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 (AU, 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 (500 MB 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.