Tailscale vs SignalPlanner

Securely connect people, workloads, and even AI agents to anything on the internet with Tailscale, the secure connectivity platform built on WireGuard®. Tailscale brings identity to the network layer so you can control access based on users, groups, tags, and devices instead of IP addresses, applying Zero Trust principles end-to-end across every environment. Tailscale transforms your existing network from a legacy hub and spoke model to a modern, lightweight, and responsive mesh networking architecture that eliminates single points of failure and delivers better performance, scalability, and security for your end users, devices, and remote resources. Tailscale can be used for your Homelab VPN and connectivity, Business VPN, Workload Connectivity across clouds, Kubernetes clusters, regions, and environments, Privileged Access Management (PAM), Edge & IoT, CI/CD, and Securing AI – all on the same platform. Replace legacy VPNs, connect workloads across on-prem and cloud infrastructure providers, power Zero Trust initiatives, and make remote access secure by simplifying software-defined networking and security operations. Modernize your home, your organization, and your enterprise networking at scale with Tailscale. Tailscale is hardware-agnostic, so you can make decisions about your hardware independently from decisions about your network. Tailscale creates an overlay network, using your existing network, so you can incrementally deploy Tailscale without needing new network switches or to change your network architecture. Tailscale integrates with 100+ technologies and dozens of identity providers, and is available on a wide range of platforms — including Apple’s macOS, iOS, and tvOS — so you can securely connect from wherever you work.

SignalPlanner brings professional-grade RF propagation modelling to iPhone and iPad. Whether you're planning amateur radio repeater coverage, evaluating a WISP backhaul link, or assessing emergency communications reach, SignalPlanner gives you the tools to run a credible estimate in the field or at your desk. PROPAGATION MODELS Choose the model that fits your scenario: - ITM Longley-Rice (NTIA Irregular Terrain Model) — terrain-diffraction aware, configurable ground type and climate zone - Hata Urban and Hata Rural — classic empirical path loss for built-up and open environments - COST-231 Urban — extended Hata for frequencies above 1.5 GHz - FSPL + Clutter — free-space path loss with land-cover attenuation - Two-Ray Ground Reflection — for longer, lower-frequency paths TERRAIN AND LAND-COVER DATA Elevation data is sourced from NASA/USGS SRTM via AWS Mapzen Terrarium tiles at approximately 27 m horizontal resolution. Tiles are downloaded once and cached on-device; subsequent analyses run against local data with no network dependency. Land-cover clutter loss uses ESA WorldCover 2021 at 10 m resolution — the same global dataset used in professional planning tools — with OpenStreetMap as a secondary fallback. COVERAGE MAPS Set a transmitter site, configure frequency, power, antenna gain, and system losses, then apply the propagation model over a radius of 5, 12, 5, or 50 km. Results render as a colour-coded raster overlay directly on the map, with strong-signal and marginal-signal zones clearly distinguished. Choose from standard, satellite, hybrid, muted, or topographic map styles. POINT-TO-POINT LINK ANALYSIS Plot a two-endpoint path and run a complete link budget. The terrain profile view shows the path elevation, Fresnel zone clearance, and identified obstructions. Export a detailed PDF report suitable for site documentation or planning submissions. COORDINATE ENTRY Navigate to any location by address, decimal latitude/longitude, or MGRS grid reference. Drop pins at your current GPS position or place them anywhere on the map with a long press. OFFLINE OPERATION Once terrain tiles are cached for a region, coverage and P2P analyses run without a network connection. The Cached Data view shows tile storage in use and lets you clear the cache when needed. EXPORT AND PRINT Generate PDF reports of propagation map inputs, link budget summaries, and terrain profiles. Share directly from the app using the standard iOS share sheet. PROTOCOL PRESETS Common radio protocols — including amateur radio bands, APRS, LMR frequencies, and broadband data links — are available as presets that automatically populate frequency, sensitivity, and model recommendations. All frequency entries are permitted; presets are a starting point, not a restriction. WHAT REQUIRES PRO Four complete analyses are free. SignalPlanner Pro is a one-time purchase that offers unlimited analyses. PRIVACY No account or login required. Location data is used only to centre the map and is never transmitted. No analytics, no advertising, no third-party tracking SDKs. Terrain elevation data: AWS Mapzen/Terrarium (MIT licence, public-domain upstream sources). Land-cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC-BY 4.0). Topographic overlay: OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Street data fallback: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Elevation API fallback: Open-Elevation (GPLv2, used as a network service). Propagation predictions are planning estimates only. They must not be used as the sole basis for life-safety, mission-critical, or regulatory communications decisions. Always verify coverage with on-site measurements. Terms of Use:https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/