sshforward vs Cloudflare Tunnels
Both sshforward and Cloudflare Tunnels let you access machines behind firewalls without opening ports. Cloudflare Tunnels is part of the broader Cloudflare ecosystem. sshforward is a standalone service focused entirely on SSH access.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | sshforward | Cloudflare Tunnels |
|---|
| Standalone service | ✓ | ✗ Requires Cloudflare account and domain |
| Install only on the target machine | ✓ | ✗ cloudflared needed on both sides for SSH |
| Permanent machine name | ✓ myserver.alice | ✓ Via your own domain/subdomain |
| DNS/domain setup required | ✓ No setup needed | ✗ Yes, domain required |
| Survives reboots | ✓ Runs as a system service | ✓ With cloudflared service |
| Web dashboard | ✓ Health, RAM, disk | ✓ Traffic-focused |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser-based SSH terminal | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Requires Access + identity provider setup |
| End-to-end encrypted | ✓ | ✓ |
No Domain Required
Cloudflare Tunnels requires you to own a domain managed by Cloudflare. You then configure DNS records and tunnel routes through the Cloudflare dashboard. For SSH access, you also need cloudflared installed on the connecting machine to proxy the connection.
sshforward requires none of that. Your machine gets a permanent name like myserver.alice automatically. No domain purchase, no DNS configuration, no Cloudflare account.
One Command vs Multi-Step Setup
Setting up a Cloudflare Tunnel for SSH involves creating a tunnel, configuring ingress rules, setting up DNS records, and installing cloudflared on both ends. It works well if you are already invested in the Cloudflare ecosystem.
sshforward takes one command to install on the target machine and one command to connect from anywhere. There is no additional infrastructure to set up or maintain.
When to Choose What
Choose Cloudflare Tunnels if you already use Cloudflare for your domains and want to expose HTTP services alongside SSH, or if you need Cloudflare's access policies and identity-aware proxy.
Choose sshforward if you want a standalone solution for SSH access without buying a domain, managing DNS, or tying into a larger platform.
Get Started
Install sshforward on any machine with one command and connect from anywhere.
Create a free account to get started.