Headplane vs localtunnel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Headplane
Advanced web UI and control panel for Headscale
VS
localtunnel
Expose your localhost to the world for testing
| Feature | Headplane | localtunnel |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,831 | ★ 22,440 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Tailscale Admin Console | ngrok |
Why pick each one
Choose Headplane if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Choose localtunnel if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 22.4k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Headplane or localtunnel better?
Neither is universally better. localtunnel has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Headplane and localtunnel free and open-source?
Yes. Headplane is licensed under MPL-2.0 and localtunnel under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Headplane and localtunnel with Docker?
Headplane: yes. localtunnel: yes.