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Tailscale vs NetBird 2026: Pricing, Plans and Key Differences

Compare Tailscale and NetBird for seat accounting, SCIM, device posture tiers, free-plan boundaries and infrastructure add-ons.

Verified

Choose Tailscale when a purchased seat pool fits the team; choose NetBird when charges tied to active users and machines fit its usage pattern. [1][2][3] For this decision, compare the actual identity and posture tiers as well as the headline rates.

Sourced fact table

Check date 2026-10-22; dollars and euros are preserved without conversion.
DecisionTailscaleNetBird
Paid base plansStandard $8/user/month; Premium $18/user/month. Dollar ISO currency code: Unknown. [4][5]Team €6/user/month; Business €12/user/month. Invoice frequency and annual commitment: Unknown. [6][7]
Accounting modelPurchased seats include vacant seats. [1][2]Only active users and machines that connected or logged in during the billing period. [3]
SCIM and identityStandard lists SCIM user/group provisioning. [4]Team lists SCIM and SSO/MFA with enterprise IdP. [6]
Device posture tierStandard lists device-posture integrations with MDM, EDR and XDR. [4]Business lists device posture checks and MDM/EDR controls. [7]
Free-plan boundaryPersonal: up to 6 users, for non-commercial use only. [8][9]Free: up to 5 users and 100 machines; commercial-use restrictions not established in this check. [10]
Additional infrastructure50 tagged resources free each month; extra $1/resource/month. [11]Team/Business: 100 machines + 10/user; extra €0.50/machine/month. [6][7]
Trial14-day Enterprise trial for custom-domain signup. [12]Try for free advertised for Team and Business; duration: Unknown. [6][7]
Self-managed optionSelf-managed control-plane terms: Unknown from the opened pages.Deployment in own infrastructure explicitly offered; its plan prices and terms remain Unknown. [13]

Use the relevant tier and resource count

For an identity-provisioning decision, compare Standard with Team. For a device-posture decision, include NetBird Business in the quote because that is where its pricing card lists the controls. These rows document different products’ terms; they do not establish identical enforcement behavior. [4][6][7]

Currency-normalized totals, paid minimums, NetBird trial duration and self-hosted commercial terms are Unknown. Model each supplier’s own seat or usage count before comparing a whole-company budget.

Read the Tailscale review and NetBird review for the existing category research.

Related pages: Tailscale review · Tailscale pricing · Tailscale alternatives · Netbird review · Netbird pricing · Netbird alternatives.

Primary sources opened for this draft

Checked 2026-10-22. Each excerpt below is from the linked vendor page fetched during this task. Unknown means the check did not confirm the fact.

  1. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    You choose the number of seats your tailnet has. At the start of the month, you will be billed based on the number of seats. There’s no hard limit on seats—you can scale up as needed. And, if you’re on an Enterprise plan, you can also choose to pay via an annual invoice.

  2. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    In practice, you’re charged for all seats on your tailnet, including any that are currently vacant. The good news is that avoiding charges is as easy as removing seats that are not in use.

  3. Pricing - NetBird. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    We charge only for active users and machines that connected or logged in at least once during the billing period.

  4. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Standard For teams adopting the Tailscale platform as a secure connectivity solution and more. $8Per user, per month Get started Everything in Personal, plus Unlimited users Deploy users and groups with SCIM Up to 10 ACL groups 1,000 mins per month for ephemeral resourcesEphemeral resources enable short-lived workloads like CI/CD runners and Kubernetes pods. Premium plan is ideal for heavy usage. Configure Tailscale with MDM tools Device posture integrations with MDM, EDR, XDR Advanced user roles for billing, IT, auditors, and more

  5. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Premium For organizations wanting the most from the Tailscale platform with advanced compliance needs, heavy ephemeral resource use, and AI security. $18Per user, per month Get started Everything in Standard, plus Up to 300 ACL groups 10,000 mins per month for ephemeral resourcesEphemeral resources enable short-lived workloads like CI/CD runners and Kubernetes pods. Premium plan is ideal for heavy usage. Just-in-time access to resources Advanced Tailscale SSH Network flow logs Log streaming Regional routing and traffic steering

  6. Pricing - NetBird. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Team For teams replacing legacy VPNs with secure remote access and site-to-site connectivity. €6 user / month unlimited users 100 machines + 10 per user Try for free Everything in Free, plus: Unlimited admin & regular users SSO & MFA with enterprise IdP IdP provisioning (SCIM) Audit events logging Support via ticketing system Additional Machine: €0.50 / month

  7. Pricing - NetBird. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Business For organizations looking to strengthen their network security with the modern Zero Trust approach. €12 user / month unlimited users 100 machines + 10 per user Try for free Everything in Team, plus: Device approvals MDM & EDR device controls Device posture checks Connection traffic events logging Audit & traffic events streaming Standard support Additional Machine: €0.50 / month

  8. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Personal For individuals who want to securely connect devices, servers, or software. Access nearly all of Tailscale's offerings and products for free, indefinitely. $0Free forever Get started Plan highlights Unlimited user devices Up to 6 users Up to 3 ACL groups Up to 50 tagged resources to start 1,000 mins per month for ephemeral resourcesEphemeral resources enable short-lived workloads like CI/CD runners and Kubernetes pods. Premium plan is ideal for heavy usage. Access nearly all of Tailscale’s features Try SSH and Kubernetes features

  9. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Our Personal plan is for individuals who want to use Tailscale at home. This is a free plan and is only suitable for non-commercial use of Tailscale. It’s perfect for things like building a homelab or home VPN, playing games with friends, or securely connecting to anything from a DigitalOcean droplet to a Raspberry Pi, home security camera, Steam Deck, and more.

  10. Pricing - NetBird. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Free For individuals or small teams looking for an easy-to-use and secure connectivity. €0 user / month up to 5 users 100 machines Get started P2P connections & encryption NetBird Networks Social SSO & MFA Access controls Private DNS Network Routes NetBird SSH Community support

  11. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Add more tagged resources Scale your needs beyond the 50 tagged resources given free each month. $1Per month for every tagged resource

  12. Tailscale pricing. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Yes! When you sign up for Tailscale with a custom domain, your tailnet starts with a 14-day Enterprise trial. During the trial, you can explore all Enterprise features with unlimited users, devices, and usage, so you can evaluate Tailscale across your team and network without needing to choose a plan right away.

  13. Pricing - NetBird. retrieved_at: 2026-10-22T19:48:02Z.

    Enjoy simple, usage-based pricing: pay per active user in the cloud, or deploy within your own infrastructure for full control and flexibility