tunnelmole 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 | tunnelmole | RPort |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 66 · Good | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,892 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | ngrok, localtunnel | TeamViewer, ngrok |
What are tunnelmole and RPort?
tunnelmole
Tunnelmole is an open-source tunneling tool that gives local web servers a public URL. The client and server are both open source so the entire service can be self-hosted.
- Public URLs for local apps
- Self-hostable server
- No signup needed
- Cross-platform client
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
tunnelmole vs RPort: key differences
Tunnelmole is written in TypeScript, while RPort is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for tunnelmole versus GPL-3.0 for RPort. Tunnelmole is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RPort. Tunnelmole has the considerably larger community, at 1,892 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose tunnelmole if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
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 tunnelmole or RPort better?
tunnelmole is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider RPort if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are tunnelmole and RPort free and open-source?
Yes. tunnelmole is licensed under MIT and RPort under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run tunnelmole and RPort with Docker?
tunnelmole: yes. RPort: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, tunnelmole or RPort?
tunnelmole has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RPort. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.