# Tailscale vs Elapse

The clearest difference is monetization model: Elapse at free against Tailscale's freemium. Elapse also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). Tailscale's advantage is ratings volume (747 vs 22) and chart position (#67 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Tailscale against 4.3 for Elapse. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tailscale has 747 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Tailscale's written reviews are positive against 67% of Elapse's.

Tailscale ships an update fortnightly, Elapse every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Tailscale | Elapse |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (747 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037/reviews)** | [4.3 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elapse/id6596757269/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **747** | 22 |
| Positive reviews | 61.0% of reviews | **66.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#67** | — |
| Size | 29 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tailscale Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1470499035) | [Abdur-Rahman Rana](https://appshunter.io/developer/6778848667) |

## What reviewers say

### Tailscale

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

**Currently charting:** #67 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


### Elapse

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elapse/id6596757269)

Enhance your V5RC competition experience with personalized tools. View upcoming matches in tournament mode and generate detailed scouting reports for your team. This application serves as a comprehensive resource for all V5RC tournament needs.

**Highlights:** Personalized V5RC experience, Tournament mode for upcoming matches, ScoutSheets for detailed reports, Comprehensive V5RC tournament resource

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tailscale free?

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

### Is Elapse free?

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

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

Tailscale is rated higher. Tailscale averages 4.4 out of 5 from 747 ratings, while Elapse averages 4.3 from 22 ratings.

### Do Tailscale or Elapse have ads?

Neither Tailscale nor Elapse shows ads.

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

Tailscale ships an update fortnightly, and Elapse every 9 days. Most recently, Tailscale was updated on October 14, 2026 and Elapse on October 1, 2026.

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