Comparison

stunl vs Cloudflare Tunnel

Cloudflare Tunnel is powerful but complex. stunl gives you tunneling without managing DNS zones, Zero Trust policies, or Cloudflare's ecosystem.

Feature Comparison

Feature stunl Cloudflare Tunnel
Price $10/mo (Pro) Free (basic)
Setup Complexity One command DNS + Dashboard + cloudflared
Requires Domain on Cloudflare No Yes
Multi-port Tunnels Yes Via config file
HTTP/HTTPS Yes Yes
TCP Tunnels Yes Yes
UDP Tunnels Yes No
WebSocket Yes Yes
Instant URL Yes Quick Tunnels only (random URL)
Vendor Lock-in None Cloudflare ecosystem

Why Developers Choose stunl

1.

Zero Setup Friction

No DNS configuration. No dashboard. No YAML config files. Just run the command and get a public URL instantly.

stunl -port 3000
# URL ready in seconds
2.

No Domain Required

Cloudflare Tunnel requires your domain to be on Cloudflare DNS. stunl gives you a subdomain instantly — no domain purchase or DNS migration needed.

3.

UDP Support

Cloudflare Tunnel doesn't support UDP. stunl handles UDP natively for game servers, VoIP, and real-time applications.

4.

No Ecosystem Lock-in

Cloudflare Tunnel is part of their Zero Trust platform. Great for enterprises, but overkill for most developers. stunl is just tunneling — simple and focused.

When to Use Each

Use stunl when:

  • + You want to expose localhost in seconds
  • + You need UDP tunneling
  • + You don't have a domain (or don't want to move DNS)
  • + You want multi-port with one command
  • + You're testing webhooks, sharing demos, or developing

Use Cloudflare Tunnel when:

  • + You're already on Cloudflare for DNS/CDN
  • + You need enterprise Zero Trust features
  • + You want Cloudflare's DDoS protection
  • + You're running production infrastructure
  • + You want free (and complexity doesn't bother you)

Simple tunneling. No complexity.

Get a public URL in seconds. No DNS, no dashboard, no YAML.

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