Alternatives / Cloudflare Tunnel
Looking for an open source Cloudflare Tunnel alternative? We compared 4 VPN and secure access tools by license, self-hosting, zero trust features, and control planes. They connect devices and expose services without opening inbound ports, and several keep part of the stack proprietary or commercial.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Tailscale | Easiest WireGuard mesh (proprietary control plane) | BSD-3-Clause core clients / proprietary control plane |
| NetBird | Open-source overlay network with zero trust controls | BSD-3-Clause + AGPL-3.0 components |
| Pangolin | Tunneled reverse proxy with identity-aware access (open core) | AGPL-3.0 + commercial license |
| OpenVPN | Classic VPN (paid access server and cloud) | GPL-2.0 (community project) |
We looked for tools that overlap with Cloudflare Tunnel's core: reaching private services from the internet or from remote devices without opening inbound ports. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Cloudflare Tunnel is a free service on Cloudflare's network, so we compare control planes and which parts you can run yourself. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Pangolin is the closest in function, exposing private services through tunnels with identity-aware access rules. Tailscale, Netbird, and OpenVPN are VPNs or overlay networks that connect devices, so they replace the private-access use case rather than public publishing of a website behind a tunnel.
Tailscale's clients are BSD-3-Clause, but its coordination server is proprietary, so self-hosting needs a compatible open-source control server. Netbird is BSD-3-Clause for its client and AGPL-3.0 for server components. Pangolin's community edition is AGPL-3.0, with an enterprise edition under a commercial license that is free for personal use and for businesses under $100K annual revenue. OpenVPN's community project is GPL-2.0, while its Access Server and CloudConnexa service are paid.
Netbird is the closest open-source overlay network, combining WireGuard with zero trust access controls such as SSO, MFA, and device posture checks, self-hosted or in its cloud. Pangolin is the closest to a self-hosted tunneled reverse proxy with identity-aware rules and connectors that run behind firewalls.
Tailscale, Netbird, Pangolin, and OpenVPN all had commits within days of this update.
Cloudflare Tunnel is a proprietary service where your traffic flows through Cloudflare's network, which ties you to Cloudflare, lets it terminate TLS, and applies its terms for what you can proxy. Open-source alternatives let you run the control plane and relay yourself, use WireGuard-based networks, and avoid depending on one provider, at the cost of running the infrastructure and losing Cloudflare's global edge.
Tailscale is a WireGuard mesh networking platform with automatic NAT traversal, MagicDNS, exit nodes, subnet routing, ACLs, SSH, and broad platform support. Core clients and DERP relay code are open source while the official control plane is proprietary.
Pricing: Free and paid hosted plans; complete official coordination stack is not self-hostable.
NetBird is a self-hostable WireGuard overlay network with peer-to-peer tunnels, NAT traversal, identity integration, network policies, posture checks, DNS, exit nodes, and a web management interface.
Pricing: Open source and self-hostable; hosted plans and support may be paid.
Pangolin is dual-licensed AGPL-3.0 and commercially for identity-aware application access, secure tunnels, policy management, SSO, MFA, audit logs, and connectivity behind NAT and firewalls.
Pricing: AGPL-3.0 option available; commercial licensing and hosted services may be offered separately.
OpenVPN is a long-running remote access VPN. The community project is GPL-2.0 and can be self-hosted, while OpenVPN Inc. sells the Access Server for self-hosting with a management layer and CloudConnexa, a managed zero trust service priced from $7 per connection per month. The page lists it as open source, but the commercial products are not.
Pricing: Community edition is free; Access Server and CloudConnexa are paid.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tailscale | WireGuard mesh VPN | BSD-3-Clause clients, proprietary control plane | Clients only | Simple private networks |
| NetBird | Overlay network | BSD-3-Clause + AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Zero trust access |
| Pangolin | Tunneled reverse proxy | AGPL-3.0 + commercial EE | Yes | Exposing services securely |
| OpenVPN | VPN | GPL-2.0 (community) | Yes | Classic remote access |
Want to expose private services without opening ports
Pangolin uses tunnels and identity-aware rules to publish services, with an AGPL-3.0 community edition and a commercial enterprise edition.
Want a self-hosted zero trust overlay network
Netbird combines WireGuard with SSO, MFA, and device posture checks, and can be fully self-hosted.
Want the easiest private network
Tailscale connects devices with minimal configuration, but its coordination server is proprietary.
Need a classic VPN
OpenVPN is a mature remote access VPN, with its Access Server and CloudConnexa service as paid products.