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Cloudflare Tunnel vs zrok
Short answer: Pick Cloudflare Tunnel if you want outbound-only secure tunnels; pick zrok if you want zero-trust peer-to-peer tunneling. Both have a free plan.
Cloudflare TunnelExpose local services securely without opening ports
zrokOpen-source tunneling and secure sharingWhich to pick
Pick Cloudflare Tunnel if you want…
- Outbound-only secure tunnels
- Integrations with Cloudflare dashboard (on Cloudflare Tunnel's list, not zrok's)
Pick zrok if you want…
- Zero-trust peer-to-peer tunneling
- Self-hosted secure tunnels
- Open-source code (openziti/zrok on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license)
- Integrations with OpenZiti or GitHub OAuth (on zrok's list, not Cloudflare Tunnel's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Cloudflare Tunnel securely connects local services to Cloudflare via outbound-only connections, eliminating the need for public ports.
- zrok:zrok provides zero-trust, peer-to-peer tunneling and secure sharing of apps, files and web content.
- Best for
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Outbound-only secure tunnels
- zrok:Zero-trust peer-to-peer tunneling
- Who it’s for
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Developers and ops teams needing secure remote access to internal services.
- zrok:developers and small teams needing instant secure tunnels or resource sharing.
- Pricing
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Freemium
- zrok:Freemium
- Free plan or trial
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Free plan (Free)
- zrok:Free plan (Free)
- Plans
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Free $0 · Pro $20 per month billed annually, or · Business $200 per month billed annually, or
- zrok:Free $0 per month
- Open source
- Cloudflare Tunnel:—
- zrok:Yes, 4,763 GitHub stars
- Works with
- Cloudflare Tunnel:Cloudflare dashboard
- zrok:OpenZiti, GitHub OAuth
Cloudflare Tunnel features
- Outbound-only connections. cloudflared initiates outbound connections, allowing bidirectional traffic without opening inbound ports.
- Multi-protocol support. Can tunnel HTTP, SSH, remote desktop and other protocols through Cloudflare.
- Scalable connectors. Run multiple cloudflared processes within a single tunnel to handle traffic from any location.
- Firewall-friendly setup. Leverages default outbound firewall rules, letting you block all inbound traffic to the origin.
- Dashboard & API provisioning. Create and manage tunnels via the Cloudflare dashboard or programmatically through the API.
- Global network routing. Traffic is routed to the nearest Cloudflare data center for low latency and DDoS protection.
zrok features
- Instant Secure Tunneling. Creates private or public tunnels to expose local services instantly.
- Private & Public Sharing. Share resources privately between users or publicly via a URL.
- File & Drive Sharing. Beyond HTTP proxies, zrok can share files, drives and other web content.
- Built on OpenZiti. Leverages the open-source Zero Trust networking platform for encryption and authentication.
- Automatic TLS & Auth. Public shares get trusted HTTPS certificates and support Google/GitHub OAuth.
- Self-Hostable. Run the single binary on any infrastructure, from a Raspberry Pi to large clusters.
Cloudflare Tunnel vs zrok FAQ
What is the difference between Cloudflare Tunnel and zrok?+
Open-source tunneling tool requiring self-hosting, whereas Cloudflare Tunnel is managed by Cloudflare’s network.
Should I use Cloudflare Tunnel or zrok?+
Pick Cloudflare Tunnel if you want outbound-only secure tunnels or integrations with Cloudflare dashboard (on Cloudflare Tunnel's list, not zrok's). Pick zrok if you want zero-trust peer-to-peer tunneling, self-hosted secure tunnels or open-source code (openziti/zrok on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license).
Is Cloudflare Tunnel or zrok free?+
Cloudflare Tunnel has a free plan and paid plans. zrok has a free plan and paid plans.
Is Cloudflare Tunnel or zrok open source?+
zrok is open source (openziti/zrok on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license). DevHunt has no public source repository on record for Cloudflare Tunnel.
Do Cloudflare Tunnel and zrok integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: Cloudflare Tunnel lists Cloudflare dashboard; zrok lists OpenZiti and GitHub OAuth.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.