Beyond Identity vs Tailscale
- ✦ Passwordless authentication
- ✦ Device-bound credentials
- ✦ Device health checks
- ✦ WireGuard-based Mesh VPN
- ✦ Zero Trust Network Access
- ✦ SSO/SAML Integration
Real-World Scenarios: When to Choose Which
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Replace SMS MFA with device-bound credentials across 1,000 employees, reducing phishing risk to near zero
Meet MFA requirements demanded by cyber insurance carriers with documented FIDO2-based authentication evidence
Achieve NIST SP 800-63B AAL3 compliance required for federal system access without password resets
Block access automatically when a device loses compliance (disk encryption off, EDR not running) during active sessions
Tailscale meshes devices using WireGuard via DERP relays, enabling SSH access to on-prem servers from anywhere without opening firewall ports or maintaining a VPN gateway.
Tailscale ACLs define which devices and users can reach which services using tag-based policy, replacing complex AWS security group rules with human-readable access policy files checked into git.
Tailscale subnet routers expose CIDR ranges of on-prem networks to the tailnet, giving WireGuard-encrypted access to devices that cannot run the Tailscale client directly.
Pricing Intelligence
Beyond Identity Plans
Paid plans only
- • Passwordless MFA
- • Device trust
- • 100-user minimum
- • Full platform
- • SIEM integration
- • Advanced policies
Tailscale Plans
Free tier available
- • Up to 3 users
- • 100 devices
- • 1 subnet router
- • 1 user
- • Unlimited devices
- • Priority support
- • ACL policies
- • SAML/SSO
- • Device posture
- • Enterprise controls
- • Dedicated support
- • Custom contracts
Feature Matrix
12 differences found across 24 standardized features
- •Passwordless authentication
- •Device-bound credentials
- •Device health checks
- •Phishing-resistant MFA
- •FIDO2/passkey support
- •SAML/OIDC integration
- •Risk-based access policies
- •Secure Enclave/TPM binding
- •Okta/Azure AD integration
- •Continuous authentication
- •Audit logging
- •Zero trust posture checks
- •API access
- •SIEM integration
- •WireGuard-based Mesh VPN
- •Zero Trust Network Access
- •SSO/SAML Integration
- •Device Posture Checks
- •Access Control Lists (ACLs)
- •Subnet Routing
- •Exit Nodes
- •MagicDNS
- •Funnel (Public Endpoints)
- •Multi-Platform Support
- •Audit Logs
- •SCIM User Sync
- •Kubernetes Operator
- •GitHub Actions Integration
- •Split Tunneling
- •IPv6 Support
Pros & Cons Face-Off
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +True phishing-resistant MFA - no SMS or TOTP codes to intercept
- +Device trust checks block access from unmanaged or compromised devices
- +Satisfies NIST AAL3 requirements for federal and regulated industries
- −Enterprise-only pricing with no self-service or SMB tier
- −Requires device enrollment which adds friction during initial deployment
- +Incredibly easy setup: works in minutes
- +Generous free tier for small teams
- +WireGuard performance with no gateway bottleneck
- +Works through NAT and firewalls seamlessly
- −Not a full IAM solution: no user provisioning lifecycle
- −ACL policy management becomes complex at enterprise scale
At a Glance
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
Sources
- 1.Beyond Identity Official Pricing–Vendor pricing page
- 2.Tailscale Official Pricing–Vendor pricing page
- 3.Beyond Identity Official Website–Official product website
- 4.Tailscale Official Website–Official product website