Comparison
PacketMole vs a Tailscale exit node on a home computer
A common free answer to “how do I use my home IP while traveling?” is to leave a computer at home running Tailscale as an exit node, then point your laptop or phone at it while you are away. That is a real answer, and it works.
PacketMole uses the same idea. The difference is what does the work at each end. We built that system on dedicated routers, we test it, and you pay once for the convenience of not running and maintaining it yourself. Here is an honest comparison.
What PacketMole is
Two preconfigured GL.iNet routers. The Home unit plugs into your home router and is the exit node, on your own Tailscale account. The Away unit travels with you: your devices join its Wi-Fi, their traffic leaves through your home connection, and websites see your home IP. There is no account with us. $349 one time. No subscription. Free US shipping.
The home end: a computer vs a dedicated Home unit
Either way, something at home has to stay on and online the whole time you are away. With PacketMole that is the Home unit, which stays plugged in. With the free option it is your computer, and a computer has other jobs:
- It has to stay powered on, awake and connected the entire trip.
- If it goes to sleep, installs a system update and restarts, or loses its connection, your link home is down until it comes back, and you may be in another time zone when that happens.
- Someone at home using it, closing the lid, or switching it off has the same effect.
The Home unit is a small, fanless router that does only this job. Its software updates are signed, install overnight, and, if the unit's health checks fail afterward, it tries to roll back on its own. You can turn automatic updates off. A power cut or internet outage at home takes either setup offline until it comes back.
The travel end: each device vs one Wi-Fi network
With a home-computer exit node, each device you travel with needs the Tailscale app, signed in and set to use your home exit. Phones, tablets and laptops can usually do that.
Smart TVs, streaming sticks and game consoles often can't run a VPN app, and you may not be allowed to install software on a work laptop. With PacketMole, those devices join the Away unit's Wi-Fi and go out through your home connection with nothing to install. (A work laptop running its own corporate VPN is different: that VPN carries its traffic to your employer's network.)
When the connection home drops
Connections drop: hotel Wi-Fi hiccups, a network changes, something at home restarts. Tailscale says that when the exit node a device is using goes offline, that device's traffic stops rather than going out the local network. But a device whose Tailscale app is turned off, quit, or still starting up sends its traffic out the hotel or cafe network with the local IP, and keeping an eye on each device is up to you.
PacketMole's Away unit is designed to fail closed: if the connection to your Home unit drops, it blocks traffic instead of quietly sending it out the hotel or cafe network, so your internet pauses rather than showing the local IP. Tested on real hardware. Our leak testing was done on real routers across the failure situations that matter on the road; no test traffic leaked. Like any test, these cover the situations tested, not every possible condition.
Each pair is tested end to end before it ships. Every update is tested on real routers and runs on our own units before it reaches yours.
Who should use a home computer instead
If you are comfortable with Tailscale, travel with one or two devices that can run it, have a computer at home that can stay on and awake for the whole trip, and are happy to check for yourself what happens when the connection drops, a home-computer exit node is a reasonable free option. Tailscale is a good tool; PacketMole is built on it.
If you want every device covered, including ones that can't run an app, and would rather not depend on a computer staying awake at home, PacketMole is the easier choice.
Side by side
| PacketMole | Exit node on a home computer | |
|---|---|---|
| What stays on at home | The Home unit, a small fanless router that does only this | Your computer, powered on and awake for the whole trip |
| Devices covered | Anything that joins the Away unit's Wi-Fi, including TVs and consoles, nothing to install | Devices that can run the Tailscale app, each set up individually |
| Home internet that blocks incoming connections (CGNAT, common on Starlink and T-Mobile Home Internet) | Usually works, because no open port is needed at home | Also usually works, for the same reason (Tailscale handles this) |
| If the connection home drops | Away unit blocks traffic until it reconnects (tested on real hardware) | Tailscale stops traffic if the exit node goes offline; a device with the app off or starting up uses the local network |
| Restarts and updates at home | Signed overnight updates that try to roll back if health checks fail; can be turned off | Sleep, system updates or restarts take the link down until the computer is back |
| Testing | Each pair tested end to end before it ships; every update tested on real routers and run on our own units first | Yours to do |
| Support | Email support | You troubleshoot it yourself, including while abroad |
| Cost | $349 one time, no subscription, free US shipping | Free if you already have the computer and a Tailscale account |
Questions people ask
- Doesn't PacketMole use a Tailscale exit node too?
- Yes. The Home unit is a Tailscale exit node on your own Tailscale account. The difference is what does the job: a small router built and tested for it, instead of a computer that also has other work to do, and an Away unit that covers every device on its Wi-Fi.
- Does the Home unit have to stay on, like the computer would?
- Yes. The Home unit stays plugged into power and your home router while you travel. It is a small, fanless router that does only this job, so there is no sleep setting, no one using it, and no unrelated software asking to restart it.
- Will my TV, streaming stick or game console work?
- Devices that can't run a VPN app can join the Away unit's Wi-Fi and go out through your home connection with nothing to install. A work laptop running its own corporate VPN is different: that VPN carries its traffic to your employer's network.
- Do I need an account with PacketMole?
- No. PacketMole uses your own Tailscale account (Tailscale's Personal plan is currently free). There is no account with us and no subscription.
- How do I get help?
- Support is by email.
Same idea, without the computer that has to stay awake
We built it on dedicated routers and kept going: the fail-closed behavior, the leak testing, the test on every pair before it ships, the release tests before every update. PacketMole is that work, finished and maintained.
$349 one time. No subscription. Free US shipping (ships within the US only). 30-day returns; $50 restocking fee if opened or used.
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See something we got wrong? Email support@packetmole.com.