Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access vs Tailscale: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access

Security teams managing distributed workforces across multiple cloud regions should prioritize Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access for its refusal to backhaul traffic through centralized gateways, which eliminates the bottleneck that tanks performance in traditional ZTNA deployments. The distributed control plane runs entirely on your infrastructure, not Bowtie's, and WireGuard encryption keeps private keys out of vendor hands, addressing the NIST PR.AA identity and access control requirement without trust dependency. This isn't for buyers seeking integrated secure web gateway capabilities from a single vendor; Bowtie's on-device SWG component is functional but plays second fiddle to its network access core.

Tailscale

Teams replacing bastion hosts and VPN infrastructure with zero trust network access should pick Tailscale for its WireGuard mesh that eliminates inbound firewall rules entirely, letting you enforce identity-based policies without managing jump servers or exposed infrastructure. The platform maps cleanly to NIST PR.AA and PR.IR, particularly for organizations building multi-cloud environments where traditional perimeter security becomes liability rather than asset. Skip this if you need granular application-layer inspection or deep packet analysis; Tailscale is network-layer connectivity, not a proxy or firewall replacement.