# Tailscale vs Warpinator

The clearest difference is rating: Tailscale at 4.4 against Warpinator's 2.5. Tailscale also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (61% vs 33%). Warpinator's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Tailscale holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tailscale has 741 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Tailscale's written reviews are positive against 33% of Warpinator's.

Tailscale ships an update fortnightly, Warpinator every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tailscale | Warpinator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (741 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037/reviews)** | [2.5 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/warpinator/id1609289992/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **741** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | **60.9% of reviews** | 33.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#85** | — |
| Size | 28 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tailscale Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1470499035) | [William Millington](https://appshunter.io/developer/1544670553) |

## What reviewers say

### Tailscale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037)

**Currently charting:** #85 Top Free · Utilities (US App Store)

Securely connect devices, users, and workloads with a mesh VPN built on WireGuard. It brings identity to network access, enabling Zero Trust principles across diverse environments. Modernize your network for homelabs, businesses, and cloud infrastructure.

**Highlights:** Secure mesh networking, Identity-based access control, Zero Trust security, WireGuard-based VPN, Homelab and business VPN, Cloud and workload connectivity, Hardware-agnostic overlay network

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to set up and use
- 🔒 Secure remote access
- 👍 Convenient for accessing home network
- 👍 Seamless connectivity between devices
- 🚀 Powerful networking features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔋 Significant battery drain
- 🐛 Connectivity issues and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable performance
- 🐛 Broken functionality after updates

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to connect or authenticate
- Exit node feature not working as expected
- Inconsistent behavior when switching networks
- App getting stuck in a loading state

**Requested features**

- On-demand VPN connection
- Ability to switch between multiple accounts
- More granular control over exit nodes
- Integration with other networking tools
- Dark mode option


### Warpinator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/warpinator/id1609289992)

Easily transfer files between devices on your local network. This utility allows for quick and direct sharing without needing an internet connection.

**Highlights:** File sharing over local network, Device-to-device transfer, No internet required, Cross-platform compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tailscale free?

Tailscale is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Warpinator free?

Warpinator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Tailscale or Warpinator?

Tailscale is rated higher. Tailscale averages 4.4 out of 5 from 741 ratings, while Warpinator averages 2.5 from 4 ratings.

### Do Tailscale or Warpinator have ads?

Neither Tailscale nor Warpinator shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Tailscale or Warpinator?

Tailscale ships an update fortnightly, and Warpinator every 7 months. Most recently, Tailscale was updated on September 28, 2026 and Warpinator on September 15, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*