Expose local services securely without opening firewall ports
Visit WebsiteReviews onG2Capterra
1208 reviews trackedThe Bottom Line
Entry price
Free plan available, paid tiers above
Biggest pro
Free tier generous for personal use
Biggest con
Adds latency compared to direct connections
TL;DR - Cloudflare Tunnel
- Free secure tunneling to expose local services without opening firewall ports
- Part of Cloudflare Zero Trust - no public IPs or port forwarding needed
- Replaces VPNs and ngrok for secure local service access
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
4.6/5 across review platforms
What is Cloudflare Tunnel?
Cloudflare Tunnel securely exposes local services to the internet without opening firewall ports. Create outbound-only connections from your origin to Cloudflare's network. Access internal applications, development servers, and self-hosted services from anywhere. No public IPs needed. Features include access policies, authentication, and load balancing. The secure way to put anything on the internet without exposing your infrastructure.
Available on: Web
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free tier generous for personal use
- No need to open firewall ports
- Automatic HTTPS with valid certificates
- Integrates with Cloudflare Zero Trust
- Easy setup with cloudflared CLI
Cons
- Adds latency compared to direct connections
- Dependent on Cloudflare infrastructure
- Complex configuration for advanced use cases
- Limited bandwidth on free tier
- Requires domain on Cloudflare DNS
Ratings Across the Web
4.6(1,208 reviews)
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
Expose local services to internet without port forwardingEncrypted tunnels with automatic TLS certificatesZero Trust access control integrationWorks behind NAT and firewallsBuilt-in DDoS protectionFree tier for personal and hobby projects
Pricing Plans
Free
Free
Up to 50 users
- 50 user limit
- Core access control
- Identity provider auth
- Device posture integration
- 24-hour log retention
- Community & Discord support
Most Popular
Pay-as-you-go
$7/user/month
Billed annually
- Unlimited users
- All free features
- Chat & ticket support
- Extended log retention
- Professional services add-on
Contract
Custom
Enterprise SASE
- Custom pricing per user
- 6-month log retention
- Logpush capability
- Dedicated support
- Full SASE deployment
Reviews
4.6/5
Across 1,208 verified user reviews on G2, Capterra
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Cloudflare Tunnel FAQ
Is Cloudflare Tunnel free?
Yes, Cloudflare Tunnel is free for personal use. Business features and higher limits are available with Cloudflare Zero Trust paid plans.
What is Cloudflare Tunnel used for?
Cloudflare Tunnel securely exposes local services (web servers, APIs, etc.) to the internet without opening firewall ports or using a public IP.
Does Cloudflare Tunnel provide HTTPS?
Yes, Cloudflare Tunnel automatically provides TLS encryption with valid SSL certificates, so your services are accessible via HTTPS.
Can I use Cloudflare Tunnel for self-hosting?
Yes, Cloudflare Tunnel is popular for self-hosting as it lets you expose home servers securely without port forwarding or dynamic DNS.
Source: developers.cloudflare.com