Tailscale
Val Town
| Feature | Tailscale | Val Town |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $5/mo | Free / from $10/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, remote-teams, homelab-users, small-businesses | developers, hobbyists, automation-builders, prototypers |
| Founded | 2019 | 2022 |
| Mesh Vpn | ✓ | ✗ |
| Wireguard Encryption | ✓ | ✗ |
| Zero Config | ✓ | ✗ |
| Acl Policies | ✓ | ✗ |
| Magic Dns | ✓ | ✗ |
| Subnet Routers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Exit Nodes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ssh | ✓ | ✗ |
| Serverless Functions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cron Jobs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Http Endpoints | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Handling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sqlite Storage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Social Sharing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Tailscale Pros
- Incredibly easy setup with no configuration needed
- Built on WireGuard for fast, modern encryption
- Works across NATs and firewalls seamlessly
- Free for personal use with up to 100 devices
✗ Tailscale Cons
- Requires Tailscale client on all devices
- Coordination server is not self-hostable (use Headscale fork)
- Less suitable for traditional site-to-site VPN use cases
✓ Val Town Pros
- Instant deployment of code snippets
- Social coding with remixable vals
- Built-in cron, email, and HTTP triggers
- Great for prototyping and glue code
✗ Val Town Cons
- Limited execution time
- Not for full applications
- TypeScript/JavaScript only
The Verdict
Tailscale is built for developers and remote teams, with a focus on mesh-vpn and wireguard-encryption. Val Town targets developers and hobbyists and leads with serverless-functions and cron-jobs.
On pricing, Tailscale is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $5/mo compared to $10/mo for Val Town. That $5/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Tailscale edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 4.2). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Tailscale offers broader built-in capabilities (8 features vs 6), while Val Town takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Tailscale has a slight overall edge — but if instant deployment of code snippets matters most to you, Val Town may still be the right call.