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Comparison · Infra & APIs

OpenMQTTGateway vs Tailscale

A side-by-side editorial comparison of OpenMQTTGateway and Tailscale — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

OpenMQTTGateway vs Tailscale: at a glance

FeatureOpenMQTTGatewayTailscale
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesiot gateway, bluetooth le, mqtt, home automationzero trust networking, device posture, policy as code, security
Last editorial update3h ago17h ago
WebsiteVisit →—

What is OpenMQTTGateway?

OpenMQTTGateway returns after 22 months with a security-first 1.9.0.

OpenMQTTGateway shipped v1.9.0 on November 7, its first release since January 2025. It moves to the Arduino ESP32 core 3.x, ships Theengs Decoder 2.5.0 with a fix for a BLE advertisement parsing flaw affecting every earlier release, and hardens buffer handling across MQTT, HTTP, BLE and RF input. Upgrade notes warn that some Home Assistant unique_ids change and that encrypted BLE devices are skipped until a key is set.

Read the full OpenMQTTGateway trajectory →

What is Tailscale?

Tailscale makes a device's public IP a posture check, after three client security patches.

Tailscale is moving tailnet administration into policy and automation: MagicRoute, declarative node sharing, OAuth device provisioning and posture alerts all landed in October. The 1.104 client line underneath turned into a run of security patches, v1.104.2, v1.104.4 and v1.104.5, in under two weeks. November opened with the public IP address posture attribute going GA and the India relay servers moving from Bengaluru to Mumbai.

Read the full Tailscale trajectory →

OpenMQTTGateway vs Tailscale: editorial side-by-side

O
OpenMQTTGateway
INFRA · APIS
2.5

OpenMQTTGateway returns after 22 months with a security-first 1.9.0.

◆ Current state

OpenMQTTGateway shipped v1.9.0 on November 7, its first release since January 2025. It moves to the Arduino ESP32 core 3.x, ships Theengs Decoder 2.5.0 with a fix for a BLE advertisement parsing flaw affecting every earlier release, and hardens buffer handling across MQTT, HTTP, BLE and RF input. Upgrade notes warn that some Home Assistant unique_ids change and that encrypted BLE devices are skipped until a key is set.

◆ Where it's heading

Earlier releases made the gateway independent of controllers and external brokers. The return release is about safety and a modern ESP32 base rather than new features, which suggests the project is resetting its foundation before resuming feature work.

◆ Prediction

Expect the promised security advisory for the Theengs Decoder flaw and 1.9.x fixes for the Home Assistant entity changes; whether regular cadence resumes is not yet clear from the entries.

T
Tailscale
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Tailscale makes a device's public IP a posture check, after three client security patches.

◆ Current state

Tailscale is moving tailnet administration into policy and automation: MagicRoute, declarative node sharing, OAuth device provisioning and posture alerts all landed in October. The 1.104 client line underneath turned into a run of security patches, v1.104.2, v1.104.4 and v1.104.5, in under two weeks. November opened with the public IP address posture attribute going GA and the India relay servers moving from Bengaluru to Mumbai.

◆ Where it's heading

Device posture keeps gaining inputs: alerts and badges in October, now where a device connects from. Access rules are drifting from who you are toward what the device is and where it sits, all expressed in policy.

◆ Prediction

More posture attributes and posture-driven actions in the admin console look likely, given monitoring, alerts and now public IP shipped within a month.

Alternatives to OpenMQTTGateway and Tailscale

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either OpenMQTTGateway or Tailscale.

See all OpenMQTTGateway alternatives → · See all Tailscale alternatives →

Recent activity from OpenMQTTGateway and Tailscale

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2d agoOpenMQTTGatewayOpenMQTTGateway v1.9.0
  2. 5d agoTailscalePublic IP posture attribute GA; India relays move to Mumbai
  3. 8d agoTailscaleTailscale 1.104.5 fixes SSH stalls and a Windows installer flaw
  4. 13d agoTailscaleTailscale 1.104.4 fixes four SSH and Serve security flaws
  5. 14d agoTailscaleDevice Provisioning with OAuth Apps
  6. 20d agoTailscalev1.104.2 distrusts compromised TLS intermediates, fixes Windows DNS
  7. 22d agoTailscaleMagicRoute
  8. 1y agoOpenMQTTGatewayAdaptive scanning restart bug fixed
  9. 1y agoOpenMQTTGatewayAn MQTT broker moves inside the gateway ⚡
  10. 2y agoOpenMQTTGatewayTheengs Bridge hardware and Ethernet onboarding
  11. 3y agoOpenMQTTGatewayWeb interface removes the controller dependency
  12. 3y agoOpenMQTTGatewayWorkaround for stuck BLE scans

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between OpenMQTTGateway and Tailscale?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Tailscale is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is OpenMQTTGateway better than Tailscale?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Tailscale is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to OpenMQTTGateway?

Top OpenMQTTGateway alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenMQTTGateway alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openmqttgateway for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Tailscale?

Top Tailscale alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Tailscale alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tailscale for the full list with editorial commentary on each.