Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) vs Tailscale

Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN)9.2Visit Tailscale8.2Visit

Higher score Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) #1 in Cloud Network Management Software 9.2/10 Pricing on request ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Cloudflare

vs

Tailscale #5 in Cloud Network Management Software 8.2/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Tailscale

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) fits best

  Global cloud connectivity and WAN operations

• Tailscale fits best

  Teams wanting affordable, easy overlay networking

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Side by side

Feature	Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Tailscale 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.2
Ranking	#1 in Cloud Network Management Software	#5 in Cloud Network Management Software
Best for	Global cloud connectivity and WAN operations	Teams wanting affordable, easy overlay networking
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	$8/user/mo
Free plan	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Support	Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations	8 integrations	16 integrations
Built for	Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) 5/5 · Tailscale 5/5
Multicloud support	✓	✓
VPN management	✓	✓
Firewall policy management	✓	✓
Network monitoring	✓	✓
Infrastructure as code	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Hybrid	Saas
Cloud provider coverage	AWS, Azure, GCP	AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud
Our review
Pros	Connects offices, data centers, and clouds through Cloudflare's global network Supports AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with automated VPN on-ramps Combines firewall policy, analytics, traceroutes, and packet captures	Free Personal plan with unlimited user devices and up to 6 users Multicloud connectivity with subnet routers, DNS, VPN, and Kubernetes support Terraform, Pulumi, and many identity-provider integrations
Cons	Enterprise-only product with pricing handled through sales Its broad networking scope may exceed smaller deployment needs Private dedicated connections require Cloudflare Network Interconnect	Personal is limited to 6 users and 3 ACL groups Premium is required for advanced routing and higher ACL limits Enterprise uses custom pricing and custom limits
Our verdict	Cloudflare WAN, formerly Magic WAN, is an enterprise WAN-as-a-service product for connecting and securing offices, data centers, and cloud resources through Cloudflare's global network. It is designed for organizations managing… Read the review →	Tailscale is an identity-based connectivity platform for teams connecting users, devices, servers, cloud environments, Kubernetes clusters, and workloads. Its encrypted peer-to-peer overlay networking supports AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) — where it wins

  • Connects offices, data centers, and clouds through Cloudflare's global network
  • Supports AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with automated VPN on-ramps
  • Combines firewall policy, analytics, traceroutes, and packet captures

  Where it doesn't

  • Enterprise-only product with pricing handled through sales
  • Its broad networking scope may exceed smaller deployment needs
  • Private dedicated connections require Cloudflare Network Interconnect

• Tailscale — where it wins

  • Free Personal plan with unlimited user devices and up to 6 users
  • Multicloud connectivity with subnet routers, DNS, VPN, and Kubernetes support
  • Terraform, Pulumi, and many identity-provider integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Personal is limited to 6 users and 3 ACL groups
  • Premium is required for advanced routing and higher ACL limits
  • Enterprise uses custom pricing and custom limits

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN)9.2/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad hybrid WAN platform for connecting and securing global cloud environments.

  Visit CloudflareFull verdict →
• Tailscale8.2/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  Affordable overlay networking with broad platform coverage and scalable access controls.

  Visit TailscaleFull verdict →