NetBird
Open-source WireGuard-based mesh VPN for connecting devices peer-to-peer, with self-hostable control plane.
HN commenters recommend NetBird as an open-source alternative to Tailscale12345 that can be fully self-hosted6789 and is easy to set up for reaching home-lab devices.101112 The most common complaint is rough client apps, including a frustrating Windows client, an Android app that drops when roaming, and no built-in updater.131415
Why people recommend it
Tailscale alternative · 3
Seen as an open-source, European alternative to Tailscale, and some switched over because of Tailscale's pricing tiers.
“I also maintain a netbird ebuild in my overlay if you want a FOSS alternative to tailscale”
“Great to have a European alternative to tailscale.”
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“I switched from Tailscale to Netbird purely because of Tailscale's bizarre pricing tiers”
Self-hosting · 3
The coordinator server is open source, and self-hosted setups have run seamlessly with smooth upgrades.
“netbird has open sourced their _coordinator server_. This allows for self hosting to be end to end.”
“Recently switched to NetBird (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS) and it’s been seamless so far.”
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“I recommend it the NetBird team is transparent and easy to reach. I switched from Tailscale a while ago (2y), went fully self-hosted”
Easy setup · 3
Users say it is easy to set up and connects devices without manual firewall work.
“I use netbird.io for my home lab and all my connected devices are reachable to each other without manual firewall hackery”
“For remote acces I use NetBird, I think is the best and secure option”
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“Recently switched to NetBird (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS) and it’s been seamless so far.”
Responsive team · 2
The team is described as transparent and easy to reach, with helpful support even for small customers.
“I recommend it the NetBird team is transparent and easy to reach. I switched from Tailscale a while ago (2y), went fully self-hosted”
“I’m pleased with netbird so far.”
Access control · 2
Its access-control model, DNS features, and SSO with 2FA get praise.
“Recently switched to NetBird (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS) and it’s been seamless so far.”
“For remote acces I use NetBird, I think is the best and secure option”
Caveats and dissent
Client usability · 1
One Windows 11 user describes no search, overlapping network names, and needing to toggle networks to make them work.
“One of the few pieces of software I actually despise but have to use, and I use win11.”
No auto-updater · 1
Client apps have to be downloaded and reinstalled manually to update.
“Recently switched to self hosted netbird and its been great so far.”
Android app · 1
The Android app is not on F-Droid and sometimes drops when roaming.
“Recently switched to NetBird (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS) and it’s been seamless so far.”
No Apple TV · 1
An Apple TV client did not appear to be available yet.
“Netbird seems to be working on one but it’s not out yet?”
Migration bugs · 1
One user hit odd bugs on a few old servers during the switch.
“I’m pleased with netbird so far.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Netbird a German Tailscale alternative (P2P WireGuard-based overlay network) 10 mentions
- Plex vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild to drop a cryptominer 1 mention
- Cloudflare Quick Tunnels 1 mention
- Announcing .self: A New Top-Level Domain Designed to Support Self-Hosting 1 mention
- Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser? 1 mention
- My Homelab Setup 1 mention
Also written as Netbird. Data: netbird.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 16
“I also maintain a netbird ebuild in my overlay if you want a FOSS alternative to tailscale”
“I switched from Tailscale to Netbird purely because of Tailscale's bizarre pricing tiers”
“I use netbird.io for my home lab and all my connected devices are reachable to each other without manual firewall hackery”
“NetBird (https://netbird.io/)”
“For remote acces I use NetBird, I think is the best and secure option”
“we love and support netbird at sliplane <3”
“Great to have a European alternative to tailscale.”
“Recently switched to self hosted netbird and its been great so far.”
“netbird has open sourced their _coordinator server_. This allows for self hosting to be end to end.”
“One of the few pieces of software I actually despise but have to use, and I use win11.”
“Netbird seems to be working on one but it’s not out yet?”
“Recently switched to NetBird (self-hosted on a Hetzner VPS) and it’s been seamless so far.”
“I recommend it the NetBird team is transparent and easy to reach. I switched from Tailscale a while ago (2y), went fully self-hosted”
“I’m pleased with netbird so far.”
“This project looks promising as a replacement for my current setup”
“there are some genuine open source software like netbird,zerotier etc. as well”