gTunnel vs RPort
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gTunnel | RPort |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 8 · At risk | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 274 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | ngrok | TeamViewer, ngrok |
What are gTunnel and RPort?
gTunnel
gTunnel is a self-hosted TCP tunneling tool built on gRPC that can forward and reverse-forward ports between a server and connected clients through firewalls. It is run as a server and client pair.
- gRPC-based tunneling
- Forward and reverse ports
- Firewall traversal
- Server-client model
RPort
RPort is an open-source remote management solution that lets you access and control servers and desktops behind firewalls. It provides tunnels, scripting, and a web UI.
- Remote access behind firewalls
- On-demand tunnels
- Script execution at scale
- Web management UI
gTunnel vs RPort: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. GTunnel is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RPort. GTunnel has the considerably larger community, at 274 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose gTunnel if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose RPort if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is gTunnel or RPort better?
Neither is universally better. gTunnel has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are gTunnel and RPort free and open-source?
Yes. gTunnel is licensed under GPL-3.0 and RPort under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gTunnel and RPort with Docker?
gTunnel: yes. RPort: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, gTunnel or RPort?
gTunnel has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RPort. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.