head to head · open source
cloudflared vs openvpn-install
cloudflared has 16,454 GitHub stars, 1,521 forks, 545 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. openvpn-install has 16,180 stars, 3,336 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. cloudflared leads on adoption by 2% (16,454 vs 16,180 stars). cloudflared is written in Go under Apache-2.0; openvpn-install is written in Shell under MIT. cloudflared has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, openvpn-install 21%. cloudflared was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| cloudflared | openvpn-install | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 3.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cloudflared if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick openvpn-install if
- You want the openvpn-install feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and openvpn-install fits your workflow better
About cloudflared
Cloudflare Tunnel client Contains the command line client for Cloudflare Tunnel, a tunneling daemon that proxies traffic from the Cloudflare network to your origins. This daemon sits between Cloudflare network and your origin (e.g. a webserver). Cloudflare attracts client requests and sends them to you via this daemon, without requiring you to poke holes on your firewall your origin can remain as closed as possible. Extensive documentation can be found in the Cloudflare Tunnel section of the Cloudflare Docs. All usages related with proxying to your origins are available under cloudflared tunnel help . You can…
read the full cloudflared overview →
About openvpn-install
openvpn install OpenVPN installer for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, Amazon Linux, Arch Linux, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux. This script will let you setup and manage your own secure VPN server in just a few seconds. What is this? This script is meant to be run on your own server, whether it's a VPS or a dedicated server, or even a computer at home. Once set up, you will be able to generate client configuration files for every device you want to connect. Internet routing, access between VPN clients, and access to selected server side networks can be configured independently. By default…
read the full openvpn-install overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cloudflared or openvpn-install more popular?
cloudflared has 16,454 GitHub stars and openvpn-install has 16,180. cloudflared has the larger community by that measure.
Are cloudflared and openvpn-install free?
Both are open source. cloudflared is licensed under Apache-2.0 and openvpn-install under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cloudflared and openvpn-install?
cloudflared is written in Go and openvpn-install in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cloudflared or openvpn-install?
Choose cloudflared if you want the larger community (16,454 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose openvpn-install if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.