Grafana Labs
Large (~1,700)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
Best For
Grafana Labs
Best for: Engineers who want open-source impact with fully remote flexibility and strong WLB
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
Grafana LabsTailscale
4.1
4.4
Overall
4.3
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.1
4.5
Culture & Values
4.0
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.8
4.2
Career Opps
👍 78% Recommend
👤 71% CEO Approval (Raj Dutt)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Grafana Labs only
🔓 Open Source🌱 Learning & Growth
Tailscale only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚙️ Engineering-Driven🪟 Transparent⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Pros & Cons
Grafana Labs
- 100% remote-first across 40+ countries with generous PTO (~30 days) and mandatory shutdown days
- Engineers rate it 4.9/5 — absurdly talented colleagues with strong open-source culture
- Career progression above staff level can be challenging with limited upward mobility
- Product management is sometimes marginalized with engineers holding disproportionate power
Tailscale
- Same pay worldwide with 26 weeks parental leave and genuine work-life balance
- Brilliant, nerdy CEO who deeply understands the tech — culture is intellectual and respectful
- Career progression limited — only 3.0/5 on career opportunities
- Middle management still developing — some growing pains as the org scales
Bottom Line
Grafana Labs
Choose Grafana Labs if you want deep open-source impact, fully remote flexibility, and excellent WLB — but expect limited career progression above staff level.
Tailscale
Intellectual, engineer-led culture with same pay worldwide and 26 weeks parental leave — but career progression is limited and middle management is still maturing.
Open Roles
Grafana Labs — 149 jobs
💻 Engineering
92
💼 Sales / GTM
32
📣 Marketing
6
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Tailscale — 52 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
11
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
📊 Data
2
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Grafana Labs scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.3 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly, Engineering-Driven, Transparent, Work-Life Balance. Grafana Labs also emphasizes Open Source, Learning & Growth. Tailscale also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity, Diverse & Inclusive.
On the hiring front, Grafana Labs has 149 open roles and Tailscale has 52 open roles.