TYO Reach vs Tailscale
These products are often compared but rarely compete directly. Tailscale builds a private mesh between your own devices. Reach controls how your traffic appears on the public internet. Here's the clearest way to think about the difference.
Two completely different problems
Tailscale — connect your own devices
Tailscale creates a private WireGuard mesh between devices you own. Great for accessing your home server from the office, or letting teammates reach an internal tool without opening a firewall port. The internet doesn't see your Tailscale traffic — it stays within your mesh.
TYO Reach — control your exit to the internet
Reach puts a gateway between your apps and the public web. Your traffic exits from a fixed location (HK, SG, or another region in the growing network), so external services see the gateway's IP, not yours. It's for controlling how you appear to the outside world — not for connecting devices you own together.
Side by side
| Feature | TYO Reach | Tailscale |
|---|---|---|
| Static egress IP (appear from one IP)Tailscale: exit nodes exist but not a dedicated static IP by default | ✓ Yes | Partial |
| Geo-unblocking (APAC gateway network)Tailscale exit nodes are your own devices, not managed gateway regions | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Per-app routing to an internet gateway | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Connect your own devices privatelyReach does not build device-to-device tunnels | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Access internal LAN resources remotelyReach ZTNA is in development; Tailscale does this well today | Coming soon | ✓ Yes |
| Personal bandwidth-metered planTailscale personal is free but unlimited — different model | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Team gateway with central policyTailscale ACLs control mesh access; Reach controls internet egress | ✓ Yes | Partial |
| MFA on login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Australian-hosted identityTailscale is a US company, hosted on US infrastructure | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Works on managed machines (no kernel driver)Tailscale installs a WireGuard kernel module | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Free tier | yes (2 GB personal) | yes (unlimited, personal/small teams) |
| Pricing | Personal from free; teams per-seat | Free for personal; $18/user/month for business |
When to choose which
Choose Reach if…
You need your team to appear from a consistent IP address on the public internet — for SaaS firewall rules, geo-restricted services, or controlled egress. Also the right call if you're on a managed machine and can't install a kernel module.
Choose Tailscale if…
You need to reach your own devices or self-hosted services across the internet without opening firewall ports — a home NAS, a dev server, an internal web app. Tailscale is purpose-built for private device mesh; it has no equal for that use case.
Use both if…
Your team needs internal resource access (Tailscale) AND a consistent public egress IP for external SaaS tools (Reach). They operate at different layers and don't conflict.
Can Tailscale replace my need for a static egress IP?
Not easily. Tailscale's exit nodes let you route traffic through a device you own, but that device gets a dynamic IP assigned by its ISP. For a reliable static IP that you can whitelist in AWS security groups or Salesforce IP filters, you need a dedicated gateway like Reach — one with a stable, fixed outbound address.
Does Reach do what Tailscale's exit nodes do?
Partially overlapping, but different goals. Tailscale exit nodes route all your traffic through a device in your mesh. Reach routes selected traffic through a managed gateway in a specific region. Reach is better for teams who want a predictable business-class exit point; Tailscale exit nodes are better if you already own a device in the target location.
Will Reach eventually support inward access like Tailscale?
Yes — ZTNA inward access (letting authorised team members reach services inside your LAN from outside, without firewall changes) is on the roadmap. It's not available yet.