app | brew install --cask mullvad-vpn |
How we picked these
The list comes from a hand-maintained set of same-purpose apps, not from keyword matching. Alternatives are removed automatically when Homebrew no longer carries them. Ordering reflects 30-day install volume, not paid placement. Data updated 2026-10-26.